Ways to Save Electricity
Ways To Save Electricity
Find out how you can save electricity in your home - help the environment and save money.
energy efficiency | general
Every year
electricity gets more and more expensive. Read on to find out how you can save electricity and money with this handy selection of energy saving tips.
Electricity Usage Monitors
The basic figures contained within a monthly or quarterly
electricity bill do not give you much information as to where your electricity is going - they just tell you how much you have used in total during that period. Therefore it is well worth considering purchasing an
electricity usage monitor and using it to see exactly where all your hard-earned money is going.
One great way to find out
how much electricity each of your household appliances and electronic devices uses is with a
Power/Energy Meter (pictured above) available from the
REUK Shop.
Alternatively consider investing in an
Electrisave Energy Monitor (pictured above) which shows you exactly how much money your total home or office electricity usage is costing you - in real time. (
Enter discount code REUK to receive an £11 discount on purchase price at electrisave.co.uk website.)
Saving Electricity Tips
1. Turn off your television, video, hifi, playstation, and other entertainment devices when they are not being used.
2. Do not leave your television etc in
standby mode. Devices can use up to 90% as much power in standby mode as when they are on, so it is a serious waste of energy when a device is left constantly on standby. If you keep forgetting, consider purchasing a
PowerSafer - a device which automatically cuts power to appliances when they go into standby mode.
3. Replace all of your inefficient
incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient
CFL bulbs. Replace
halogen spotlights with much more efficient and longer lasting
LED Spotlights.
4. Hang your clothes out to dry rather than using an electric drier.
5. Cook many items at the same time when your electric oven is hot.
6. Use a
microwave to reheat food or to cook small portions. Although a microwave uses a lot of power, it does so over a very short time and so saves energy overall.
7. Turn down your heating system. For every degree you lower your heat between 60° and 70° F you can save up to 5% on your heating bill. Wear an extra layer of clothing in the house so that you stay warm. Turn down individual radiators - for example, 16°-18° is warm enough for bedrooms whereas 20°-22°C is more comfortable in bathrooms. Rooms that are rarely used can have their heating turned all the way down or off.
8. Purchase
energy efficient white goods (washing machines, tumble driers, fridges etc). Although they usually cost a little more initially, the cost savings in electricity will cover that many times over. As an added benefit, efficient items are usually better made and last longer than inefficient models.
9. Vacuum clean the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge freezer. Accumulated dust reduces their efficiency by up to 25% adding that cost to your electricity bill.
10. Keep your fridge full, but not so full that air cannot circulate properly.
11. Fold clothes straight out of the tumble drier while they are still warm to save on ironing.
12. Cool cooked food before you put it into the fridge.
13. Do not put uncovered liquids into the fridge. Their evaporation will make the fridge have to work harder.
14. Heat only as much water as you require for drinks and cooking. If you keep forgetting, purchase an
energy efficient eco kettle.
15. Use a convection oven. A small fan inside circulates hot air throughout the oven cutting cooking times by up to 30%.
16. Don't preheat the oven for roasting.
17. Don't keep opening the oven door. Every time you do so, your oven loses 20°C of heat.
18. Put lamps in the corner of a room so that the light is reflected off two walls.
Article Last Modified: 12:50, 1st Jun 2007Comment on this Article
If you have any comments on this article, please email them to
neil@reuk.co.uk.
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