Making your home power efficient
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A bimonthly consumption of 600-800 units is an optimum level for a typical Indian middle class household and energy saving measures will scale it down further.
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Studies indicate that households consume more than 40 percent of the total energy generated. Most equipment and devices at home consume energy. But rarely are we aware as to how much energy they consume and how it can be reduced. An understanding of the main household energy guzzlers and how they can be more energy-efficient is vital both in our interest as well as in the interest of the environment.
All our equipments from lamps to heaters are marked by the amount of energy they consume for very hour of usage. The electrical energy consumed per hour by any appliance is specified in Watts (W). 1000 W is equal to 1 kilowatt (1 kW), which is nothing but one unit of consumption. The Electricity Board charges us based on the units consumed.
In a summer month a normal household consumes on an average about 526 units a month . In a winter month, the same household consumes about 282 units. A break-up of this shows that bulk of the consumption in summer is in the usage of air-conditioners. It works out to about 53 per cent followed by fans and refrigerators, which are about 11 per cent each. Television and lights each consume about 8 per cent of the total energy. A 4-hour usage of computer consumes another 4 per cent. It is evident that usage of the air-conditioner is the main source of energy consumption. On a winter day, when no air-conditioner is used, the fans consume the maximum energy and the refrigerator is the next biggest consumer of energy at 18 per cent. Water heaters and TV each consume about 17per cent energy and the lights at our household consume around 15 per cent energy.
Obviously, the lower your electrical consumption, the lesser is your electricity bill.
Saving energy at home is fairly simple; it just requires us to adopt some of the guidelines indicated below:
Air conditioners:
Use leak proof doors and windows and seal all openings in an air-conditioned room to avoid leakage of cold air, thereby improving the efficiency of the air conditioner. Regular cleaning of A.C filters (at least once a month) also improves the unit efficiency and reduces power consumption. In case the room to be conditioned has an exposed roof, then under deck insulation for the room is highly recommended to reduce the heat transmission from the roof slab. Set your air-conditioner thermostat to 25 Deg C or higher. For every degree you raise your thermostat setting above 22 Deg C, you can save up to 5-7% on your cooling costs.
Refrigerators
Defrost the refrigerator once the ice gets more than quarter inch thick. Regular defrosting helps reduce the power consumption. Avoid placing the refrigerator near any heat source and locate the refrigerator at least 200mm away from the wall. Ensure that the refrigerator door is airtight to prevent leakage. Ideally, set your refrigerator temperature at 2.2 Deg. C. and your freezer temperature at -15 Deg. C. for energy-efficient operation.
Fans
Replace conventional fans with energy efficient fans. Use electronic regulators instead of electromagnetic regulators. Lubricate fan motor bearings periodically and clean fan blades regularly.
Lights
Replace T12 or T10 fluorescent tubes with T8 or T5 energy efficient fluorescent tubes, which are more than 10 to 30 per cent energy efficient. Use compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) which are 70 to 80 per cent more energy efficient instead of incandescent light bulbs. Replacing electromagnetic ballasts with electronic ballasts in tube lights reduces the energy consumption by around 20 to 30 per cent. Utilise energy efficient 36W slim tubes instead of 40W tubes. Reduce the wattage of bulbs in areas where less lighting is needed such as toilets, store rooms etc.
Water heaters
Lower the thermostat on your water heater since most factory settings of water heaters are at higher temperatures. A setting of 120°F provides comfortable hot water.
DEEPA SATHIARAM
JUZER S. KOTHARI
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