How to Shrink Your Electricity Bill

Have you ever wondered what constitutes the most in your electricity bill? What is the dominant factor that can shoot it up? Have you asked yourself why you always pay more for this bill compared to other people? Is it because of your consumption pattern? or your appliances problem? or due to any unknown factors?

In general, the appliances which consume the most electricity is the ones related to heat or temperature. The appliances that belong to this group are air-conditioner, water heater, refrigerator, and so on.

To further explain and illustrate it, let us take a look on an article published in StraitsTimes some time ago.

SHRINKING YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL

LIGHTS
power consumption: 40W(in use)
cost per month: $9
usage including standby cost: 5 hrs a day, 5 lights

How to save
energy-saving models use at least 66% less energy
savings per month: $6


REFRIGERATOR
power consumption: 200W
cost per month: $27.22
usage including standby cost: 24 hrs a day

How to save
buy energy-saving model
savings per month: $5.44


LCD/PLASMA TV
power consumption: 200W
cost per month: $2.91
usage including standby cost: 2.5 hrs a day

How to save
unplug when not in use
savings per month: $0.64


WASHING MACHINE
power consumption: 300W
cost per month: $4.03
usage including standby cost: 2 hrs a day

How to save
buy energy-saving model
savings per month: $2.01


PERSONAL COMPUTER
power consumption: 350W
cost per month: $4.74
usage including standby cost: 2 hrs a day

How to save
unplug when not in use
savings per month: $0.79


AIRPOT (AUTOMATIC BOILING KETTLE)
power consumption: 700W
cost per month: $51.60
usage including standby cost: 12 hrs a day

How to save
unplug when not in use
savings per month: $25.80


AIR-CONDITIONER
power consumption: 750W (Single-split)
cost per month: $25.49
usage including standby cost: 6 hrs a day

How to save
energy-saving models use about 10% less energy
savings per month: $2.03


MICROWAVE OVEN
power consumption: 1350W
cost per month: $8.42
usage including standby cost: 1 hr a day

How to save
unplug when not in use
savings per month: $0.81


DRYER
power consumption: 1800W
cost per month: $10.15
usage including standby cost: 1 hr a day

How to save
energy-saving models use about 10% less energy
savings per month: $1.52


WATER HEATER
power consumption: 2000W
cost per month: $22.68
usage including standby cost: 2 hrs a day

How to save
energy-saving models use about 10% less energy
savings per month: $2.64


CALCULATION
Total Monthly bill: $166.24
Total Savings: $47.68

As an information, all the cost shown above is in Singapore Dollar.

For the above illustration, it can be seen that all appliances that are used to change temperature consume power the most. So, the next question is how to shrink this electricity bill. Well, don't worry. In the article, we can also find some tips that show us how to save energy.


TOP ENERGY-SAVING TIPS
Here are some easy ways you can ease up on energy use while continuing to enjoy creature comforts.

Air-conditioner

1. Use a fan instead of an air-conditioner.
An air-conditioner uses up to 10 times more energy than a fan.
2. If you really must turn on the air-conditioner, set the temperature at 25 deg C.
This is the optimum temperature which allows for maximum cooling at minimum cost.
3. Get air-conditioner units serviced regularly.
More energy is needed to cool a room through dirty air-conditioner filters.
4. Install shades, blinds or fit solar-control film on your windows to keep out heat.
This makes your room cooler so the air-conditioner does not have to work so hard.

Light Bulbs

1. Go for energy-efficient light bulbs.
Even though they cost more up front, they last longer and use less energy.
Fluorescent light tubes use up to 80 per cent less energy than ordinary incandescent bulbs.
2. Switch off the lights when you leave the room, especially incandescent light bulbs.
They not only use electricity, but contribute to heating up rooms as well.

Washing Machine

1. Choose the cold cycle when washing clothes.
About 90 per cent of energy used during washing goes into heating the water.

Refrigerator

1. Don't pop piping-hot food into your refrigerator, or cram too many things into it.
It will have to work extra hard to bring down the temperature.

Appliances

1. Switch off electrical appliances when not in use.
Most devices go into standby mode after being turned off and continue drawing power from the mains to keep features such as timers, clocks, and memory running. Unplug them or switch off the power point to cut off the power supply.
2. Buy energy-efficient air-conditioners and refrigerators.
Check to see how many green ticks these appliances have on their energy labels. The more ticks, the less electricity they use. The best performers display the maximum three ticks. Also look out for the Energy Star label, which shows an appliance meets American and European energy efficiency guidelines.

Read More
Electricity & Water Saving Tips