Every now and then we hear a slogan about saving the earth and decide that we will for sure take some measures to give back to our mother. But the enthusiasm dies within a few days when you don’t discover anything that you can easily adapt to save the earth. In India especially, daily the sun is shining in its full glory and new records are being made about the highest temperature recorded. When we have to go out during the summer, we frown in disgust that we will have the face the harsh rays and get sweaty. Upon everything else, we hate it when the loo blows. Who hasn’t heard of the new ‘chamki’ virus that has taken over many parts of the country just because of the ill effects of the summer season? Even winters are either getting too cold or too warm.
We all have to take the necessary steps to save the earth. It is the little things that we all can collectively do to make a huge difference. So here we bring to you a specific blog based on the simple methods which will save electricity in home. If not all, try to at least implement some of these suggestions.
Our blog will be divided into two sections, section 1 contains all the suggestions which you can implement immediately without buying anything.
The second section contains products that you can buy or the appliances that you should buy to save electricity.
Section 1: saving without buying anything
1. Turn the lights off when you leave a room.
This is the most basic tip that anyone can give you. Yet most of the people don’t follow it, generally out of laziness. A big portion of your electricity bill can be saved by just turning off the lights before leaving a room.
It is a sin if you leave unnecessary switches running for hours, especially if you forget to turn them off before going out of the house.
Many people leave Air conditioners switched on intentionally so that the room is cold when they come back. You should feel immense guilt if you do that – you’re wasting energy and you’re torturing mother earth.
So our first advice is, turn the lights off (especially the big appliances).
2. Unplug even when you are not using the appliance
This might be a new tip for you. Appliances tend to keep using energy even when they are idle but plugged in. It is definitely better to install switches and you could just switch the plug off when you are done using the appliance. It will make a huge difference in your power consumption. This is pure wastage since you’re not using the appliance at the time and they’re still adding on to your expenses.
This is especially useful for people who use microwaves. They tend to keep the microwave plugged in all day. Switch the plug of the computer also off when you’re done using it.
The same thing is applicable to a television, music system or speakers, chargers, hair dryers and other appliances.
3. Make use of natural light
There is no need for having your lights switched on all the time. The day time offers great sunshine to light up everything. It is simply common sense to push the curtains aside and let the real light flow into your kitchen. Make sure you are not using lights unnecessarily. The kitchen does not require that much intensity of light since you are not studying or reading something.
In conclusion, have huge windows that let the real light illuminate your space. There is no need to use lights unnecessarily.
4. Make lesser use of appliances
It is not necessary to use the washing machine daily; you could dial that down a little bit. Try to lessen the number of days you operate the washing machine in a week. You do not necessarily need to wash the clothes yourself ( although it would be great if you did that once in a while ) but you could simply re-wear the clothes if they are re-wearable and wash them a little later.
If there is no necessity of using hot water, then don’t. nearly 85 % of the energy used by the washing machine will go in heating the water. Use common sense. Do not keep it on hot water setting unless you really need it.
There is no need to use the dryer when your clothes could easily air dry on a rope or stand. There is literally no need to use a dryer when you have the facility of air drying. These little things will make a lot of difference.
Same is the case with dishwashers. You need to be careful here though because modern dishwashers tend to use lesser water than what you will waste while doing the dishes. If not, then you could wash the dishes yourself if the load is less. A little work on your side could bring huge changes to your bill. Similar tips on drying here too. You can let your utensils air dry since there is no hard and fast rule that the dishes must dry in a machine.
Limit using the microwave and oven. If you’re heating something in the microwave you could try to heat multiple things in one shift. Also, do all the heating and baking of various dishes together since the microwave or oven will be hot. It will need more energy to heat up again and again if you are going to heat things between time intervals.
Keep the doors of your microwave and oven clean. This highly simple trick has a lot of logic behind it. When your oven door is clean, then you can easily peek through the door to notice progress. When your door is dirty and you cannot see through it. You will open the door again and again to notice any progress in your meal. This opening of the door releases all of the heat built up inside the microwave or oven and hence, more energy is required since it will have to build the heat all over again.
Dim the lights – they use lesser energy.
