STEP 3:
Now, it's time to get out your pencil and calculator. For
your family's utility bill, add up the winter and summer
bills and multiply by six. That will give you your family's
annual utility costs. If your house is heated with natural
gas or oil, find out how much your parents pay for that.
Finally, find out how much your family spends on gasoline
each year.
Once you have calculated costs, it's time to figure out how
much usage those costs represent. For example, take the cost
of your family's annual gasoline bill and divide it by the
price per gallon of gas. This will give you the number of
gallons. The same can be done for the fuel oil or natural gas
used to heat your home and your home's water supply.
For electricity, take a look at your family's utility bill.
Most utility bills include the cost of energy -- that
is, how much you pay for each kilowatt of electricity used.
(A kilowatt is 1,000 watts. A lamp with a 100-watt bulb would
use one kilowatt if it were turned on for 10 hours.) Divide
the total amount your family spends on electricity by the
price of a kilowatt. That will give you how many kilowatts
your family uses each year. (The bill might already list how
many kilowatts you used, so you don't have to do this
multiplication.)
|
Early New York