The energy consumption of drying equipment during a restorative drying project has been a concern of flood victims for years. In some states, it's a hot topic this year in particular and probably will be for several years to come. Generally, the client can claim the cost of additional electricity consumed during the drying against their insurance policy.

Historically, the adjuster and homeowner would compare this year's monthly bill from the power company with last year's comparable monthly bill and compensate the insured accordingly. Now, you can help your customer more accurately estimate the cost of the power used.

One method for helping your customer get a refund for the extra electricity used on a drying job. would be to provide a form that lists equipment used and calculates the cost. This would be documented evidence that your client could present to the adjuster for reimbursement.

Some restoration companies will build the price of electricity into their equipment rental charges and reimburse the client when they have been paid for the emergency services and drying. This practice may not be as appropriate today as it was a few years ago because of national pricing programs.

Today, consumers are energy-conscious and concerned about their electric bills. Electricity rates have doubled over the past several years, and this trend will continue. Consumers are becoming much more aware of energy consumption by electrical products.

It is no longer good enough to use the customer's electric power and hope they won't notice. When they receive their next electric bill they will notice, and correlate the greater cost to the use of your drying equipment. It is impossible to say how many company reputations have been tarnished due to ignoring or avoiding concern for this issue. If your customers are reimbursed for the electricity you use to dry their flooded homes and businesses, you will create goodwill.

Kilowatt Hour Rates
Electricity is charged to the consumer by the kilowatt hour and rates vary in different parts of the country. Electric rates can change rapidly, so check your local rates by inspecting your last power bill or calling your local electric company.

Computing Electricity
In order to compute electrical consumption, we first need need to determine how many watts the piece of equipment draws. This is a very simple calculation. If you look for the information tag on the equipment, it will almost always give you the volts and amps. With these we can get watts.

Once we calculate watts, we can convert watts to kilowatts. Kilo represents one thousand, so the next computation would be:

Once we have kilowatts, we need to convert this to the measurement that the electric company uses: kilowatt hours. This is basically a conversion to a daily charge.

If we know the total KWH, we can simply multiply it by the number of days at the current rate to determine how much it costs to run our equipment.

A Practical Example
Let's look at an example. Say you have three airmovers that operate at 115 volts and 5 amps along with a small refrigerant dehumidifier that also operates at 115 volts but draws 6 amps. Your equipment is on the job for two days. The table below would estimate the total cost of operating the equipment. Let's say the kilowatt charge by the power company is $0.125 per kilowatt hour.

You can actually put this information into a spreadsheet and provide it to your customers when you complete the drying project. That way, your customer can present the form to their adjuster and seek reimbursement from the insurer. This sort of communication can go a long way in establishing a good relationship with your customers. It's the right thing to do!

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