Saving on Electricity Cost at Home
Nowadays, most homes have both parents working. But in the light of the continuing inflation, homes sustained by people with fixed incomes certainly also experience a continuing shrinkage in buying power. And yet the budgeting concern at home does not only revolve around the inflation rate.
One area that is quite a burden in the home budget is electricity consumption. It’s already a heavy cost as it was. The increases in the price of power that the power company imposes every so often make it all the more heavier.
Though we have LPG, fuel and even charcoal as other sources of domestic energy, electricity remains the most viable. In the Philippines, electricity is the most common source of energy consumed, according to the Household Energy Consumption Survey. Yearly, millions of households use electricity, consuming thousands of gigawatt hours.
Despite being a third world country, the Philippines has one of the most expensive rates in electricity. In other countries, a 2,000-square-foot apartment would consume around $60 to $70 bill per month. In the Philippines, it is roughly around $450 – or around P18,000. In Metro Manila, an 85-square-meter apartment consumes an average of P4,840 monthly in electricity.
Why electricity in the Philippines costs that much, there are reportedly a number of factors involved. In Metro Manila, for example, the shutdown of the Malampaya system during its maintenance periods and the shutdown of a number of power plants are two of the factors. In these events, Meralco would have to make use of alternative and more expensive sources of energy to produce electricity.
The high power rate may be outside of anyone’s control, there must be ways for consumers to keep their power cost to a minimum. Improve on your home’s airflow and insulation.
One of the reasons why people spend so much money on air-conditioning is because of the non-efficient design of their homes. If you are going to decrease the electricity consumption of your air-conditioning unit, you want to have proper insulation within your home. For instance, what is the material of your ceiling? If you are using plywood, keep in mind that the heat from your roof is easily transferred to the plywood’s thin material. For some households, these provide added insulation to allow the room to heat slower.
For those who want to make things right from the beginning of the construction phase, what about trying on some gypsum board? From the ceiling walls, the thick material of gypsum has the ability to prevent heat reaching the main floor. Also, this can also be a fire preventive addition to your home. The height of your ceiling should also be a factor. Remember that a lower ceiling height would mean heat to reach the floor easier. Always check the energy rating of appliances before buying.
Modern homes enjoy a great number of appliances. For manufacturers of appliances, they are now prioritizing the energy efficiency. Given the issue of climate change, coupled with the desire of homeowners to save money on their appliance usage, though energy efficient appliances are more expensive, these are still a more practical option in the long run. For instance, do you know that 11 percent of your monthly electrical bill came from your fridge? What if you could decrease its energy consumption? Habits in ironing the clothes.
Ironing your clothes together at once every week can help you save some money. The electric iron consumes more energy when you are starting it, so better take advantage by ironing a bulk of clothes rather than do only one or two pieces every time and heat the electric iron up each time. Another method that you could use is to use fabric softeners. Fabric softeners allow you to just wash and dry your clothes. This way, you decrease the piles of clothes that you have to iron, not only decreasing the workload, but also decreasing the bill. Timer to shut down air conditioning unit.
When is the best time to use the air-conditioning unit in your room? Most people only use the air conditioning unit at night to fall asleep comfortably. Why not turn off the air-conditioner an hour before you wake up? Most airconditioning units today have timers which you could set to how many hours should the appliance run. An hour without air-conditioning still allows you to enjoy a cool room. If you use the air-conditioning unit every night, and go for this option, you could save as much as 30 hours worth of electricity every month. Motion sensors.
One of the most common things that happen inside the house is that we walk into a room and turn on the light, only forgetting to shut it off on our way out. If you have a walk in closet, just imagine the lights being turned on the whole time? For some offices, they install motion sensors in rooms that people rarely go to. These devices shut off the lights automatically when no motion is detected for a while – meaning there is no one in the room. Lighting options.
Another way to save money on electric bills is to use LED lights instead of incandescent bulbs. Incandescent bulbs are not energy efficient, not to mention they don’t last that long. LED lights last up to 10 times longer than the incandescent bulbs, and it doesn’t produce heat that much. Use curtains and tinted windows.
If you want to keep the heat to a minimum inside the house, which would eventually decrease your airconditioner and electric fan use, then perhaps you would want to have your windows tinted. If you don’t want a permanent fix on your window, then a curtain will also be a good alternative. Thick and dark colored window curtains prevent the heat from penetrating inside the room. Cooking with an Induction Cooker.
Imagine cooking more efficiently with electricity, where heat is transferred directly to kitchenware without any waste. You save money on gas bills and it is safer to use since there are no open fires involved in the cooking. Taller fridge means less efficiency.
Cold air goes down, while the hot air goes up. This concept explains why the box type fridge is more efficient than the taller ones. If you have a box type fridge, this provides better air flow in your fridge. If you can’t help but settle for tall refrigerators, it is a good idea that you turn to organizing the food properly in order to have the proper air flow. Also, don’t place meals that are still hot inside the fridge. Save money on your computer’s electrical consumption.
How many hours do you spend on PCs and laptops? It is a habit of many computer users to not turn off the other hardware when it is not in use. From the printers to the scanner, these are just some of the things that people don’t turn off when not in use. This contributes to electricity consumption, not to mention the wear and tear of gadgets. For the laptops and PCs, it is also a good idea to keep the computer on “hibernate” mode if you just want a fiveminute breather from the work that you are doing. Charge gadgets efficiently.
Whether it is your tablet or your cell phone, you want to make sure that you only charge the gadgets when the battery is already critically low. This allows you to not consume electricity every now and then. This avoids you from plugging the charger even if there is still sufficient energy on your device. Also, remember to always unplug the charger once you are done. A charger that is plugged in is still consuming electricity, regardless if it is charging a device or not. Aside from using the chargers in a more efficient manner, you can also check the chargers operated by solar cells. As long as you have light, you can already charge your phone through these accessories. Regularly monitoring of your electric meter.
It is important to know whether you are already consuming more than your average electrical consumption. Also, keep in mind that even if you have the same consumption as the previous month, the current rate still plays a great role in how much you are paying at the end of the month. The first thing that you need to know is to learn how to read an electric meter. If you have two or three electric meters in your home, try to have a separate sheet for each of them and monitor them separately. The cost of electricity has a different rate as your consumption spikes up. Another tip in this regard is to record your monthly bill. And third, you have to be updated of the current electricity rate.
It is possible to keep your electricity bill down. With smart planning and cost-saving consciousness, it is possible to be spared somewhat from the rising cost of utilities, particularly that of electricity bills. You may not have to purchase products sold in the market that claim to decrease your electrical consumption. You can reduce electricity cost on your own.