Conserving Electricity in the House

Conserving electricity in a house is not that difficult. However, our needs have increased exponentially. The advancement in technology is adding new gadgets to the existing pile day after day; only to increase the electricity consumption. There are many ways to cut down on the daily electricity costs, but a wiser step would be to restrict our needs. Before we think about conservation, it is necessary to analyze our daily electricity needs. To get an idea about how extravagantly we spend electricity, have a look at this astonishing fact - home utilities of an average US household sap around $1900 worth of electric power!

Preventive Measures

• Television sets with big screens, multiple connections of TV in the house, video games, etc. increase the electricity consumption tremendously. The same amount of electricity can fulfill the need of 12 laptop computers for a whole year. Try to avoid using such appliances consuming large amount of electricity.
• Using solar energy for cooking, will help in cutting down the electricity cost to a large extent.
• Weatherizing your house will definitely help in conserving electricity in the long run. In this process of weatherization, the house is prepared to face harsh weather conditions and is modified in order to make it energy efficient.

How to Save Electricity at Home?

Let's go through some easy tips used for saving electricity at home.

• Lighting contributes to about 10% of our electricity needs in the house. Using CFL - Compact Fluorescent Lamp lights instead of incandescent lamps is one way of reducing costs. If this is not possible, at least use a light dimmer, so that only required amount of light is utilized.
• Refrigerators utilize 20% of the total electricity used at home. To optimize electricity consumption, adjust the refrigerator and freezer temperature to 37^oC and 3^oC respectively.
• The thermostat of a water heater should be set at 120^oF instead of 140^oF. According to a study conducted on the usage of water heaters, it is possible to cut down 600 pounds of CO₂ emissions for every 10 degree reduction in the water heater's temperature. Insulating the water heater with an insulating jacket avoids 1100 pounds of CO₂ emission.
• Check the exhaust fans, ductwork, electrical wiring, furnace flues, warm-air registers, windows, electrical outlets, switch plates, etc. for leakages. Sealing leakages in the house and in appliances though, appears to be a simple job, saves a lot of electricity.
• Just by shutting down the gadgets at the right time, we can prevent wastage of electricity.
• Electricity is also lost when the electronic items are in standby modes and it accounts for 5-10% of the losses. A simple solution is to unplug the appliances that are not in use.
• The water heater in your house should be drained of water annually, so as to get rid of the sediments deposited in it. These sediments may otherwise make the water heater less energy-efficient.
• The practice of vacuuming the refrigerator coil helps in reducing electricity consumption.
Air conditioning filters should be cleaned from time to time.

Purchasing Electronic Goods

Sometimes, it is sensible to purchase a whole new electronic item if the older one consumes more electricity, even if it is working in a good condition. Check if the new appliance has the Energy Star logo, which indicates the goods are energy efficient.

Conserving electricity in the house is important today and its extravagant use should be avoided. Huge quantities of fossil fuel are burnt in the process of generating electricity. It would be apt to conclude with Mahatma Gandhi's quote, which explains the importance of conserving earth's resources.

"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed."