Tips on Saving Electricity 3

1. Save on electric water heating

If you only use an electric water heater at certain times of the day, you’re wasting electricity keeping the water hot 24/7. To solve that problem, install an electronic timer switch (Photo 1; sold at home centers). Timers are available for 120- and 240-volt heaters. They can be programmed for daily or weekly schedules so you only heat the water when you need it. A timer can save you $25 per year.

To make your water heater even more efficient, drain the tank and flush out the sediment at the bottom (Photo 2). Otherwise, you could be heating through inches of sediment before heating the water.

If your electric water heater is warm or hot to the touch, it’s losing heat. Wrap it with an insulating blanket (sold at home centers).

2. Get smart metering

Smart metering programs vary among utility companies, but the basic idea is the same: The utility installs a special “smart” meter that tracks how much electricity you’re using. The utility uses that data to make sure its power grid doesn’t get overloaded and cause blackouts. If the grid nears capacity, the utility can shut off major appliances in homes for short periods of time (such as 15 minutes per hour). Not all companies offer smart metering, but some do and many others are considering it.

What’s in it for you? Money! Some programs pay for signing up. Others let you view your home’s usage online in real time so you can better manage your electrical consumption. Others let you choose “real-time” or “time-of-use” pricing that allows you to pay less for electricity that’s used during off-peak hours (for example, on weekdays from early afternoon until 8 p.m.). These plans reward you for using electricity when it’s cheapest. Smart metering makes the most sense if you’re away from home all day—you won’t notice or care if things get turned off (although it’s a good idea for everyone else too!). According to SRP, a power utility company, the plans cut 7 percent off your bill, which is $140 for the average $2,000 yearly energy bill. Check with your local company to find out what smart metering programs are available in your area.

3. Run your refrigerator for less

Your refrigerator uses more electricity than all your other kitchen appliances combined. To keep its energy costs down, clean the coils twice a year, which improves efficiency by 30 to 50 percent.

Your fridge and freezer run more efficiently when they’re full. Put water containers in the fridge and ice bags in your freezer to keep them filled. Keep the refrigerator setting between 35 and 38 degrees and the freezer between 0 and 5 degrees F.

Refrigerator door seals wear out over time. Test your seal by closing a dollar bill in the door. If it pulls out easily, replace the seal.

If your fridge was made before 2001, it’s using at least 40 percent more electricity than new Energy Star models. If you’re replacing your fridge, buy an Energy Star model and recycle your old one. Don’t hook up the old one in the basement or garage—an inefficient refrigerator costs as much as $280 a year in electricity. Any money you save buying food in bulk and storing it in an inefficient second fridge is lost in electric costs.

Tips on Saving Electricity 2

1. Kill Energy Vampires

Seventy-five percent of the electrical use by home electronics occurs when they’re turned off, according to the Department of Energy. These “energy vampires” suck electricity all day long—costing you an extra $100 each year. So if you’d like to keep that Ben Franklin in your wallet, unplug your electronics or plug them into a power strip, then turn off the strip.

Don’t worry about losing the settings on new computers and TVs. They have a memory chip that resets everything when you power back up. If you have an old VCR or other devices that flash when the power goes out, keep it plugged in. Some power strips have a few outlets that always have power even when you flip off the switch. This type of strip has a main outlet for the computer. When you turn off the computer, the strip also shuts down other devices, such as your scanner, printer or modem.

2. Clean out the lint of dryer efficiency 

A clogged lint screen or dryer duct drastically reduces the efficiency of your dryer, whether it’s gas or electric. Clean the lint screen after each load and clean the exhaust duct once a year. The cleaner shown here has an auger brush that attaches to a drill to clean out the ducts. It’s available at home centers.

Electric dryers use about $85 of electricity annually. A dirty lint screen can cause the dryer to use up to 30 percent more electricity ($25 per year), according to the Consumer Energy Center. Lint buildup is also a common cause of fires.

Dry loads of laundry back-to-back so the dryer doesn’t cool down between loads (a warm dryer uses less energy). And only run the dryer until the clothes are dry. Overdrying damages your clothes and runs up your electric bill. If you’re in the market for a new dryer and already have a gas line in the house, go with a gas dryer. A gas dryer is more efficient.

3. Change Furnace Fliter

Keeping your furnace (gas or electric) tuned up has two big benefits: It makes the furnace run efficiently and it prolongs the furnace’s life span. And you can perform the annual tune-up yourself in about three hours.

Change the filter every month of the heating season (or year-round if the filter is also used for A/C). Be sure you insert the new one so it faces the right way. The filter protects the blower and its motor; a clogged filter makes the motor work harder and use more power.

Tips on Saving Electricity

1.  Switch to CFL bulb

Replacing incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs) is one of the quickest, easiest ways to save money—and a place everyone can start. CFLs use about 75 percent less energy and last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs. This can save you up to $35 in electric costs over the lifetime of each bulb. Switching to CFLs in the five most frequently used fixtures in your house will save about $60 per year, according to Energy Star.

Choose CFLs with the Energy Star label to get the greatest savings. Energy Star products have to meet energy-efficiency guidelines set by the EPA and the Department of Energy. When you shop, keep in mind that light fixtures with dimmers require special CFLs; read the label.

When your CFLs are finally spent, recycle them (to find locations, check with your trash hauler or local government).

2. Install small switches

Motion sensors (occupancy sensors) automatically turn lights on and off so you only get (and pay for!) light when you need it (Photo 1). Using motion sensors can save you $100 per year. Some motion sensors need to be manually turned on but turn off automatically. They’re great for bedrooms because they won’t turn on when you move in your sleep.

Some switches are installed in junction boxes; others are wireless. You can also buy light fixtures with built-in motion sensors. You’ll need special motion sensors for electronic ballasts that control CFLs. Special-order them at home centers or buy them on the internet.

Use timers to control bath fans so the fan will run for a preset time to air out the room and then automatically turn off (Photo 2). You can set the length of time you want the fan to run. Be sure the timer you buy is rated for motors, not just lighting (check the label).

3. Buy Energy Star Appliances

When you shop for appliances, look for the Energy Star label. It means the appliance meets certain energy-efficiency guidelines. The average household spends $2,000 each year on energy bills. Energy Star says that appliances bearing its label can cut those bills by 30 percent, for an annual savings of about $600. But you don’t have to replace everything to see a savings. Just replacing an eight-year-old refrigerator with a new Energy Star model can save $110 a year or more in electricity.

Not sure what to do with your old appliance? Recycle it. Don’t salvage and resell it—that only passes the electricity—hogging appliance along to someone else. Check with your utility company or local home center for programs for appliance pickup and recycling.

4. Service Your Air Conditioner

Roughly half of an average home’s annual energy bill (gas and electric), about $1,000, is spent on heating and cooling. Air conditioners placed in direct sunlight use up to 10 percent more electricity. If yours sits in the sun, plant tall shrubs or shade trees nearby—but don’t enclose the unit or impede the airflow. Place window units on the north side of the house or install an awning over them.

Keep your window or central air conditioner tuned up so it runs at peak efficiency. Every two or three years, call in a pro to check the electrical parts and the refrigerant.

If your central air conditioner is more than 12 years old, replacing it with an Energy Star model can cut your cooling costs by 30 percent and save maintenance costs. The payback for replacing a 12-year-old system is typically about eight years. An air conditioner’s efficiency level is measured by the seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER). The higher the number, the more efficient the unit. A 13 or 14 SEER rating is considered high efficiency.

Saving Electricity through Your Electronics

Electronics use a considerable amount of electricity while on standby, which means they draw power even when they’re not switched on. This isn’t eco-friendly behaviour because converting oil, water, or coal to electricity produces greenhouse gases. Some appliances — especially older ones — use up to 85 percent of the power on standby that they do while in use!

