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Enslaved Labor
Medium oak trees chopped down
~2 hrs of sustained axe work per tree, 70W sustained output
Days of cotton picking (100 lbs/day)
Standard daily quota under enslavement — 10+ hours in the field
Days of rice cultivation
Flooding fields, transplanting seedlings, threshing by hand
Acres plowed with a mule-guided plow
A full day of heavy traction field work per acre
Hogsheads of sugar refined (480 lbs each)
Cutting, grinding, and boiling cane — among the most brutal labor regimes
Pounds of cured tobacco processed
Topping, suckering, priming leaves, barn-firing — intensive seasonal labor
Simple wooden cabins built from scratch
~500 hrs of manual carpentry, log-notching, and hauling. Enslaved people built these and were never allowed to own them.
Brick plantation houses built
2,000+ hrs of masonry, carpentry, and finish work. Enslaved labor built the homes of enslavers.
Miles of Mississippi levee hand-built
Thousands of enslaved workers built and maintained Louisiana's flood control system
Miles of railroad track laid
Grading, tie-laying, and spiking — one of the most energy-intensive construction tasks in the 19th century
Everyday Devices
Hours an LED light bulb stays lit
Modern 10W LED bulb — one of the most efficient light sources ever made
Smartphone full charges
iPhone 15 battery ≈ 12 Wh per full charge
Laptop battery charges
Average 50 Wh laptop battery
Hours of PlayStation 5 gameplay
PS5 draws ~120W under gaming load
Hours of Xbox Series X gameplay
Xbox Series X draws ~130W at load
Hours of Netflix streaming (TV + device)
Average TV + streaming stick at ~100W combined
Pots of coffee brewed (12-cup drip maker)
A drip coffeemaker at 900W for ~10 minutes per brew
Microwave meals heated (5 minutes)
1200W microwave for 5 minutes
30-minute hair dryer sessions
1800W hairdryer for 30 minutes
Miles driven in an electric car
Average EV: ~4 miles per kWh. A gas car at 30 MPG would need ~3× more energy equivalent.
Bitcoin transactions validated
A single Bitcoin transaction consumes ~700 kWh due to proof-of-work mining
Home & Appliances
Washing machine loads (cold water)
Modern HE washer on cold — about 30 minutes per load
Dishwasher cycles (with heated dry)
Full cycle with heated dry setting enabled
Days a refrigerator runs nonstop
Average 18 cu ft fridge — the single biggest continuous energy user in most homes
Hours of central air conditioning
3-ton central AC unit typical in Southern US homes
Full electric vehicle charges (≈ 350 miles each)
Tesla Model 3 Standard Range: 75 kWh = ~350 miles of driving
Days powering an average US home
US average: ~10,500 kWh/year = ~28.8 kWh/day (lights, HVAC, appliances, everything)
Years powering a US home (all energy)
US EIA average: 10,500 kWh/year per household. Includes heating, cooling, cooking, and all devices.
Communities & Infrastructure
Years powering an elementary school
Average K–8 school: ~300,000 kWh/year (lights, HVAC, computers, cafeteria)
Days powering a full regional hospital
Large regional hospital uses ~7 million kWh/year. Hospitals never turn off.
Years powering a small town (1,000 homes)
Think a town the size of Oberlin, OH or Tuskegee, AL
Years powering a mid-size city (10,000 homes)
Think Savannah, GA or Frederick, MD in scale
Years powering a large city (100,000 homes)
Think Richmond, VA or Baton Rouge, LA
Years powering metro Atlanta
Atlanta metro area's full annual electricity consumption
Days powering all of New York City
NYC uses ~55 billion kWh/year = ~150 million kWh per day. Every subway, skyscraper, and home.
Years powering all of New York City
NYC's full annual demand: ~55 terawatt-hours. The largest electricity market in the US.
Landmarks & Scale
Days powering the International Space Station
The ISS generates ~93,000 kWh/year from solar panels. 8 panels, 2,500 sq ft each.
Apollo 11 moon mission total power budgets
Apollo 11 used ~47,000 kWh across all spacecraft systems from launch to splashdown
Commercial flights from New York to Los Angeles
A Boeing 737 NYC–LA burns fuel equivalent to ~90,000 kWh thermal energy
Years powering the Empire State Building
The Empire State Building uses ~40 million kWh/year — one of the most energy-intensive buildings in the world
Years of total US electricity consumption
The entire United States uses ~4 trillion kWh per year — every factory, home, data center, and vehicle