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.

Saving Tips for your Geyser:

• Install a geyser blanket.
• Turn down the thermostat to 50-60 degrees C.
• Insulate at least the first 2m, preferably the first 4m, of hot water outlet.
• Install a Solar Water Heater.

Lighting: 

• Use compact fluorescent lights lamps (CFL) instead of ordinary incandescent bulbs. 
• CFL’s use less energy and can last about 10 times longer.
• Switch lights off when not in a room.
• Use low-energy lighting for exterior areas.
• Try do not install multiple lights on a single switch.

Electric stove: 

• Use a pressure cooker when preparing foods that take a long time to cook.
• Buy a stove with a convection oven, more efficient.
• Keep oven doors closed until food is cooked.
• Bring foods to the boil on ''high'' setting and then turn down to simmer until cooked.

Refrigerator: 

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• Don't open the door unnecessarily,
• Check that seals on the door are intact.
• Turn off empty refrigerators when going on holiday.
• Let hot food cool down before placing them in the fridge.
• Defrost your fridge regularly.
• Store foods apart on refrigerator shelves to allow for efferent cooling.

Heaters:

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• Infrared heaters are very efficient.
• Oil filled heaters are the safest type of heaters.
• Use electric blankets, but turn them off when in bed.

Space heating: 

• use the correct heaters, 
• Insulate the ceiling and seal air gaps in the home.
• Use double glazing.

Dishwasher:

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• Fill the dishwasher completely before turning it on.
• Turn the washer off before the drying cycle and dry the dishes by hand.
• Clean the filters regularly.

Freezers: 

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• Freezers work harder to remove heat and therefore use more power.
• Only one-tenth of a freezer's capacity should be used for freezing.
• Defrost regularly.

Microwave ovens: 

• Defrost food in the refrigerator instead of the microwave oven-it is more economical.
• Use a microwave oven to cook small to medium quantities of food.
• To cook larger portions of food, it is better to use a conventional oven.
• Compare cooking times (keep the pressure cooker in mind).

Small appliances: 

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• Use toasters, electric grills and skillets, slow cookers, electric pots and bottle warmers which usually require less energy than the stove.
• Use an electric kettle to boil water, not a saucepan or the microwave oven.

Automatic washing machine:

• Purchase energy efficient appliances where possible.
• A front loading washing machine uses less water and costs less to operate.
• Use the warm water setting to cut down on energy needed to heat the water.
• Make sure your load is full before washing.

Tumble dryers: 

• Don’t use the dryer if possible.
• Dryers with an electronic humidity control are the most efficient.
• Compact dryers are more economical. 
• Use correct temperature settings to minimise the electricity used. 
• Utilize sunny days for drying clothes outside.

Ironing: 

• Use a thermostatically controlled iron. 
• switch the iron off once it has reached the correct temperature and complete the ironing on stored energy, 
• turn the iron off when you are not using it,
• iron low temperature fabrics first to reduce warm-up time

Insulation: 

• insulate the ceiling cavities,
• Seal air gaps around the home.
• Make use of the home's material (such as concrete, brick and tiles) to adjust temperatures instead of using a heater or cooling appliances (for example: a concrete floor absorbs more heat than a floor covered by carpeting).

Try implement as many of these as you can and see the difference it makes, the next step in your energy conservation is looking to using Solar Water heaters and Renewable Energy Systems. These are fast becoming more viable. See next Month for Renewable Energy Systems…

---