Get rid of small appliances that have no use.
Never over fill your kettle. An over filled kettle needs a lot more energy than you could ever imagine. Boil only the amount of water you need at once. Do not fill it up more than that since once you fill it and use the needed amount of water, the rest of the water will cool down and the energy used in boiling it is completely wasted. On top of that, more energy will be needed when it has to be boiled again.
Consider buying newly updated appliances if yours are too old.
Replace unnecessary appliances. For e.g. If you have a big fridge which is only half full all the time, then you might need to consider replacing it with a smaller fridge of the correct capacity.
Make sure your dishwasher is installed away from a refrigerator. The moisture and heat from it make your refrigerator work harder.
It is not necessary to defrost food in the microwave or oven only, you could let it defrost on its own when left in room temperature for a longer period of time. This is such a simple yet genius trick, just keep the food out and let it defrost on its own.
Do not open the refrigerator door unnecessarily since all the cool escapes into the atmosphere. Only open the doors when needed and do not keep them open for a long time as more energy will be used to make the fridge cool again.
Do not place hot food directly into the fridge. Not only will this save you money on the bill, but it will elongate the life of your fridge too. Let the hot food cool down to the room temperature and then place the hot stuff in it. A significant amount of electricity will be saved.
Do not stick the back of your fridge to the wall. It should have a minimum distance of 10 cm so that heat can flow easily from its back. This also saves energy.
Keep maintaining all your appliances. Check the filters, get them serviced. For example, defrost your fridge once in a while since ice buildup reduces its performance.
There are people that never open their windows and let the fresh air flow in the house. There are people who start using their air conditioners even when they are clearly not needed. Some people use air conditioners even when it is stormy and cold outside. There are some extreme cases of highly educated people who make the room so cold during the summers and then sleep in a blanket. We all should give a huge round of applause to these people since they are helping us in finishing the energy resources as soon as possible. ( this whole paragraph was in sarcasm ). Do not be a part of these people. Do not do any of the stupid things mentioned above.
The seals on the doors of your appliances must always be intact since they are a silent energy waster. The door of your oven or refrigerator has seals that trap the warm or cold air inside the appliance. If the seal is not properly working, it can be a generous escape for the warm or cold air which makes the appliance work harder, leading to energy wastage.
All this is especially needed if you did not buy energy-efficient appliances.
5. Simple changes in cooking that may go a long way
Put a lid on the pan whenever you are boiling something. It happens faster and saves energy.
Keep the reflectors of your stove clean. They have a job of reflecting heat and they make the food cook faster, the process gets slower if the reflectors are dirty.
Use the correct sized pan on the correct sized burner.
Turn of the burners a few minutes before you’re done cooking. The left out heat will do the rest of the cooking for you which might get wasted otherwise.
Cover the goods that you store in your fridge. The moisture from them makes the fridge work even harder and hence it uses more energy.
Use the absorption method to cook rice. In this method, bring your rice to a boil and then lock them with a lid and turn the heat off around 20 minutes early.
The same can be done with pasta. Instead of heating them in water, soak them in water over night. It tends to make a huge difference since the pasta gets very soft and cooks within a minute.
Use a pressure cooker when the meal you’re making requires a long time to cook.
Do not use pots and pans which have distorted bottoms.
Do not preheat the oven if not absolutely necessary.
Prefer glass and ceramic pans and pots over metal pots and pans. Glass and ceramic tend to trap heat better.
Insulate your house
If you’re using air conditioning or heating, insulate the house with proper seals on windows and doors. Like we discussed seals on ovens or refrigerators, the same phenomenon happens in your house. When you have escape routes for the air to go out, the air will prefer to go out because of the temperature difference. This will lead to your air conditioning being less effective and using more energy. This will also result in early damage to the product. Hence, seal the air gaps.
If you want to be professional, you can have a contractor come and check your house. You can refer to the caulk and weather strips in section 2.
It is being highly extra when you turn up the thermostat and heat your home in winters. Simply put on warm clothes! Is it that difficult? People can be excused when winter is excruciating. But on a mediocre winter night, you could just put on a few warm layers.
