With winter in full swing, we take a look at some tips and tricks you could use this month and in the months to come, that will save you money on your electricity spend. Below we list the section and what you could do, as well as it’s relative cost to implement:
Hot Water
No-cost
- Use less hot water – Shower instead of bathing, Do not let the hot water run unnecessarily, use cold water to wash your hands instead.
- Turn your geyser down to 60°C. Turning your geyser down from 70˚C to 60˚C will see a 5% reduction in your hot water electricity bill. In some cases, 55°C is a good option (but not below that for health risk reasons)
- Switch off your geyser when you go away for a few days or more and during peak hours.
Low-cost
- Insulate your water pipes and wrap your geyser in a geyser blanket.
- Install a geyser timer.
- Switch to a low-flow, energy and water efficient aerated showerhead
- Fix leaking hot water taps.
Lighting
No-cost
- Turn off the lights if you leave a room for more than five minutes.
- Maximise sunlight. Open the curtains in the morning rather than turning on lights.
low-cost
- Replace traditional incandescent light bulbs with Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)
- Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) remain a somewhat more affordable way to save,
- Use solar powered lights in your garden
Appliances
No-Cost
- Switch off all unused appliances at the wall.
- Only use your washing machine once a full load of dirty laundry has accumulated
- Use cold-water or lower heat settings as often as possible.
- Skip the pre-wash cycle for clothes that aren’t particularly dirty
- Never overload your automatic washing machine
- When using a kettle, boil only as much water as you need
Low-Cost
- Invest in a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader. It uses less water and costs less to operate
- Have the seals in your fridge replaced to keep the cold air in
- Choose a dishwasher model with a no-heat air-drying feature to save even more electricity, if you can’t use a cloth to dry the dishes or let them drip-dry instead.