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You know your lights and television work, and you get a bill every
month, but do you actually know how your electricity is measured?
It's
fairly simple, really. Electricity is measured in units of power
called watts. Like pennies, watts are pretty small. For most
purposes, electricity is measured in kilowatts, or 1000-watt units.
The watt or kilowatt rating on electric devices - such as light
bulbs - tells you how much electricity it requires. The higher the
rating, the more electricity it uses.
The
number of watts used is then multiplied by the number of hours of
use, and the result is expressed in kilowatt-hours -- or kWh.
For
example, one kWh is the amount of energy that is required to power
one 100-watt light bulb for 10 hours.
100
watts X 10 hours = 1 kWh
Likewise,
one kWh is needed to burn ten 100-watt light bulbs for one hour.
1000
watts X 1 hour = 1 kWh
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