Home Energy Tips Part 2

Tips in Energy Saving (Appliances/Cooking/Water)

Appliances and electronics account for about 80% of household energy bills in a typical Philippine home. The following are tips that will reduce the required energy of electronics and appliances:

• Refrigerators and freezers should not be exposed to direct sunlight. Exposure to warm areas will force them to use more energy to remain cool.  
• Computers should be shut off when not in use. Laptop computers consume considerably less electricity than desktop computers.
• Chargers, such as those used for laptops and cell phones, consume energy when they are plugged in. If your charger has an LED to show it’s in use, it’s still using energy until you switch it off at the wall. When they are not connected to electronics, chargers should be unplugged.

WATER SAVING

• Install low-flow showerheads. 
• Dual-flush toilets. Dual-flush toilets let you choose between a 1-gallon (or less) flush for liquid waste, and a 1.6-gallon flush for solid waste. Dual-flush toilets reduce water consumption by an additional 30%.
• Have a rainwater harvesting system in place, the Philippines gets lots of free water due to its typhoon seasons, storing and making use of rainwater for washing cars,watering gardens,etc. will help save on water bills.

COOKING

• Convection ovens are better than conventional ovens. They use fans to force hot air to circulate more evenly, thereby allowing food to be cooked at a lower temperature. Convection ovens use approximately 20% less electricity than conventional ovens.
• Microwave ovens consume approximately 80% less energy than conventional ovens.
• Using lids on pots and pans will heat food more quickly than cooking in uncovered pots and pans.
• Pressure cookers reduce cooking time dramatically.