Eskom’s alarming, annually increasing electricity and energy prices are forcing South Africans to take a long, hard look at how electricity is consumed by al the gadgets and appliances in their households. Here are a few electricity and cost cutting tips that may help…
Electricity costs
Most South African consumers are appalled at the rising costs of electricity and energy. Prices have doubled since NERSA approved Eskom’s Multi-Year Price Determination 2) (MYPD2) increases in 2010 as well as the long dreaded “residential inclining block tariff structure” which, in simple terms, boils down to: the more electricity you use the higher your tariff.
Fortunately there are a number of things you can do to reduce your electricity usage. Start by monitoring your own home electricity consumption and costs.
Just to give you an idea; South African households, on average, use most of their monthly electricity on heating water for the geyser, followed by space heating and cooling, lighting, household gadgets and appliances and consumer electronics. Shockingly, the electronics gobble up 15% of your monthly electricity usage when left on “standby”.
Calculating your electricity usage
To calculate the monthly cost of each of your appliances, use the following formula provided by ESKOM:
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- Appliance electrical rating in kW x Hours per day x Days per month x Cost per kWh (please note that cost per kWh can differ depending upon the tariff charged by your electricity provider such as Eskom or municipality in your area). All electrical appliances have the wattage listed somewhere on the appliance.
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- Bills are figured on your use of kilowatt hours (1 kilowatt hour (kWh) = 1000W or 1kW working for one hour).
Electricity and energy saving tips
Once you have established how electricity is being used in your own home, you will be able to figure out how to save electricity and, in the long run, money too. Here are a few suggestions.
Geysers
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- Set the thermostat of electrical geysers at 55 degrees C. Insulate both the pipes and geyser well (use a geyser blanket) to retain heat and save up to 27% in consumption. Do not use geyser blankets on oil or gas fired tanks.
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- Install a geyser timer on your DB board to control the time and electricity used when your geyser witches on and off (approximately 15 to 30 times per day).
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- If you have multiple geysers, switch off the one not in constant use, for example in the guest room or bathroom.
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- Invest in a solar water heater (SWH) and save up to 50% on your electricity bill.
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- Install a tankless or “on demand” hot water unit.
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- Encourage your family to rather take showers than baths. Showers use half the energy (and water) a hot bath uses depending, of course, on how long the shower takes! Buy water saving shower heads and clean them regularly.
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- Remember to turn off the geyser when going on holiday.
Heating and cooling
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- Do as our grandmothers did and close curtains, blinds and shutters to keep the house cool during hot weather and vice versa during the cold, winter months.
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- Use ceiling or portable fans that may use approximately 100 watts per hour instead of expensive central air conditioning that can demand up to 1500 watts of electricity per hour.
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- If air conditioning is your only option, try to raise the thermostat setting by a couple of degrees during hot weather and slightly turn down the setting during colder weather. With some luck nobody will notice and you may save from 6 to 15% in electricity costs. Also remember that turning the air conditioning down to 18 to 19 degrees Celsius provides no extra cooling but only wastes electricity and money.
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- Other air conditioning options, though costly up front, include installing a heat pump system that can reduce costs by up to 30% or a solar powered absorption chiller system or evaporative cooling units.
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- Using solar hot water for under-floor heating is also more economical than using electricity.
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- Make sure your house is properly insulated, especially the ceilings, and also seal any other air gaps (doors and windows) to reduce draughts.
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- Appliances such as heaters demand a lot of electricity. A space heater may easily use 1500 watts per hour while a panel, gas or temperature-controlled oil heater will be more economical. Use an electric blanket instead of heating up a whole bedroom. Turn your blanket on just before you go to bed and then turn it off when in bed.
Lighting
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- Making use of natural light as far as possible is a clever and affordable way to save electricity. It is also softer on the eye than artificial light. Make use of energy saving skylights to improve the light and air quality in your home, help prevent mould and mildew growing. Paint the walls of your home a light colour because dark colours absorb light and need more artificial light to brighten up a room.
