Save money by cutting down your electric bills

Ever gasped at the huge electric bills that seem to climb up constantly. Your electricity bill is a recurring expense which could bring a substantial saving in your monthly budgeting.

Make a good choice in lighting

Lighting contributes to nearly 30% of the consumption of electricity and if we work at improving the lighting in our homes we can achieve a fair bit of energy efficiency.

Florescent light consumes much lower electricity than the bulb.  The newer innovation is Compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) which looks like a white bulb. They are long lasting and about 5-6 times more energy efficient than the regular light bulbs. Thus, using them in place of bulbs can result in substantial energy savings.

According to Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) a 15-watt CFL produces the same amount of light as a 60-watt bulb.
BEE also rates CFLs with stars to show their energy efficiency. A 5 star rates CFL will gives out the best light per watt of electricity consumed.

Although a single CFL costs more initially, over the life of the bulb you actually save money. Here’s a comparison on the energy consumption to make you sit up and think before you buy a bulb again.

	CFL	Incandescent or Bulbs
Energy Input (watts)	13	60
Light Output (lumens)	810	830
Useful life (hours)	10,000	1,500
Electricity Used (kilowatt hours)	130	600

To make the most of the natural light available in your home, you need to know how to use it.

There are several ways to maximise your natural light. You can hang mirrors opposite windows. Take down unnecessary window dressings and replace with filmy materials, such as voile and muslin, to diffuse light. Trim trees or bushes that overshadow windows.

Cooling the bills

Cooling accounts for 11% of home energy usage, an Energy Star-rated cooling system can help reduce electric costs by hundreds of rupees. Don’t constantly move the thermostat up or down throughout the day because this wastes energy and money.

Consider setting the thermostat as high as comfortable in the summer.

Make sure your central air conditioning unit outside your home stays clean and free of debris.

Use ceiling fans to assist in cooling.  In the summer, blades should rotate counter-clockwise when viewed from below.

Make sure furniture and draperies are not blocking cooling outlets. Blocked outlets restrict air circulation, overwork the cooling equipment and increase operating costs.

The refrigerator

The refrigerator alone accounts for 7% of an average home’s total energy usage. What’s more, refrigeration efficiencies have come so far in recent years that anyone with a unit more than five years old should consider investing in a new refrigerator.

Defrost food in your refrigerator, this helps cool the refrigerator, easing energy requirements, and it is better for the food than defrosting in room temperature.  Keep refrigerator full so that it is cooling less open space (water jugs make good fillers).

This article has been written by me for MoneyLife magazine