Electricity saving tips

Here are basic and easy to do electricity saving tips which will cut your electricity bill and save you money in the long run. Electricity is measured in watts and the higher the watt rating of appliances the more electricity it uses. Our homes are full of appliances that use electricity every day even when we are not at home or making use of the appliances, by leaving them on standby these appliances use more electricity than we though.

There are many appliances that use power that we normally leave on standby such as:

• Battery and phone chargers
• Microwaves
• Computers
• TV's
• DVD players
• Decoders
• Game consoles

Another thing to keep in mind when purchasing appliances is the energy efficiency rating that is rated from A, the most efficient, to G which is the least efficient.

Listed below are examples of how to save electricity and in the end money in the house.

In the Kitchen:

• By keeping the lid on the pot while cooking you conserve heat and energy and the pot size should match the stove plate buy doing this you can save up to 20% on electricity used for cooking.
• Do not leave the fridge door open while you take items out, close it each time and make sure the door seals properly.
• Do not defrost food in the microwave, instead leave your food in the fridge to defrost.
• Keep the oven door closed until the food is cooked.
• Boil only the water you need instead of boiling a full kettle each time.
• Soak beans, peas and other dry foods over night which will save on cooking time.
• Use the kettle to boil water for cooking instead of a pot on the stove.
• Use a microwave to cook as often as possible.
• Wash a full load of washing at a time and dry cloths on the line when the weather allows it.
• Do not place hot food in the fridge or freezer, allow it to cool first.
• Do not place the refrigerator near the oven.

Through the rest of the house:

• Close the windows and doors when making use of the heater.
• Do not leave the radio on when you are not listening.
• Replace as many as possible light bulbs with energy saving bulbs.
• Do not leave lights burning unnecessary and use natural light for as long as possible.
• Reduce your geyser temperature so that you don’t have to add allot of cold water to your shower, bath or dishwashing water.
• Insulate your geyser
• Switch the TV completely off and not on standby which uses 50% of the power it would use when the TV is on.
• Switch off the computer and the monitor, do not leave it on standby. With the waisted electricity you could have made 800 A4 copies.
• Shower instead of taking a bath for you use less water which means the geyser works less.
• Draw the curtains early for it helps to retain the heat.