Save on electricity

We are on the brink of a possible electricity price hike – in this four-part series, Antonella Dési will be exploring ways in which we can cut down on our electricity usage in order to afford these new rates.

Looking ahead into the future, it has been estimated that the average household will have to pay up to three and a half times more than they are paying today for the same consumption of electricity. This is certainly a very worrying prospect for many homeowners, who are battling to afford what they are currently paying. The only way to prepare for this, is to find ways of cutting down our electricity usage wherever possible. First of all, we need to explore ways of cutting down our consumption without spending any money. This is not as difficult as it may seem – the majority of homeowners use a lot of power unnecessarily and by following these clever tips the consumption can be drastically reduced.

In the kitchen

• Make sure the seals on your fridge are in good condition – if they aren't, have them replaced as they will allow warm air into the fridge, forcing the fridge's motor to run day and night.

• Do not put warm food into the fridge as it will cause the fridge to run for a lot longer in its efforts to cool down.

• Do not leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary.

• If you are using your oven try to cook more than one dish at a time and keep the oven door closed until the food is done.

• If you have a dishwasher ,only allow it to run once it is completely full.

• If you are washing the dishes by hand, fill the basin and then wash the dishes. Don't wash your dishes under a running tap, as this really wastes a lot of water and electricity.

In the bathrooms

• Try to have a shower rather than a bath, as it uses a lot less water than a bath and saves on water heating costs.

• When you are shaving, fill the basin rather than letting the hot water run.

Living areas and bedrooms

• In summer, if you are in a very warm area and use air-conditioning , keep the curtains and windows closed during the day to keep the cool air inside and the warm sun out. In this way, the air-conditioner won't need to work as hard to maintain the temperature in the home.

• Make sure that all your windows and doors seal properly – a lot of cooled or warmed air can escape under doors or through cracks in windows, making it more costly to heat or cool these areas. If they don't seal properly, you can buy foam strips for the windows and special door strips for those spaces under a door.

• If at all possible, install ceiling fans – they are inexpensive and use a lot less power to run when compared to air-conditioning units.

• When you are not using computers, televisions and music equipment, switch them off at the wall. If they are on standby, they still use up to 50% of the electricity they would use when they are switched on.

Heating

• Check all your heaters, as these use up a lot of electricity. The electric bar heaters are the worst culprits and should be avoided. If the room you are in can be closed off from the rest of the house, the oil heaters are a more economical choice. Gas heaters are also a good option, as they work very efficiently and can heat up an area pretty quickly.

• If you have a fireplace in your home, use it as often as needed. One can buy large quantities of wood from tree felling companies for almost one tenth the cost of buying bags of wood from the shops.

• Invest in timers – these can be programmed so that the heaters switch off at night once you are in bed and come on again half an hour before you wake up, and then switch off and hour later.

• If it is really cold, instead of using your heater all night, rather buy an electric blanket as this uses almost no power at all and you will have a good night's sleep being warm and knowing you are not draining your bank account in the process.

General energy-saving tips

• Always switch the lights off when you are not in the room.

• Use energy-saving globes wherever you can on your property.

• Only put outdoor lights on when the sun has set and before you go to bed switch them off.

• If you have more than one geyser in your home, get a plumber in to fix it so that the main bathroom and kitchen run off the larger geyser and keep the other geysers off until you have visitors.

• Never do a half load of washing and try to use cold water for the job whenever possible.

• Unless you have very wet weather, cancel using the tumble dryer, hang everything out to dry.

• If you are fortunate enough to have a swimming pool, instead of running the motor for 18 hours a day, cut it down to six hours a day. If you have a party and many people are swimming increase it for that day.

There are many gas and solar alternatives available on the market today that can cost a lot to initially install, but that will save you enormous sums of money in the long run. In the next article, I will discuss solar alternatives to electricity – what they cost, how they operate and how much money they can save you.

Pictures

Images courtesy of:

- Hans Grohe

- Miele

- Whirlpool

- Jetmaster

For more information click here to visit the Hans Grohe website.

For more information click here to visit the Miele website.

For more information click here to visit the Whirlpool website.

For more information click here to visit the Jetmaster website.

Readers' Comments

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With regards to your article about saving electricity, would you care to back up your claim that televisions, music-systems and computers can use 'up to 50% of their power in stand-by mode'? Most specifically with regards to CRT screens (TVs and Computer Monitors), computers and high-power audio equipment such as A/V receivers, please keep in mind the following. - Theo Lubbe