Energy bills top the list of our monthly expenditure besides rent and food. While an increase in fuel prices is the main contributor to the rise of electricity prices, wasteful devices such as electric woks and waffle makers are to blame. In the hands of an inexperienced chef, that can increase power consumption to astronomical levels, which is a concern. As such, as a homeowner, one of your objectives should be to lower power consumption as much as possible to lower your electric bills in the end. Home electronics make our lives easier in the kitchen or living room, and you can’t do without them.
That been so, how then can you ensure that you continue to use them daily but in an efficient manner? Apart from buying energy-saving electronics, there is much more than you can do to reduce the electric bill at home. Read on to learn more on how to lower power consumption by electronics.
Unplug Electronics When Not in Use
Most electronics have two modes of operation – powered and standby. In powered mode, they use electricity to generates heat for cooking or to make pictures that display on a screen. Such electrical appliances continue to draw some power when they are on standby mode, which adds to your bill over time. The simplest way to reduce power usage, therefore, is to have a habit of unplugging electronic appliances when not in use. Switch off the socket and remove its plug from the wall. This stops wastage by saving the power that you would otherwise have lost when the product is in standby mode. Plugging out electronics from the wall also maximizes safety. The risk of short-circuiting whenever power fluctuates is relatively low.
Use a Power Strip
Do you find it tedious to keep switching sockets on the wall or forgetting to turn off some sockets? The power strip is your best remedy. Whenever you plug all home electronics into one power strip, it enables you to cut off power to all devices at a go. This not only saves time and effort but also enables you to respond to emergencies quicker than unplugging one device at a time. In addition, most contemporary power strips have a remote switch that supports a hands-off operation. You can switch them on and off remotely with the touch of a button. As such, if you are looking to lower power consumption at home, this is one of the best remedies. They come in multiple sizes with multiple ports that support different electronic devices.
Combine Family Laundry
The laundry room contributes a significant chunk of the power used in the home, especially whenever you are using a dryer. As such, if you can streamline the usage of such devices, you will enjoy significant cost savings by lowering power use. Not everyone in the family loves to do laundry work. But if you want to save power and thus money for the family, you should pool clothes and wash a full load at once. The amount of power that a washing machine uses to clean say five pounds of clothes is almost the same as it would need to clean one pound of clothes. Therefore, if each family member uses a washing machine at different times, you lose a lot of power in the end due to underutilization. By reducing the frequency with which you do laundry at home, you will use the washer and dryer fewer times. This translates to significant power saving.
Utilize Solar Energy
Even if you have a dryer or washer/dryer combo, it’s also wise to avoid using it when the sun is shining bright. If you have open ground, drying your clothes out under the sun saves you electricity bills and time to do other household chores.
If you also wash dirty dishes using a machine, you can skip the drying cycle and dry your utensils with a napkin when you have the time. You can also install a rack in your kitchen and let them dry naturally, saving cash in the end. Similarly, leaving the dishwasher open to allow air drying of your utensils works.
Buying appliances with the highest star energy-saving label is a great idea. However, we have highlighted some measures that your household can use undertake to cut on energy usage. These include switching off from the main power supply when devices are not in use to optimal home appliances to prevent wastage. Utilize solar power if possible and let utensils such as cups and/or plates dry naturally, instead of using a dryer.