It’s time to bring the electricity usage down Photo eyeonmobility
South Africa – Last week Eskom called on citizens to look at other alternatives for electricity in order to place less pressure on the grid. While that may be as easy as purchasing solar panels, inverters and the like for some, not everyone can afford it. Not all hope is lost though because there are cost effective ways to reduce your electricity usage and save you some money.
Keep your geyser warm: Your geyser makes up for 40% of your energy bills. An easy way to save money and reduce your electricity bill is by insulating your geyser. Research has shown that you can save at least 300 kWh/year. With the price of electricity sitting at R2,37 per kWh, you can save around R711 every year. In less than six months, you’ll have paid back the money spent on your geyser blanket.
Switch to an eco shower head: It costs electricity to heat up the water you use in a shower. Eco or energy saving shower heads can reduce the flow of water to 7 litres per minute. It may not sound a lot but when you consider that average shower heads can use up to 15-20 litres per minute, that’s a lot. An eco shower head can save you anywhere between 873 kWh to 1 170 kWh per year. That is around R 2 069 to R3 000 a year.
Hop into the shower: This is a tricky one as it all depends on how long you shower for. An average bath uses around 100 to 150 litres of water depending how big the bath is. While the average shower uses around 90 litres for a 10 minute shower. By using less water, you use less electricity. If you install an eco shower head, you can drop your water usage significantly which will also reduce your electricity usage.
Switch to LEDs: Light emitting diodes (LEDs) use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. LED light bulbs use around 0.42 kWh per week if you keep them on for six hours a day. While a traditional light bulb will use around 2.42 kWh per week at the same rate. That’s roughly around 125 kWh per year while LEDs will use 21 kWh per year.
Using nature to cool your house: Many of us have aircons in our house and during the hot days, we put them on ‘full blast’. Depending on your make and model, an aircon can use between 1 to 3.5 kWh. A ceiling fan, in comparison, uses around 0.02 to 0.08 kWh. You can use that or alternatively use nature. Open your windows to allow fresh, cool air to cool your home or consider planting shrubs and trees outside your windows. It will be cheaper and the outside of your house will be beautiful.
Not all gas is bad: With the price of electricity skyrocketing, it’s time to think about switching to a gas stove. It takes about three times as much energy to produce and deliver electricity to your stove. Not to mention that chefs prefer a gas stove as they find it’s easier to control and cook the food better. So not only will the grid thank you but your guests will love your food.
Leave the kettle to one side: Once you have a gas stove, you can finally use it to boil water. Not only is it as efficient as boiling water in a kettle but it is cost effective as well. Gas is cheaper than electricity which means you will get a better cup of tea at half the price.
To further reduce the pressure on the grid, one can wash their clothes in cold water, turn off appliances when they are not in use and use energy efficient appliances. Even keeping a lid on your pot/pan when cooking will allow it to cook faster and use less electricity. By doing these simple things the pressure on the grid will be lighter and your wallet might get heavier.
