Power saving tips for you
Aug 13, 2010
CONNECTING electricity to your house makes life easy. You start lighting, ironing, cooking and running other household appliances. However, this comes with huge monthly costs which you can avoid or minimise.
BY GODWIN AYESIGA
CONNECTING electricity to your house makes life easy. You start lighting, ironing, cooking and running other household appliances. However, this comes with huge monthly costs which you can avoid or minimise.
Gerald Ssenkubuge, an electrician in Ntinda, gives tips you can rely on to save power:
Avoid using water heaters for long hours. Ensure they are well insulated and if possible, fit a time switch in the water heater. To avoid power wastage, boil only the water you need.
For a jug or kettle, use one with an automatic switch.
Taking a shower instead of a bath means using less water and therefore less energy to heat it.
Do not leave clothes to dry for too long. Such clothes require more power to press them.
Iron clothes at once. Ironing in bits leads to wastage of power.
Appliances such as fridges and deep freezers should be properly closed to avoid energy loss.
Use energy saving bulbs of about 5W to about 40w or fluorescent tubes instead of 175 W or 100W bulbs.
Switch off lights you may not require such as those in empty rooms and security lights during day time.
Water for cooking should be boiled in a kettle and not the saucepan.
The sizes of your cooking pans must match the sizes of the cooker plates. Using small pans on a big cooker plate wastes energy.
The TV and the music system when turned off should also be switched off from the socket because they use energy when left on standby.
Use newer appliances. They are more energy efficient.
However, solar power is increasingly gaining popularity as a reliable, cheap and clean energy source for the home.
Initially, you may find solar cells expensive, so you may use them inconjunction with your existing, hydro power electricity to meet your home’s energy requirements.
CONNECTING electricity to your house makes life easy. You start lighting, ironing, cooking and running other household appliances. However, this comes with huge monthly costs which you can avoid or minimise.
Gerald Ssenkubuge, an electrician in Ntinda, gives tips you can rely on to save power:
Avoid using water heaters for long hours. Ensure they are well insulated and if possible, fit a time switch in the water heater. To avoid power wastage, boil only the water you need.
For a jug or kettle, use one with an automatic switch.
Taking a shower instead of a bath means using less water and therefore less energy to heat it.
Do not leave clothes to dry for too long. Such clothes require more power to press them.
Iron clothes at once. Ironing in bits leads to wastage of power.
Appliances such as fridges and deep freezers should be properly closed to avoid energy loss.
Use energy saving bulbs of about 5W to about 40w or fluorescent tubes instead of 175 W or 100W bulbs.
Switch off lights you may not require such as those in empty rooms and security lights during day time.
Water for cooking should be boiled in a kettle and not the saucepan.
The sizes of your cooking pans must match the sizes of the cooker plates. Using small pans on a big cooker plate wastes energy.
The TV and the music system when turned off should also be switched off from the socket because they use energy when left on standby.
Use newer appliances. They are more energy efficient.
However, solar power is increasingly gaining popularity as a reliable, cheap and clean energy source for the home.
Initially, you may find solar cells expensive, so you may use them inconjunction with your existing, hydro power electricity to meet your home’s energy requirements.