Energy Efficiency

A compact fluorescent light used in place of conventaional bulbs. © Sustainable Living Projects.

To begin with, it is important to be aware of the fact that because you are being energy efficient does not mean your home lifestyle will be worse off. The smart use of electricity in the home gives you better value for your money.

How we can save electricity in and around the home

The following are fantastic ideas and solutions for creating a more Energy Efficient Home.

Hot water cylinder: 

Did you know?

• It takes a 3kW, 150l hot water cylinder (HWC), element to heat the water from 20 ºC to 65 ºC approximately 2hrs 40mins and uses about 7kWh of electricity.  At an average cost of 35c/kWh this amounts to R 2.74.
• To heat 150l of water by 45 ºC (from 20 ºC to 65 ºC) with a 9kW HWC element will cost the same as with a 3kW HWC element. The 9kW element will just take a third of the time the 3kW element would take.
• With a standard HWC and 4 metres of hot water pipe, the losses amount to R40.12 per month. This is the cost to have hot water on standby.
• A horizontal HWC has more losses than the same volume in a vertical HWC.
• The average losses, in a geyser and 4 metres of hot water pipe, for a thermostat setting of  70°C is 3.8kWh per day and that of a thermostat setting of 60°C is 3.0kWh per day.
• By lowering the thermostat setting you can achieve a difference in losses of 0.763kWh per day, or R8.01 per 30-day month.
• To put this saving value into perspective, we can use a family consuming 1 200 kWh per month. The saving on the monthly account is then only 1.9%. The higher the monthly consumption, the lower the percentage saving will be.
• On average, the HWC consumes 40% of the total home's consumption. The lowering of the temperature, from 70°C to 60°C reduces the cost of supplying hot water with 4.8%.
• If you install an additional layer of insulation (50mm insulation for example) around the cylinder and pipes, the losses can be reduced by 51.2%, without reducing the thermostat temperature. This is R18.08, or 4.9%, per month of the sample family's account of 1 200kWh per month.
• This reduces the cost of supplying hot water (40% of total consumption) to only 12.2%.
• NO gadget, or additional control or anything else can save more than additional insulation.
• To reduce hot water consumption one can make use of low-flow showerheads, self-closing hot water taps or mixing valves and flow restrictors and aerators on taps.
  
  << Start < Prev 1 2 3 Next > End >>