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- Switch lights off when they are not needed and use energy saving compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) instead of ordinary bulbs to reduce energy use by up to 80%. A 13 watt compact florescent bulb is equal to a 60 watt bulb, saving you 47 watts. New LED lights (light-emitting diodes) are even more efficient. Dimming switches also reduce electricity consumption.
Dishwashers
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- Your dishwasher can use 1200 to 1500 watts per hour, So, wait until the dishwasher is full before you switch it on and where possible either use the economy programme or turn the machine off before the drying cycle starts to let the dishes air dry.
Automatic washing machines
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- Make sure you have a full load before turning on your washing machine. Select the shortest possible programme and skip the pre-wash cycle where possible.
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- A cold water wash will obviously reduce electricity consumption (90% of the cost goes towards heating the water) but, if you absolutely must, wash bed linen etc at no more than 60 degrees Celsius.
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- A front loader uses less water and costs less to operate than a top loader.
Tumble dryers
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- Buy an energy efficient tumble dryer and preferably one that operates with an electronic humidity control to automatically shut down the machine when clothes are dry.
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- Use the correct temperature setting to help save electricity if you do not have damp/dry sensors and remove clothes when still slightly damp. Dry outside or on drying racks and eliminate the necessity of ironing.
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- Make sure washing is relatively dry and not dripping water before inserting.
Stoves
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- Although the general opinion is that gas is better for cooking, some experts claim that more energy is wasted when cooking with gas. Also, in South Africa gas is more expensive compared to electricity. On the other hand, gas is a great help during electricity blackouts.
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- As heating an oven can draw up to 3000 watts per hour, it makes sense to limit its use. Do not preheat the oven except when absolutely necessary and keep the oven door shut. Also, switch off the plates or oven before food is fully cooked; it will stay hot for 15 to 30 minutes after it is turned off. Use the free heat to warm up other food or to clean the oven.
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- Use pressure cookers for food that takes a long time to cook and your microwave oven (75% less energy) to cook small to medium quantities of food. It is, however, cheaper to defrost food in the refrigerator overnight than to use your microwave.
Refrigerators and freezers
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- Depending on size, fridges may use between 1200-1411 watt hours per day and freezers 1080 to 1240.
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- Don’t open the fridge/freezer door unnecessarily and make sure it seals tightly.
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- Don’t place hot food in the fridge/freezer; let it cool down first.
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- Defrost the fridge/freezer regularly to prevent ice building up.
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- Do not install any appliances that generate heat such as dishwashers and tumble dryers near your fridge/freezer as the heat and moisture generated will force the refrigerator to work harder and use more electricity to keep cool.
Other electricity drainers
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- Kettles draw a lot of electricity because they are used so frequently. Boil small quantities of water at a time or fill the kettle once and keep the water not used in a flask.
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- Wasting water wastes electricity. Why? Because supplying water and cleaning it up after it’s been used needs vast amounts of electricity!
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- Operate swimming pool filter pumps for minimum periods; 6 hours in summer and 4 in winter to save up to 10% on your electricity account.
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- Transformers, TVs, DVDs, music systems, computers and phone chargers left on “stand-by” continue to use almost as much electricity as when they are switched on; turn off at the wall plug/socket when not in use.
Implementing the abovementioned should result in a measurable decline in your electricity usage and, hopefully, a much lower electricity account each month!
Sources
Electricity. Retrieved from: http://www.sustainablehomedesign.co.za/electricity/electricity.html
Energy saving tips. Retrieved from: https://www.capetown.gov.za/en/EnvironmentalResourceManagement/tips/Pages/EnergySavingTips.aspx
Miffen, M. Saving energy: practical energy conservation tips. Retrieved from: http://housewares.about.com/od/homeessentials/a/energysavetips_2.htm
Operating costs of household appliances. 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.cornhusker-power.com/householdappliances.asp
Practical hints for saving electricity. 2013. Retrieved from: http://www.eskom.co.za/AboutElectricity/FactsFigures/Documents/DSM_0001PractHintSavElecRev10.pdf
What’s in store for 2014? Retrieved from: http://savingenergy.co.za/