The rising cost of electricity is affecting everyone, here's some info that might help you manage your usage a bit better.
High-consuming appliances are: The Oven & stove, washing machine, tumble dryers, fridges, geyser, air conditioners, heaters and swimming pool pumps.
Other contributors are: Hairdyers, gadgets, old appliances, kettles and TV's.
Anyhting with an element that needs to heat-up will use a lot of electricity.
Old appliances are much less energy efficient.
Gadgets like cellphones, laptops, gaming consoles that are left on charge the whole day will all add up to higher consumption.
Lighting: Types of lighting in homes differ enormously, the size of your house plays a role. Keeping your home lit is estimated to consume 5% of your home’s electricity bill. You should always opt for the most energy efficient bulb you can afford. LED 4W bulbs, for example, consume 0.004 kWh versus a regular 100 W bulb that uses 0.1 kWh.
Outside lights can easily be replaced with solar lights that have motion and day-night sensors, only coming on when needed.
Geysers can easily be responcible for 30% to 50% of your electicity bill. Heres some tips for managing your gesyer better:
- Make sure the thermostat is set to the correct temperature. If the temperature is set too high (60+ degrees) the geyser will use a lot more power then when it is set between 50 to 55 degrees. This can also be changed for summer vs winter.
- Using a geyser blanket will assist in keeping the water warmer for longer, saving power.
- Depending on the Loadshedding situation, investing in a timer can reduce usage, making sure that the geyser only needs enough time to heat up the water for usage and then switches off again. Most households will have enough hot water if the geyser is on for 2 to 4 hours per day.
Other options will be to look into gas or solar geyser systems that will save a lot of power in the long run.
10 Tips for saving Electricity
- Switch off appliances, gadgets, laptops, computers and gaming consoles at the wall and pull out the chargers when not in use.
- Swith off all lights if not in use.
- Change all light bulbs to energy efficient LED bulbs.
- Have the geyser thermostat checked and set at the correct temperature.
- Install a timer on the geyser and have it correctly set.
- Set the pool pump to run less hours.
- Insulate the geyser.
- Use gas where possible for heaters.
- Change to a gas stove for cooking as well as heating water.
- Wash in cold water and manage the usage of dishwashers and tumble dryers to reduce overall electricity cost.
We hope that the above will assist in managing your electricity usage a bit better.
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