How Do You Calculate Electric Heating Costs?
Electric heat refers to heating systems powered solely by electrical power, instead of the traditional heating oil or gas. They include permanent baseboard heaters or portable heating units, and may feature forced air or radiant heating. To keep your budget in check, it’s helpful to calculate your total electric heating costs each season. Knowing how much your heat costs can help you make smart decisions that can save energy and help lower your expenses. Check the label on your heater to find out the wattage. If your heater lists watts outright, you can use this number to calculate heating costs. If not, you’ll need to calculate the watts using other available information. Look for the amps rating for your heater. To calculate watts, multiply amps times voltage. Standard voltage for a plug-in heater is 120 volts, while standard voltage for a permanent baseboard heater is 240 volts. For example, an 8-amp plug-in heater would be 8 times 120, which equals 960 watts. Divide the wattage for
