subject: How To Decrease Your Energy Utilisation And Save Money [print this page] If you are like me you probably would like to reduce the size of your energy bills. After all the less energy we consume the less we pay. However there is also another reason I would like to reduce my energy consumption and that is to reduce my energy storage requirements when I finally go off the grid. And so today I would like to discuss ways to reduce our energy consumption.
The world is faced with an energy crisis now and none of us remain unaffected anymore. I personally think that this crisis is artificial in order to force up the prices of energy and to exert control over us.
I don't think that we can expect anything from governments expect lip service. Government is more often than not part of the problem; for instance to tax component for a liter of diesel in the UK is 65%. The higher the price per liter of fuel the more money enters government coffers.
In the end it up to each of us to resolve to decrease our energy requirements and ultimately produce our own electricity to power our homes.
It costs me on average 45.00 to fill up my car on a weekly basis. This means that my weekly contribution to government coffers is 29.25, which comes to 351.00. With three cars at home, as a family we contribute around 1053.00 to government coffers to get to work.
I will definitely get an electric car once they no longer cost the earth and have become more effective by being able to travel greater distances than they are currently able to without the frequent need for recharging the batteries. Who knows we may even have cars that recharge themselves with solar cells incorporated in the body of the car.
But what happens to our energy tax contribution to government coffers if this were the case. It probably explains their plan to try to charge us for every mile we drive instead of charging us road tax.
So what can we do, if anything, to reduce our current level of energy requirements?
There are some relatively easy steps can be taken to reduce our energy needs. However, we do need to consider the benefit of carrying out such energy saving measures. After all what good are they to you if you land up paying more than what you are already paying.
One must balance the cost to benefit requirements for each element of our energy reduction programme.
Quite a few cost saving measures mentioned below are associated to standby power. Standby power is also known as vampire power, vampire draw, phantom load, or leaking electricity, and refers to electric power consumed by electronic appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode.
So let us look at how you can save power at home.
Computers:
At the very least you should set the power settings on your computer to automatically go into Sleep or Standby mode after 15 minutes or so of inactivity. I adjust the power setting according to what I am doing after all if I am watching a movie I don't want the computer to decide that it should go into sleep mode just because I haven't touched my mouse or keyboard for 15 minutes.
Turn your computer and its monitor off when you're done for the day.
If you use a desktop, use an LCD monitor. They use lots less energy than CRT's.
You could always use a power strip so that you can easily turn off all your computer accessories at once.
I personally turn off my laptop along with all accessories off at the wall switch when I'm done for the day. As everything is connected together through a power strip I know that everything is switched off at the same time.
Air Conditioner:
Depending on the season set the minimum or maximum temperature to what you are comfortable with. The operative word here is comfortable.
Try not to set it at too high or too low temperatures.
Setting the air conditioner at reasonable temperatures will help you save quite a bit of energy.
Unfortunately for me, in our house, I've got to keep checking our thermostat as our teenagers keep changing the temperature levels to what they feel is right for them.
Washing Machines:
Minimize the number of washes by washing full load of clothes every time. Also, if washing machine packs up you could buy a new machine with a better energy rating than your old one had.
You could also try to wash your clothing at a lower temperature setting or on a reduced wash cycle.
Television:
When not in use switch your television off at the wall plug. This may not sound a big deal but this tiny step will help save power.
Power adapters:
Power adapters are very common "electricity vampires" as they have no power-off switches. These include mobile telephone chargers, electric toothbrush chargers and the like. I am positive that you have touched an adapter that, while not in use was nevertheless plugged in at the wall socket, and found that it was warm to the touch. Switch them off at the wall plug. Better yet, keep them unplugged until you need them.
Geysers:
Keep the geyser thermostat at the minimum heat. You do not need to heat the water at a very high temperature or for too long.
Refrigerators and freezers:
Bring hot food to room temperatures before putting it into the refrigerator. You can also save power by taking cold or frozen food out of the refrigerator much before the mealtime, thereby saving power in heating it.
Car:
For an air-conditioner equipped car, pull up the windows of your car before switching on the air-conditioner.
And finally:
You could save on your energy bills by generating your own power at home through the use of solar and wind energy or zero point magnetic power generator to reduce or eliminate your power bill. Get yourself a good guide to build your own home micro power plant.
