You must not be just a smart home buyer but also a smart home user. How? For starters, reduce your energy consumption. What are the consequences of excessive energy use? It can increase carbon footprint; worsen climate change; reduce the power supply and could cause higher energy costs, SFGate Home Guides explains. As a condo owner, your utmost concern is the last one. On the other hand, reduction in energy or power supply is the fear of the national government especially this coming elections. It is a nationwide threat, too.
This fear happened when National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) issued a red alert for the Luzon Grid from 1 pm to 3 pm on April 15, 2016 last Friday, based on a report in Manila Bulletin. Red alert means “the power demand is higher than the available supply,” Manila Bulletin says. But it was later lifted at 3:01 pm on the same day “due to sufficient regulating reserves.”
The red alert was lifted, right? Should we not be bothered anymore and just continue with the careless use of electricity? Spend more time inside an air conditioned room – that one inside the condo property in Quezon City you’ve bought for sale? Or continue the prolonged use of electric fans day and night 24/7? Absolutely not, despite the fact we’re experiencing intense summer heat due to El Niño, we should still be responsible from using every watt we juice from our power grids.
How can we go on a ‘diet’ with our power consumption? It is easy and you don’t have to spend a single centavo. Just follow the energy saving tips below:
How can we go on a ‘diet’ with our power consumption? It is easy and you don’t have to spend a single centavo. Just follow the energy saving tips below:
1. Pull the plug when not in use. Do you want ‘phantom load’ to sneak in and increase your electricity bills? Then make this a habit because even though the appliance is turned off it can still suck in watts. Plus, the ‘standby’ mode is a poisonous enemy of energy conservation.
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2. Dry your clothes outdoors. You can dry clothes faster thanks to the heat of the sun. You’ll also save 6% of a home’s total electricity usage from skipping the dryer, according to Consumer Energy Center of California Energy Commission. It’s also free sun bleaching to boot!
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3. Turn off the lights and fans when not in use, a tip from Energy Star. The same reason as the ‘phantom load’ and the heat the lights radiate can add to your discomfort.
4. Clean your fridge regularly. Defrost it at least once a week, vacuum its coils and make sure its door seals are airtight. Proper maintenance of your refrigerator extends its shelf life and prevents it from working harder.
5. Again with refrigerators—use them properly. What do we mean by the word ‘properly’? Don’t use it like an electric fan and spare the innocent fridge from your selfish desires, okay? According to Energy Star, “an open door allows warm, moist air in, which makes the compressor work harder.”
6. Another refrigerator energy-saving trick from Duke Energy. Always keep the freezer full as it uses less energy than an empty one, Duke Energy explains. You don’t need to stuff it with frozen goods. Load it with bottle filled with water which is a good thing because you will not run out of chilled drinks to cool you down.
7. Wash clothes in full load. Schedule your laundry to prevent wasting energy because a half load of dirty clothes uses the same power as a full load wash. In addition, use cold water when washing. Based on an article in Smithsonian, “it saves energy and money, and colors lasts longer and clothes retain their size and shape.”
