Alternative Power Panel Blog

Energy Savers - Appliances

We all want more. There is a formula for having more: do-be-have, in that order. So the first things is to do, then you become and through that you will have.

So we are now saving a lot of money by running the lights in the proper manner. But in our homes it is not just the lights that are taking a lot of electricity - we have all our wonderful appliances and gadgets - refrigerator, washer and dryer, computer, DVD and what not.

All of these appliances use electricity even when just on stand-by mode. In fact they take up on average 5%-10% of household electricity. Now that may not seem a lot. But when you save 5% it’s as if you got a 5% raise, and who does not want that. In fact often when we do get such a raise, we are delighted.

Another thing here.
Let me ask you a question. How many people live in the town, city where you live? 10.000 or 1M. It doesn’t really matter. If you multiply your 5% with all the others - it adds up to a lot of energy.

You may wonder how these appliance take energy when they are not in use.
Simple - most of them have that little red or green light, or even a clock. They all work on electricity. How many of these do you have in your house? Enough to add 5%-10% to your electricity bill, maybe even more depending on the size of your household.

Do you really need to keep them on at all times

Now if you have a lot of these it may become tiresome to walk around and turn them all off. But there is such an easy, inexpensive way to do this. It’s called:

Power switch

Where ever you have a conglomeration of appliances, say TV, DVD, stereo TV control panel close together - plug them all into one power switch. Then all you have to do is press one switch, and they are all completely off. No hibernation - no electricity use.

Do the same for kitchen appliances such as microwave, oven, mixer, or any other. One switch on - one switch off.
Power switches can be purchased at all hardware stores.

PS. There is some debate on whether this is the right approach to appliances that take up a fair amount of energy in starting up. We are here talking about TV and computers particularly.

If saving money is not an incentive, maybe this video is

Big appliances

Refrigerator
Of all your appliances the refrigerator and freezer take the most as they runs 24/7. Now these you cannot turn off, but you can make sure that they are as energy efficient as possible. If you have an older model check the size!
Did you get that big model when you had a full household and now there is just the two of you? If that’s the case your fridge is using a lot of unnecessary power, as they are most efficient when full. Maybe it’s time to get a smaller one.

You decide you want to keep the one you have ’cause it suits the family’s needs. Great. Now check that it does not lose it’s cool due to improper sealing. To check the sealing open the door, hold a piece of paper to the frame and close the door. If the paper comes out easily it’s a sure sign the sealing needs redoing.

Also make sure that there is good space at the back. The fridge eeds to breathe in order to be efficient.
And lastly - dust off the cooling elements at the back once in a while. This also increases the cooling efficiency.

Dishwasher
Activate only when full. The dishwasher uses equal amounts of energy when full or half-full. Run it on short cycle. In most cases our dishes are not that dirty that they need a full two hour cycle. 30 minutes is usually enough.

Depending on what type of dishwasher you have, remove the drying stage. This stage is the most energy consuming.

One other way to save money - if not energy - is to run it at night. Rates are usually lower at night, as there is less demand. On this point, you need to check with your local electricity provider.

Washing machine
Like with the dishwasher - only run the washer when fully loaded. Wash with cold water. All modern detergents are good enough to get your clothes beautiful and clean with cold water. Also cold water is gentler on the fibers. 80-90% of washer energy goes to heating the water.

Next time you go for a new washing machine get a front loader. They are more efficient in all ways than front loaders. No, I don’t know why.
Activate at night (as above - and check with local utility company).

Dryers - Such a sensitive point
As with the two other, activate with full load and at night.

There is another thing to consider here. Do you really need to run a dryer? Line drying was once the only way, and it’s coming back in many places.
I still remember the wonderful smell of air dried clothes. And I have gone back to get that wonderful smell.

Line drying can be done inside and outside. Outside is obvious if you live in an area with good warm weather. You would actually want your lines in a place with as much shade as possible to avoid fading and damage to fibers. Inside can be done if you have a nice basement room or good service porch.
You will be amazed at how many $ you can save here.

One objection often heard about this - it will take too much of my time. How much more? When you use a dryer you still use time loading the dryer and unloading. The folding is the same in both cases. Line drying can actually become a nice little bonding activity with the children.

If you don’t believe in any of the above, all I can do is to suggest that you try it for one month and then compare the electricity bill with bills from before. Maybe you only save $20 but the saving is much greater. On a yearly basis that will be at least $240.

If you add that on to what you are saving in lighting the house, you will now have a lot more for that vacation you were dreaming of, and you are doing a lot for the environment.

And the last piece. When next you shop for one of these appliances check that it has the energy approval symbol. Often it is more economical to get a more expensive version as they are often cheaper in running cost.

See the video here on how and what to check when purchasing appliances.

As usual, leave a comment below on how this has helped you, or if you have further ideas on saving.
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