Do you dread the thought of that power bill coming? If so, consider ways in which you can cut back on your use of electricity. You don’t have to be cold all winter in order to save. There are many easy ways in which you can lessen the use of power without being inconvenienced. Here are 20 electricians tips.
Choose heaters and other appliances by their star ratings. Avoid fan heaters which are very hard on power.
Dry clothes on the clothesline, a veranda line or a clothes airer inside, rather than using a tumble dryer, as these gobble power up.
Use cold water for doing the laundry.
Have solar assisted hot water, with the electric boost set to cut in during off-peak times.
A lot of heat is lost through windows. Dark or rubber back fabric is good for curtains to keep heat in the house.
Sliding windows and doors have a gap in the middle where air can escape. You can get sealing tape to minimise loss in this way.
Use a sausage at the base of the doors, especially external ones.
Look for gaps around the edges of doors. Wait until dark and have someone shine a torch from outside to inside. If there’s a gap, you’ll see the light from the inside. Use gap-filler tape available from hardware stores to seal it.
A business uses much more power than a home because it has multiple lights that must be on during the whole of the business day and security lights on at night, not to mention heating and cooling for customers. Then there is always a need for the phone, Internet service and the other office equipment that uses a lot of power to consider. Some businesses use more than others, especially those in the hospitality industry where there is a lot of cleaning or cooking to be done. So how can you save on the cost of power in your business?
Be the one in control of heating and cooling. Reducing the heat by just one degree can save up to 8% on the heating bill.
Depending on how your business premises are oriented, you may be able to make use of sunlight to help warm the interior if you open blinds and curtains.
Increasing the fan speed will often warm a room more even without turning up the heating, as the fan will circulate the warm air more efficiently.
Close doors to colder rooms on cold days and hotter rooms on hot days to prevent loss of hot or cold air.
Make sure all the windows and doors are closed when running air conditioning.
Choose premises that are well insulated.
Switch existing lighting out for a more modern option. Fluorescent lights are more efficient than traditional light bulbs, while LED lighting is more efficient than fluorescent.
Cleaning windows and external glass walls can help to make the place brighter and reduce the use of lights.
