How to Use Wattzon.com to Cut Energy Use & Expenses
Followers of this site know that I’m a pretty big supporter of energy efficient cost savings. I’ve written a series of posts under the name ‘green matters‘ on the topic. That being said, I was very happy to find the website, wattzon.com.
Wattzon take an audit of all of the energy you use and converts it into watts. Not only is this a great way to determine where you can cut back on your environmental impact, but it also can be an eye opener as a means to show you where you can save money by becoming more energy efficient.
As you navigate through the site’s interface, your energy usage is divided into the following categories:
1. Government – this category intrigues me. Basically, the site takes a look at energy usage that each state spends per person. Shockingly, government energy usage is almost half of my total energy usage!
2. Flying – not sure if you really want to include business flights in this category unless you actually have a choice whether or not to go somewhere for your job.
3. Commuting – takes a look at all public transit options and even self-powered commuting.
4. Housing – very interesting to compare this statistic against other users. This figure is DRAMATICALLY impacted by the climate weather in which you live.
5. Food – I haven’t seen another site that actually calculates your energy usage based on what you eat. You can even auto load settings based on whether you’re a vegan, heavy meat eater, or anything in between.
6. Stuff – I’m glad Wattzon includes this category. You can choose from common energy drainers such as computers, TV’s, appliances, or even add your own items. This is a great metric to determine the ongoing usage expense of all the junk that you own (see image).
How to Use Wattzon.com to Positively Impact your Finances
There is obviously a direct correlation between energy usage and money. One of the nice things about this site is that you can directly compare your energy usage to:
- the average Wattzon user
- Americans (also includes historical usage)
- the rest of the world (includes other industrialized countries)
This way you can see if you’re spending a lot on energy usage in a given category compared to others – signaling where you may need to cut back.
I measured in at 6,883 total watts of energy use for the year. It looks like I’m using less than two-thirds of the energy of the average American, but the average Wattzon user has me slightly beat, so I still have my work cut out for me and could really cut back on my home energy use.
Final Thoughts on Wattzon.com
Wattzon has a lot of interesting metrics and comparison features. For instance, I really like the feature that ‘visualizes’ your energy usage in terms of different metrics like barrels of oil, size of a solar panel, light bulbs, and CO2.
In general, I’ve seen a lot of these types of sites, but Wattzon tends to have a lot of breadth to it in comparison, a very easy to use interface, and it’s free. You can save your data and even share it with others in a number of social media formats. The time is definitely worth the knowledge and entertainment value that you get in return.
Energy Usage Discussion:
- What is your total energy usage?
- Where did you see problem areas where you can cut back on energy use?
- What is the first area you will try to cut your energy use?
- How does Wattzon compare to other similar sites out there? Are there any that you like better?
Don’t Miss Out on Free 20SomethingFinance Content Updates!
You May Also Find the Following Articles of Interest:




Dang, I broke the 8k barrier. Guv’ment was the biggest usage area for me too. I do need to cut back on my commute usage. Thanks for the tips.
Ah, sweet. I love websites like these. Unfortunately, given my current living situation (college + family), I’m not able to make full use of it. But I’ll bookmark it for when I get my apartment and commute a little more.
7039 watts
My commute is what is killing me. I’ll be glad when I don’t have a 104 mile one way commute
Sounds like a cool site to help out. I’m curious though if the time spent on it really pans out with significant savings, or if it may require a lot of effort to get little results. What do you think?
I just happened across your blog after looking for financial resources. I ended with 6,768W which is above the average Wattzon user but I am happy to be below the average American. Government was my biggest usage area with housing close behind. I think living in Colorado makes a big difference here.
A good blog site.
Save energy is the
need of the time.
Thank you for sharing
wj
I’m glad I stumbled upon your website! Thank you for the references for other sites. They sound worth checking out.
For tips on saving energy and reducing climate change check out:http://buildakinderearth.com/energy/stay-cool-this-summer-and-help-the-environment/
A great post. Really an eye opener! This can be used to save energy same time save the earth as well. I like to read articles with green matters. Thanks!
Is the Wattzon site still functioning? I have been trying to get on it for a few days and it does not seem to work.
Please let me know.
Cheers and thanks
Justin
Leave a comment!
Free Content Updates!
20SomethingFinance Reviews
Recent Posts
Disclaimer…
Posts By Month
Topic Categories
Reader Poll
Blogroll
Recent Comments
Top Commentators in 2010
Twitter Updates...
Posting tweet...