Saturday 28 February 2015

Tips on Electric Power Consumption

Most equipment and devices at home consume energy. But rarely are we aware as to how much energy they consume and how it can be reduced. An understanding of the main household energy guzzlers and how they can be more energy-efficient is vital both in our interest as well as in the interest of the environment.
All our equipments from lamps to heaters are marked by the amount of energy they consume for a very hour of usage. The electrical energy consumed per hour by any appliance is specified in Watts (W). 1000 W is equal to 1 kilowatt (1 KW), which is nothing but one unit of consumption. The Electricity Board charges us based on the units consumed.
In a summer month a normal household consumes on an average about 526 units a month. In a winter month, the same household consumes about 282 units. A break-up of this shows that bulk of the consumption in summer is in the usage of air-conditioners. It works out to about 53 per cent followed by fans and refrigerators, which are about 11 percent each. Television and lights each consume about 8 percent of the total energy. A 4-hour usage of computer consumes another 4 percent. It is evident that usage of the air-conditioner is the main source of energy consumption.
On a winter day, when no air-conditioner is used, the fans consume the maximum energy and the refrigerator is the next biggest consumer of energy at 18 percent. Water heaters and TV each consume about 17 percent energy and the lights at our household consume around 15 percent energy.
Obviously, the lower your electrical consumption, the lesser is your electricity bill. You will note that as our consumption goes up, the cost per unit increases as well. A bimonthly consumption of 600-800 units is an optimum level for a typical Indian middle class household and energy saving measures adopted by each one of us will go a long way in reducing energy consumption.
Saving energy at home is fairly simple; it just requires us to adopt some of the guidelines indicated below

Air Conditioners

Use leak proof doors and windows and seal all openings in an air-conditioned room to avoid leakage of cool air, thereby improving the efficiency of the air conditioner. Regular cleaning of A.C. filters (at least once a month) also improves the unit efficiency and reduces power consumption. In case the room to be conditioned has an exposed roof, then under deck insulation for the room is highly recommended to reduce the heat transmission from the roof slab. Set your air-conditioner thermostat to 25 Degree C of higher. For every degree you raise your thermostat setting above 22 Deg C, you can save up to 5-7% on your cooling costs.
Refrigerators
Defrost the refrigerator once the ice gets more than quarter inch thick. Regular defrosting helps reduce the power consumption. Avoid placing the refrigerator near any heat source and locate the refrigerator at least 200mm away from the wall. Ensure that the refrigerator door is airtight to prevent leakage. Ideally, set your refrigerator temperature at 2.2 Deg.C. and your freezer temperature at-15 Deg. C. for energy-efficient operation.

Fans

Replace conventional fans with energy efficient fans. Use electronic regulators instead of electromagnetic regulators. Lubricate fan motor bearings periodically and clean fan blades regularly.

Lights
 
Replace T12 or T10 fluorescent tubes with T8 or T5 energy efficient fluorescent tubes which are more than 10 to 30 percent energy efficient. Use compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) which are 70 to 80 percent more energy efficient instead of incandescent light bulbs. Replacing electromagnetic ballasts in tube lights reduces the energy consumption by around 20 to 30 percent. Utilise energy efficient 36W slim tubes instead of 40W tubes. Use standard pins to tap supply from plug points. Reduce the wattage of bulbs in areas where less lighting is needed such as toilets store rooms etc.

Water Heaters

Lower the thermostat on your water heater since most factory settings of water heaters are at higher temperatures. A setting of 12o F provides comfortable hot water for most applications. Insulate your electric hot-water storage tank, but be careful not to cover the thermostat. Keep the area around your water heater clean and well ventilated.

Grinders & Mixers

Use energy efficient motors for the grinders. Use the gadgets to their full capacity. Avoid rewinding of the grinder & mixer motors.

Computers

Configure your computer to “hibernate” automatically after 30 minutes or so of inactivity. The “hibernate mode” turns the computer off in such a way that you do not have to reload everything when you switch on your computer on again.

The less energy we use, the longer the world's natural resources such as oil and coal, will last. Energy saving is essential because the world's energy reserves will be consumed at a slower rate.

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