Section 2 - products that will assist you a lot
1. Hot water bottle
This one is a very common one, but instead of pumping the thermostat up, if you’re feeling exceptionally cold during winters, you could just fill a hot water bottle for yourself.
Links for buying them are below –
2. LEDs
Instead of using the old bulbs, use LEDs and CFLs. They will last longer and will be gentle on the bill. Use low energy lamps when lighting up the exterior of the house.
Some LEDs that we suggest are as follows
3. Solar panels
If you want to go big, there is no better energy saving method than this. No need to go fully solar panel operated; take one step at a time. Maybe a little portion of your house can be run by solar panels.
By small starts, we mean solar mobile chargers. Yes, they are a thing. You may check them out below in the section called appliances that will help you save energy
4. what to keep in mind while buying new appliances?
- We have talked about this earlier also. If your fridge is big and remains half empty all the time, then you better switch to a smaller fridge which will consume lesser energy. Choose all your appliances wisely. Make sure they are the right size, buying a larger appliance will only increase the electric expenses.
- Buy smart appliances with energy saver settings. Many washing machines and dishwashers have different modes based on the type of load they are going to clean. Buy those kinds of machines which are electricity efficient and have various modes of cleaning. A full powered thorough cleaning cycle is not needed when only a light wash was required. Many appliances these days have an eco setting or environment-friendly mode where they use lesser resources. Go for such appliances.
- Do not be deceived by the price of an appliance. Cheaper appliances tend to maximize long term costs. An appliance might seem expensive at the start but it might last longer and reduce your electricity bill.
- Look for the energy star label. They are rated from 5 stars. You should definitely prefer the appliances that have a 5-star energy rating. Also, look for the energy guide label.
- Double door refrigerators tend to use more electricity than regular ones.
5. water purifier
- We have talked about this earlier also. If your fridge is big and remains half empty all the time, then you better switch to a smaller fridge which will consume lesser energy. Choose all your appliances wisely. Make sure they are the right size, buying a larger appliance will only increase the electric expenses.
- Buy smart appliances with energy saver settings. Many washing machines and dishwashers have different modes based on the type of load they are going to clean. Buy those kinds of machines which are electricity efficient and have various modes of cleaning. A full powered thorough cleaning cycle is not needed when only a light wash was required. Many appliances these days have an eco setting or environment-friendly mode where they use lesser resources. Go for such appliances.
- Do not be deceived by the price of an appliance. Cheaper appliances tend to maximize long term costs. An appliance might seem expensive at the start but it might last longer and reduce your electricity bill.
- Look for the energy star label. They are rated from 5 stars. You should definitely prefer the appliances that have a 5-star energy rating. Also, look for the energy guide label.
- Double door refrigerators tend to use more electricity than regular ones.
- water purifier
You can buy a water purifier that does not even need electricity.
The link is given below
6. Appliances that will help you save electricity
Solar Charger
You might be hearing this concept for the first time but it is possible. You can charge your devices like phones, laptops and tablets through sunlight. While this is a great device to save energy, it is also an amazing power bank which only needs sunlight to perform. No hassle of charging the power bank, again and again, just leave it in the sun. you can charge it anywhere!
The following are links to some of the best solar chargers
Solar lights
Yup ! they exist. Solar lights will automatically charge in the bright room and give light in the night. Some examples are as follows –
- Ifitech Solar Gardner Designer Light
- 2 Nights Working with 1 day sun charge
- XEPA SPD486 Sun Pad Handheld, Solar Powered LED Light with USB Charger for Cellphones and Mobile Electronics
- Quace 32 LED Super Bright Solar Light with 4 Modes Including Continuous Lighting
- A-One Solar LED Emergency Light with in-Built Solar Panel and Two Level Brightness Control – SLSM (Multicolor)
Smart trip
These are devices that go along switches. They turn off the electric supply when the connected device sits idle. Hence saving the energy which goes away in appliances that are left plugged in.
- Timer switch
It automatically switches the electric supply off after a certain amount of fixed time.
Random Tip
Replace plastic straws with metal straws.
This one is a little out of context but still is a very important tip when it comes to kitchens. You will be helping the sea turtles a lot by just making this small change.