It might seem hard to imagine for many of us, but our forebears lived during a time when electricity was a precious and sometimes foreign resource. These days, we don’t even experience blackouts that much, when in those times, a blackout was the norm. As electrical grids became more expansive and electricity became more readily available, we somehow lost the concept of energy conservation. Our elders, having grown up with the scarcity, were more prudent about how they used electricity. Today, let’s reacquaint ourselves with some of the many effective ways our parents and their parents before them cut down on their electricity bills.
CDN Digital’s series of energy saving tips is supported by the Philippines’ second largest electric utility, Visayan Electric Company. To know more information and tips, visit the Visayan Electric Co. official Facebook page.
Turn off and unplug your appliances when not in use
When an appliance is unused, unplug it or turn it off to reduce power consumption
This one seems pretty obvious, and it’s probably repeated so often that we’ve stopped listening to it, but it’s one of the most important ways to save electricity and save your house from a possible fire. Some things, like lights and flat irons, can be turned off right after use. And others, like your fridge, stay plugged in and running. But my parents have always nagged us about unplugging the TV, the electric fan, and the radio, although they didn’t really know why. It turns out they were right! A recent discovery found that phantom power consumption takes up about 10% of the total energy use of households that keep appliances and devices plugged in even when unused. So they might not have known the exact science of it, but our parents were on to something.
Pre-boil your water and keep it hot in a jug
Refrain from boiling water again and again by using thermo jugs
Today, with just a touch of a button, we’re able to boil water and pour it into our mugs for a coffee or tea fix. Back in the day, if you needed hot water, you had to whip out a kettle, place it on a stove, and wait for it to start whistling to know it’s done. Too many steps, and that’s not even counting having to sieve the water! Which is why, back then, my grandmother boiled a big batch of water in the morning and kept it hot in a thermos jug. With it, she made tea in the morning and Nestum for her merienda at mid-afternoon. Well, with how much energy a kettle uses to power the heating coil (about 1500 watts), it might be time to bring back the thermos jugs.
“The fridgider isn’t your plaything,” our yaya said
Quickly close the doors of the fridge after getting what you need
Movies might have shown us characters standing in front of a fridge, taking their sweet time pondering what to put on a sandwich, but in our household, any foray into the cool recesses of the refrigerator required foresight and military precision for fear of keeping it open a second longer than necessary. So how did we work around it? An uncle of mine had the habit of keeping a jug of water in an insulated bottle and stashing it in an ice chest. We kept the shelves organized, so we knew exactly where to look for what we needed. The more you open a refrigerator, the more the internal temperature fluctuates, and the harder the engine needs to work to regulate the temperature.
Clean your fridge doors
Always see to it that the fridge doors are clean
On the topic of fridges, did you know you might be running up your bill even when you’ve kept your refrigerator closed? That’s because your fridge doors might not be sealing properly. And the likely but unsuspecting culprit might be the very thing that’s supposed to keep the doors sealed tight: the rubber gasket. It’s that squishy rubber frame that runs the entire frame of the interior fridge doors. Mother had been on housekeeping to wipe the fridge outside and inside, and I always thought that was just her being overly clean. It turns out that stuff and gunk can build up on the gasket over time, and eventually they will cause it to deform or harden. Regularly wiping every other month with some warm, soapy water can help prevent this from happening.
Use a ceiling fan!
Gather under the ceiling fan and feel the coolness without turning on the air conditioner
Oftentimes, in the conversation about home-cooling systems, ceiling fans are left out while their cousins, the stand fans and air conditioners, get all the praise. Ceiling fans are quickly dismissed as cheap and ugly relics from Lolo’s house. But this might be because the fans work so subtly that we don’t notice how much of a help they are. Unlike stand fans that direct a blast of air, cooling you immediately, ceiling fans create a draft and circulate the air in the room. This has the effect of cooling the entire room by as much as eight degrees Celsius. Now how’s that for a relic?
Set apart one day for big chores
Do your laundry in bulk to save electricity
In our household, Saturday was always laundry day, and Sunday was cleaning day, when the big vacuum and floor polisher got taken out. I always hated them. Why did we have to spend all weekend listening to those noisy machines? Why don’t they clean and wash during school days when we weren’t around to hear them? Now that I’m doing my own laundry, cleaning, and paying utility bills, I fully appreciate the wisdom of designating a full day for big tasks. Running the washing machine multiple times for small loads uses up more water and detergent, not to mention electricity. And as for vacuuming and polishing, I still hate doing it, but it sure makes more sense to clean when you can actually see what you are cleaning.
Lights out at night
Worry more about the electricity bill than the imaginary monster under your bed
Before lights came out of a bulb, people lit candles and oil lamps, and these ran out. And when they ran out, one had to buy refills and replacements at the store in town, which was a lot of work. So people tried to prolong their use as much as possible. Contrast that to today, when light appears with just a flick of a switch. We are so far removed from the amount of work generating electricity requires, which happens at a plant somewhere we don’t even know, that we simply don’t care about abusing it. Lights run all hours of the day and night in our homes; the Internet router is never unplugged; the TV, PC, and mobile phones are kept on perpetual standby in case boredom sets in; microwaves and induction cookers know no rest. And then we act shocked when the bill comes in.
CDN Digital’s series of energy saving tips is supported by the Philippines’ second largest electric utility, Visayan Electric Company. To know more information and tips, visit the Visayan Electric Co. official Facebook page.
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