Cooking Turkey
Saves
Money
At Tom’s Expense
This Thanksgiving
Americans will suck up
350 gigawatts
of electricity–equivalent to the entire world’s nuclear power capacity in 2012–making turkeys.
So, while we spend time being thankful this Thursday as we gather around the dinner table with family and friends, we should take a moment to extend that thanks to the energy that will be consumed making the turkey and all the trimmings.
But you might be surprised to know that Americans consume far less energy on Thanksgiving than on just any old Thursday.
Size Matters
Americans aren’t the only ones with a weight problem. The average Thanksgiving turkey size in 2019 is 30 pounds! That’s more than double from the 13 pound average sold in the 1930s.
The fact that turkeys have bulged into enormous proportions means that it takes longer to cook. A 30 lb. bird (stuffed, or course, because who doesn’t like in-the-bird stuffing?) can take 6.25 hours to cook in a 350° oven. The unstuffed equivalent takes about 1.25 hours less time to roast.
Cost of Roasting
The average electric oven (non-convection) of the 2000-2400-watt variety will chew through a little over 12 kWh of electricity to cook that Tom for 6 hours. The National Electric kilowatt rate in America is 13.3 cents per kwh; the cookers will pay about $1.60 for the electricity to cook their birds
Pennies more if you
If you’re looking, you’re not Cooking.
All Together Now
Americans will consume a staggering 46,000,000 turkeys this Thanksgiving. At 12 kWh each, that’s 552,000,000 kWh—for a single meal. That’s surely a large number. Let not forget the remainder of the meal… average 50% or $.80 kWh.
Gobble it up!
But fret not. You can eat your turkey in good conscience—you’re actually doing your part to save the environment by eating the turkey.
And here’s why:
An estimated 88% of all Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. There are 327,000,000 people living in America, so this means that 287,760,000 people eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
And here’s why:
An estimated 88% of all Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving. There are 327,000,000 people living in America, so this means that 287,760,000 people eat turkey on Thanksgiving.
Other Thanksgiving Day Energy Considerations
Also, while families are together on this day waiting for the turkey to be done, fewer TVs are playing the requisite football games. Less energy.
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More people are traveling. More energy. According to Gas Buddy, 65% of Americans travel by car. Gasoline inventories in the US rose last week, but gasoline prices are holding pretty steady compared to the last three thanksgivings.
Residential heating. Less energy. As people are grouped into fewer abodes on Thanksgiving Day, heating sources are turned down or off while they stay with family—sometimes for days if they have traveled significant distances. This decreases the amount of energy used for heating.
Estimates are that energy usage typically drops 5-10% on Thanksgiving Day, compared to the November average, all thanks to that delicious turkey.
So, with conscience clear, travel to visit your family. Roast that bird. Eat well and be merry.