Name:______Date: ______Period: ______

Electricity Research & Math Practice Problems

Refer to handouts:

1) Describe the three types of power plants used to generate most electricity in the U.S.

2) What contributes to the cost of electricity? Give the % breakdowns.

3) Compare the costs of different types of power plants. Give reasons for the differences in costs.

4) What is the general rule for energy input in terms of fuel vs energy output in terms of electricity?

5) Compare the efficiency of different types of power plants.

6) When is electricity most expensive to buy? Why?

7) What are the various energy losses that contribute to electrical production inefficiencies?

8) What role do conservation and energy efficiency play in meeting the future demand for electricity?

9) Where is most NEW power generation coming from? Explain why these sources can be advantageous.

10) What are some of the benefits that a smart grid would provide? Include benefits for power companies, individual consumers, and the environment in your answer.

11) For what purposes does the residential and commercial sector of the economy use energy? What has happened to the amount of energy needed to perform those tasks in the last 35 years? Why?

12) Define the term “payback period”. How does the payback period of a new high-efficiency furnace factor into a consumer’s decision to buy one?

13) List and explain (in your own words!) four important things people can do to reduce their heating and cooling costs.

14) What percent of an average home’s energy bill is for lighting? How does this compare to commercial business? What are two lighting choices that have advantages over the incandescent light bulb? What are those advantages?

15) What does the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act require and when was it passed? Give two examples of household appliance features that help to conserve energy.

ELECTRIC ENERGY CONSUMPTION using Freeman Usage Power Bill.

November 2010 Cost $59.40492 Kilowatt Hour Usage Average Daily kWh 18 July 2010 Cost $170.49 1467 Kilowatt Hour Usage Average Daily kWh 49

  1. What is the average monthly household electric bill? ($/month)
  2. How much do you pay for electric power? ($/kWh)
  3. Calculate the corresponding average monthly energy use for the household. (kWh/month)
  4. How many people are there in the household?
  5. Calculate the per capita monthly residential electric energy use for member of the household (kWh/month/person).
  6. Calculate the annual per capita residential electric energy use for members of the household (kWh/year/person).
  7. In the US residential electric energy consumption is about one-third of overall electric energy consumption. Calculate the annual per capita total electric energy consumption by the household. (kWh/year/person)
  8. Assuming this per capita energy use is average, calculate the US annual total electric energy consumption (trillion kWh/year) given that the US population is 298 million.
  9. The US consumes about 25% of global electric power. Estimate global annual total electric energy consumption (trillion kWh/year).
  10. Calculate the global annual per capita total electric energy consumption (kWh/year/person) given that the global population is 6.5 billion.
  11. Compare the calculated global annual per capita total electric energy consumption value to your calculated US annual per capita total electric energy consumption value.