Winter is here and this year temperatures have dropped significantly across the country. In an attempt to keep warm, the use of heaters, stoves and other forms of heat generation increases resulting in high energy costs. Have you thought of what you can do to save energy at home this Winter?
According to Eskom, the following tips can help to conserve energy at home:
- Dishwasher:
- Fill the dishwasher completely before operating. Partial loads waste electricity and water.
- Short wash cycles, rinse-only cycles, mid-cycle turn-off, and other features are designed for energy conservation as well as convenience.
- Connect your dishwasher to cold water supply unless otherwise directed. Normally only one wash and one final rinse cycle requires hot water which is heated by an element in the dishwasher.
- Heaters
- The oil-filled heater is the safest type of heater for the bedroom. A thermostat control switches the unit on and off as required, but to save energy, only use on the lowest comfortable setting.
- Electric blankets consume little electricity. However, the correct method of use is to switch them on to the highest setting and warm the bed just before climbing in – then switch them off.
- Close doors and windows when using a heater.
- Freezer
- Freezers and refrigerators operate most efficiently when filled to the capacity recommended by the manufacturers.
- Never forget that only one-tenth of a freezer’s capacity should be used for freezing of fresh food at any one time. The freezer must work harder to remove heat, and uses more power. Example, 28 litres (one cubic foot) will store 12, 5 to 15 kg (25-30 lbs.) of frozen food and will freeze about 1,5 kg (3 lbs.) of fresh food at a time.
- Food to be frozen should be placed in contact with those parts of the freezer that contain the refrigerant tubes, usually the sides of chest models.
- Electric stove
- Use cooking utensils with flat bottoms and tight fittings covers.
- Be sure pots and pans completely cover the stove plates.
- Take advantage of the heat sensing control for stove plates. It allows the stove plate to cut of the electricity supply occasionally while still cooking. It does not affect the food, only your bill.
- Microwave ovens
- Defrost your food in the refrigerator instead of the microwave oven: it is more economical.
- Use your microwave oven to cook small to medium quantities of food. To cook larger portions of meat, it is better to use a conventional oven.
- Some microwaves do not heat up foods evenly. Wrap foods in plastic to hold in the steam, this will help to give even heating. Be very careful not to cover the foods too well, steam can burn you badly when you open the packet, so leave a flap open for the steam to escape.
Being energy efficient can make a big difference to the cost of your electricity bill and small changes can add up to big savings on your bills. For more information on how to save energy, visit Eskom’s website.