To reduce the standby loads in your home, turn electronics off at the outlet when they’re not in use:

• Check the living room/entertainment room where stereos and other electronics reside, and don’t forget to check around the kitchen, study, utility room, and bedrooms for appliances plugged in but not in use.
• Unplug all those cellphone and other small appliance chargers that use electricity even when they’re not charging anything.
• Plug appliances such as TVs and DVD players into a power strip to make it easy to turn them off completely. Instead of pulling the plugs from the wall sockets, you simply turn off the power strip. This works especially well if your appliances have a battery backup that maintains your channel and clock settings even if the power’s off.
  
  
  
  
  
  Switching off electronics for the night before switching off yourself saves the planet.
  
  
  Make it someone’s job to check the house every night before bed, turning off every switch that doesn’t have to be on. Just about the only items you need to leave on overnight are the fridge and freezer, the heating system and hot water heater, and the alarm clock — unless you have a wind-up or battery-operated alarm.

The Impact of Saving Electricity in the Environment

At a time when global climate is changing at alarming and extreme rates, governments and organisations are calling on everyone to do their share of preserving the planet. This is not only to prevent calamities brought about by the abuse we have done to Mother Nature, but also to make sure that future generations will still be able to enjoy the beauty and gifts that this world has to offer. And what better way to help than to start saving electricity at home.

How can this contribute in preserving Mother Earth?

1. It helps conserve natural resources. Every citizen in the world is aware that electricity prices are constantly increasing. What a lot of people may not know is the reason for these hikes. Well, one of the most compelling causes is the depletion of the sources of electricity, including coal, oil, and gas.

2. It reduces carbon footprint. By opting to limit your home’s or office’s use of fossil products and utilising solar, geothermal, or hydro power instead, you are not only saving electrical energy, but also reducing greenhouse emission in the environment. As a result, there is less pollution.

According to the Hunter’s Hill Council, “using energy wisely in the home saves money and the environment”. So, if you want to start doing your own share, then use the multi-awarded EcoSwitch. For more information, check out the rest of the website.

Electrical Efficiency

In an electrical system, increasing either the current or the voltage will result in higher power. Let's say you have a system with a 6-volt light bulb hooked up to a 6-volt battery. The power output of the light bulb is 100 watts. Using the equation I = P/V, we can calculate how much current in amps would be required to get 100 watts out of this 6-volt bulb.

You know that P = 100 W, and V = 6 V. So you can rearrange the equation to solve for I and substitute in the numbers.

I = P/V or I = 100 W/6 V = 16.67 amps

What would happen if you use a 12-volt battery and a 12-volt light bulb to get 100 watts of power?

I = 100 W/12 V = 8.33 amps

So this system produces the same power, but with half the current. There is an advantage that comes from using less current to make the same amount of power. The resistance in electrical wires consumes power, and the power consumed increases as the current going through the wires increases. You can see how this happens by doing a little rearranging of the two equations. What you need is an equation for power in terms of resistance and current. Let's rearrange the first equation:

I = V/R can be restated as V = I*R

Now you can substitute the equation for V into the other equation:

P = V*I substituting for V we get P = I*R*I, or P = I2*R

What this equation tells you is that the power consumed by the wires increases if the resistance of the wires increases (for instance, if the wires get smaller or are made of a less conductive material). But it increases dramatically if the current going through the wires increases. So using a higher voltage to reduce the current can make electrical systems more efficient. The efficiency of electric motors also improves at higher voltages.

This improvement in efficiency is what is driving the automobile industry to adopt a higher voltage standard. Carmakers are moving toward a 42-volt electrical system from the current 12-volt electrical systems. The electrical demand on cars has been steadily increasing since the first cars were made. The first cars didn't even have electrical headlights; they used oil lanterns. Today cars have thousands of electrical circuits, and future cars will demand even more power. The change to 42 volts will help cars meet the greater electrical demand placed on them without having to increase the size of wires and generators to handle the greater current.