Energy and power
Last Updated: Feb 15, 2024
Electricity consumption
| Appliance / application | Consumption |
|---|---|
| Incandescent lightbulb | 40 – 100 W |
| Energy-efficient lightbulb | 9 – 20 W |
| Laptop | 100 W |
| Vacuum | 1 kW |
| Hairdryer | 1.5 kW |
| Dryer | 3 kW |
| Average US residential household | 1.3 kW |
| US per capita | 11.3 MWh / person |
| 100 miles in a Tesla | 34 kWh |
| 1 short ton steel (electric arc furnace) | 400 kWh (note) |
| 2022 US residential consumption | 1.42 million GWh |
| 2022 US commercial consumption | 1.37 million GWh |
| 2022 US industrial consumption | 1.01 million GWh |
| 2022 US total consumption | 4 million GWh |
| 2022 China total consumption | 8.64 million GWh |
| 2022 US total petroleum consumption | 20.28 million barrels / day |
| 2022 US total natural gas consumption | 32 billion Mcf |
Electricity production
| Source | Production Capacity |
|---|---|
| Solar Panel | 16 – 18 W / ft² |
| Wind Turbine (onshore) | 200 kW – 3 MW |
| Hoover Dam | 2,000 MW |
| 3 gorges dam | 22.5 GW |
| Typical nuclear plant | 1 GW – 5 GW |
| 1 short ton coal | 5.5 MWh |
| 1 Mcf = 1000 ft³ natural gas | 300 kWh |
| 1 barrel (~44 gallons, 0.16 m³) crude oil | 1.7 MWh |
| 1 gallon gas | 35 kWh |
| 1 gallon diesel | 40 kWh |
| 2000 food calories | 2.3 kWh |
| Fuel | Quantity per kwH |
|---|---|
| Coal | 1.14 lbs |
| Natural Gas | 7.42 ft³ |
| Petroleum liquids | 0.08 gallons |
| Petroleum coke | 0.85 lbs |
| Enriched uranium | 40 μg |
Links
- Energy conversion calculator
- US use of electricity
- US use of oil
- US natural gas consumption by end use
- US hourly electric grid monitor
- CA ISO outlook dashboard
Books
- Vaclac Smil, Energy and Civilization.