Load shedding and rising electricity prices in South Africa are causing consumers to look for ways to save electricity, until recently with few supply problems and cheap electricity saving electricity was never an issue for the South African electricity consumer. Rolling blackouts and load shedding have changed that.
Appliances account for the bulk of your electricity consumption. You know that appliances won't work without electricity and some appliance consume too much energy, while some are more energy efficient. The overall energy consumption of your appliances will heavily depend on how you use them? Yes, there are some ways you use appliances that make those items use more electricity.
You should therefore become familiar with recommended practices that will help you lower your electricity bills by reducing the electricity consumption of appliances. It is imperative that you bear in mind several useful and simple guidelines that will help you generate energy savings when using your appliances.
However, be assured that you won't be spoiling the helpfulness and convenience brought about by these appliances. With proper and advisable usage of appliances, you can save on electric consumption. Overall, you'll be surprised at how much savings you can generate just by being a wise user and responsible owner of appliances.
Here are some useful tips that will help you avoid higher electric bills when you use your home appliances, particularly refrigerators and dishwashers, which are the top appliances in terms of electric consumption.
Refrigerators
Refrigerators are the topmost consumer of electricity among all home appliances. That is because refrigerators use complex energy systems that generate and absorb heat to freeze or make cold its contents.
Refrigerators are also the most basic among all home appliances. It is principally used to store food and beverages to keep them cold. These appliances also naturally preserve food items stored within.
When buying refrigerators, you should look for the energy efficient ones. Reliable and popular appliance brands usually offer refrigerators that aren't just sophisticated and highly functional, but also energy efficient.
Take note that size matters when you are assessing energy consumption of refrigerators. The bigger the refrigerator, the more energy it uses. Two-door and single door units also differ in the amount of energy consumption. Two-door units are deemed to be more economical and energy efficient because freezer temperatures won't be disrupted when you open the door to get and store food.
Here are some simple tips you should consider if you aim to save on costs while using the refrigerator.
- Don't store hot food or beverages in the fridge. Refrigerators work by absorbing heat in stored food and conducting such heat to its compressor. This temperature conduction process makes up for energy consumption.
- Clean the condenser coils of your refrigerator regularly. Such condenser coils are usually located behind or underneath the fridge.
- Always make sure that refrigerator seals and freezer doors are fitting tightly. This will ensure that there won't be unnecessary leakage of air from inside the fridge, once they become worn and damaged replace them.
- Don't use a separate freezer for food. Doing so would be wasteful unless that separate freezer is constantly kept full. Remember that it will take less power to run a full freezer than when it is half empty.
Dishwashers
Dishwashers are one of the most expensive appliances to maintain because it uses not just electricity but also ample amounts of water. Did you know that dishwashers use about 60% to 80% of its energy consumption just to heat the water? That water-heating process inside dishwashers make up for most of the appliance's power consumption.
There are also many brands and versions of dishwashers that are specifically made to be energy efficient. You can buy such dishwashers. If you already have one at home, there are several measures that can help you lower your dishwasher's energy consumption.
- Never run a dishwasher unless it is entirely full. Doing so will help conserve electricity.
- Air dry clean dishes, this practice will help you cut energy consumption of the appliance by about 10% to 20%.
Saving on energy consumption is imperative nowadays. As a responsible individual, you should make sure you are doing your share in energy conservation, especially during these times when energy sources are becoming more expensive and are slowly depleting.