With household and utility bills always seeming to be on the increase, saving on electricity within the home has never been more important. Cutting back on electricity usage is not necessarily a difficult thing to do, but requires some recognition of just where electricity is being used, and which areas of the home is using the most electricity.
The best way to understand how much electricity is being used is to get hold of an electricity monitor. This is a device that is widely available from home improvement stores, or is often given away free by the electricity supplier. Once up and running it will show just how much electricity is being used. It is then possible to determine accurately how much electricity is being used by each area of the home.
One of the best ways to do this is by turning all devices off, taking out plugs where appropriate, and then turning each device on and then off, and recording the electricity reading. The electricity monitor will probably show that the tumble dryer, washing machine, kettle and television are amongst the thirstiest of devices. Most electricity monitors will also make the calculation of how much the electricity usage is costing.
Knowing where electricity is being used allows for understanding of just what can be done to save it. The washing machine is now an essential element of most people’s homes, but it can use a lot of electricity for what it does. The best ways to make a washing machine more efficient only wash when there is enough clothes to make a full load, and also consider washing at a lower temperature. Fuller loads will mean that the machine will have to be used less often, whilst a lower washing temperature will reduce the amount of electricity needed to heat the water.
The tumble dryer is if anything even more intense in its use of electricity. In many cases though the tumble dryer can be done away with, as most climates allow for frequent periods of warm, dry weather which is perfect to dry clothes in the open air. If the tumble dryer is required though, it is best to ensure that the clothes have gone through a drying spin in the washing machine, this will mean that the clothes will need less time in the tumble dryer.
Of course the television cannot be loaded or used at a lower temperature but most people think that by switching their television to standby they are in essence turning it off. This is actually far from the truth, the standby function on any machine may be using as much as 85% of the power needed for the machine to be fully operational. It is much better to actually turn the television, computer monitor or any other device off rather than to leave it on standby.
The kettle may only appear to be a small kitchen appliance, but for the time that it is boiling water it is one of the devices that uses the most electricity. The basic way to save on electricity is to have it on for as short a time as possible. Only boiling the amount of water required is the be all and end all, there is no point in boiling water sufficient for four cups when only a single cup is required.
There are though other ways to save on electricity used within the home. Many people will now have energy saving light bulbs installed around their home; these light bulbs are great at lighting a room with less energy used but even more electricity would be saved if the lights were turned off when not needed. Many people will have the house lit up, but simply turning a light off upon exiting a room will save a large amount of electricity.
The use of the electricity monitor will also show that chargers, if left plugged in, will use electricity even when not charging a device. Simply turning the plugs off will help to save electricity within the home.
There are many ways to save electricity within the home, although it basically comes down to awareness. Awareness of the amount of electricity that is being used, and awareness that even turning off the electricity flow for a few minutes will have an impact.