Electricity saving tips
Electricity saving tips to help you to use energy wisely, thereby your monthly utility costs are kept low.
Here are tips that every household can use to save energy and money:
Geysers
- Your electrical geyser’s thermostat must be set between 55 ° C and 60 ° C. Ensure that the geyser and all hot water steel pipes in the roof are well insulated with newspaper or fiberglass.
- Use solar heating units to reduce the geyser’s electricity consumption by 40% to 50%. This would result in a savings of about 200kWh to 250kWh of electricity per month, depending on the number of geysers and the size of the family.
Lights
- Switch off all the lights that are not being used.
- Use fewer bulbs with higher wattages, as one 100 watt bulb produces the same light as two 60 watt bulbs.
- Dimming switches reduce electricity consumption.
- Instead of ordinary bulbs, use compact fluorescent lamps (CFL).
- For exterior lighting use low-energy lamps.
Heating
- Infrared electricity heaters are the most energy-efficient heaters, while oil heaters are the safest.
- Seal air gaps in the home and insulate the ceiling.
- Ensure that your heaters have thermostats.
- Turn off electric blankets when in bed.
Dishwasher
- Your dishwasher must be completely full before operating it.
- Turn the dishwasher off before the drying cycle and wipe the dishes dry with a dishcloth.
- Connect your dishwasher to the cold water supply.
- Clean your dishwasher filters.
- Look for energy-saving features like a short wash cycle when purchasing a dishwasher.
- A dishwasher’s heat and moisture make a refrigerator work harder when the two stand together so install it away from your refrigerator.
Tumble Dryers
- Use a tumble dryer that operates with an electronic humidity control as they automatically shut off the drying cycle when clothes are dry.
- Using the correct temperature settings minimises the amount of electricity used.
- Before putting clothes into the tumble dryer remove all water.
- Dry your clothes outside on sunny days.
Automatic washing machines
- Purchase a front loader washing machine as it uses less water and costs less to operate.
- Use the warm water setting as this cuts down on the electricity needed to heat the water.
- Always do a full load of washing.
- Select the shortest washing programme.
- Keep your ovens door closed until the food is cooked.
- Reduce electricity consumption by using cold water detergents.
Stoves
- Pressure cookers are great energy-savers when preparing food that takes a long time to cook.
- Match pots and pans to the same size stove plates as small pots on large plates waste electricity.
- Do not use pots with distorted bottoms.
- Switch off the plates or oven before the food is fully cooked and finish your cooking without using energy.
- Do not preheat the oven unnecessarily.
- Make use of the oven’s leftover heat, which retains heat for 15 to 30 minutes, to warm up desserts, rolls or freshen crackers and cookies.
- Ceramic and glass pans retain heat better than metal pans.
- Start the self-cleaning cycle right after cooking while the oven is still hot.
Microwave Ovens
- Do not use a microwave to defrost your food.
- Use a microwave to cook small to medium quantities of food. Cook larger portions of meat in a conventional oven or pressure cooker.
Refrigerator
- Don’t leave the fridge door open unnecessarily and make sure the seal is intact.
- When going on holiday switch off your empty refrigerator.
- Your hot food must cool down before placing it in the refrigerator.
- Defrost your fridges regularly as a build-up of ice reduces operating efficiency and increases running costs.
Freezers
- Defrost your freezers regularly as they work harder to remove heat and use more power.
- Only 90% of a freezer’s capacity should be used for freezing.
General
- Do not buy larger or more powerful appliances than are actually required.
- Rather use a hand-operated appliance when one will suffice.
- Use the correct appliance for the job.
- Do not fill a kettle if only a small quantity of boiling water is required.
- Boil water in a kettle rather than in a pot on the stove.
- Use an iron that is thermostatically controlled and avoid ironing clothes by removing clothing promptly from the dryer and folding them carefully.
- Operate swimming pool filter pumps for minimum periods.
- Consider painting the walls of your home in a light colour. Dark colours tend to absorb light, requiring you to use more energy from light bulbs to achieve the same effect.
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