Electricity Saving Tips at Home

The following electricity saving tips will help you save more than 40% of the costs that you incur on your electricity consumption.

With electricity consumption at an all-time high and the country reach now at above 60 %, this comes at an additional cost to the power supplier.

Further to this, massive investments to cater for the ever-increasing electricity consumption is factored on your electricity bill.

For this reason, I found it necessary to avail you of this detailed guide on electricity-saving tips.

Energy consumption and energy conservation are intertwined and its time you embraced this. If you consume less energy at home in the form of electricity you will help conserve energy and the environment as well.

This is because electricity is produced by using our natural resources. {Some natural resources emit carbon dioxide}

Every 1 kilowatt of electricity saved saves our environment from 1 kilogram of carbon dioxide emission.

Moreover, if we save the environment, the ripple effects could go a long way in making the universe a better place to inhabit.

Would you like to know how to save some bucks on electricity?

If yes, kindly read through these electricity-saving tips below and get a lower electricity bill next time.

I will cluster the tips in groups then give some golden advice at the bottom.

So, kindly read through to the end.

Cooking

Kindly use appropriate cooking pots and pans on your electric cookers. { Make sure that the cooking pot or pan covers the heating plate}  This could save you up to 20 % on your cooking electricity bill.

Regularly check to see that the oven seals are in good working condition. If the seals are broken then, heat will escape through the openings making the oven overwork to maintain the set temperature.

Use the oven light to see the inside as opposed to opening the oven door thus losing the heat. 

 Lighting

Use energy-saving {LED} bulbs and fluorescent light bulbs as opposed to incandescent {filament} bulbs. The energy-saving bulbs will cut lighting costs by 75 % and last longer.  

Switch off lights that are not needed at any given time. This simple habit could save your lighting cost by 20 %

Use daylight and only switch lights in the evening hours. This could save you 50 % on your electricity bill in regards to lighting. {As you construct, put this in mind mainly in regards to windows placement}

Use fewer lights. One light sufficient bulb that is appropriately placed can serve an entire large room as opposed to having three or four lights in the same room.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC)

Some countries are blessed with nice weather however, other countries do experience adverse weather throughout the year.

For this reason a majority of the homes in those countries do have heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) gadgets set up to regulate temperatures.

Offices, Schools, Hospitals and other establishments have these systems installed as well to regulate temperatures.

Our advice to you is to get known brands and qualified HVAC technicians to setup and install the systems.

The golden tip with HVAC is mainly in regards to the thermostat {a component that senses temperatures and regulates the same in regards to a certain set point}

The golden rule is to use a programmable thermostat. This can cut your electricity bill by 30 %. Reason being that you can automatically set the temperatures.

Laundry

 Under this category, we shall discuss washers and dryers. These are high energy-consuming electronic appliances.

Wash in cold water and wash less often times as well to save water heating energy hence more electricity consumption.

Wash full loads and keep your washer level placed and steady to avoid wear and tear brought about by vibrations

Acquire a front load washer and maintain the same regularly. Movement of clothes is more efficient in a front-loader.

On dryers, do not overload and over-dry clothes.

Dry specific clothes separately.

Keep the lint filter clean and ensure the proper ventilation of your dryer.

Fridges and Freezers

Fridges and freezers consume a third of your electricity. This is because they run throughout.

For this reason, these tips I share below are worth looking at with a keen eye;

Close the fridge. Opening and leaving the fridge open unnecessarily leads to heat accumulation within the compartments leading to energy losses.

Check often and make sure that your fridge or freezer seals are in good working condition. A broken seal overworks the appliances due to openings leading to huge electricity bills.

Vacuum clean your fridge and freezer coils for an efficient air supply. This saves energy.

Fill in all the spaces in the fridge or freezer. Empty spaces require energy to cool as well.

Do not put hot food in these appliances. Cool them before that.

Always reset the thermostat to see at which point the fridge operates optimally.

Place your fridge in a cool place away from direct sunlight and walls.

Showerheads

Another big electrical energy consumption appliance is the showerhead.

The golden tip is to purchase a genuine brand. Other recommended tips are:

Installing a low-flow shower head is a big plus

Watersense faucets are great

Installing an aerator is a big plus

Switching on the water before switching on the showerhead to avoid damage to the showerhead and also conserve energy.

Other electronic appliances

The above electricity-saving tips have captured appliances that consume most of the electricity.

However, there are other smaller appliances including but not limited to;

1. Iron boxes > Use a steam iron to make ironing easier and save on your electricity.
2. Stereo/DVD/TV > Switch off the power or unplug your stereo system and other appliances to avoid damage due to a power surge. While on standby, your stereo still consumes electricity.
3. Blenders > Cut your fruits into small bits to allow for easier blending. 
4. Computers > Ditch your desktop and acquire an energy-efficient laptop.
5. Phones > Do not charge phones overnight as this may lead to explosions and battery damage. The end result of this, however, is higher electricity bills.
6. Electric kettles and Jugs > these are high power consumers. Only use them when appropriate and keep off them if possible. Make sure that you plug them into the correct socket.

Armed with these electricity-saving tips, it’s time to give you some golden rules as promised earlier.

Use solar if possible

Solar is clean renewable energy that conserves the environment.

Internet Of Things {IOT} is the way to go

This is a procedure for automating your home. It could be lighting automation, swimming pool automation, cooking automation, and much more.

Electrical maintenance is necessary

This is one component many of us forget. Once or twice in a year, you should have an electrician check your wiring.

The process should entail sockets, switches, and fuse holders. A sparking socket could double your electricity consumption.

In the same vein, always purchase genuine electrical products and to just insist, get genuine extensions, and plugs for your appliances.

One more point, use correct rating sockets. An example, If your electric kettle is 15 amperes rated, use a 15 amperes rated socket.

110 volts appliances

Once in a while, our relatives abroad usually surprise us with American products that have a 110 volts input rating.

Further to this, most of us also shop on Amazon most probably not knowing that the appliance requires 110 volts and not 220 – 240 volts that are available here in our country.

Most of us get anxious and confused and end up plugging the appliances to the 240 volts thus damaging them in the process.

However, this should not be the case because there are genuine electronic shops that stock step down transformers.

These transformers step-down or reduce power from 240 volts to 110 volts and hence safe to use your appliance.

In the process, however, heat is produced and this can lead to energy loss.

To avoid this, always use a correct rating step down transformer on your appliances.

Do not overload your transformer because your appliances may not work optimally.

I will discuss step down transformers in a subsequent post.

Upgrade often

This may be a costly affair but advantageous in the long run.

Most of the time manufacturers upgrade existing products to better and energy-efficient ones.

A Samsung CRT TV will consume more power than an LED or LCD Samsung TV.

Bottom Line

The bottom line, the above electricity-saving tips if followed to the latter will save you much in terms of your power bill.

Furthermore, you will have peace of mind as your appliances will not get faulty now and then.

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Your thoughts and comments below are highly welcome and much appreciated.