It is simple and easy to save electricity in your home, and by making small changes you can help decrease the load on the network. There are a number of simple and cost-effective ways of saving energy that help prevent unplanned outages – and help you save on your electricity bills.
The three major ways you can save energy are:
- Switch off electricity when not in use
- Use alternative energy sources, such as solar heating and gas
- Change to energy-efficient appliances and lighting, such as:
- Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which give five times the light, use less energy and last up to 10 times as long as ordinary bulbs.
- light emitting diode (LED) lights, which produce light at almost double the efficiency of traditional incandescent light bulbs, and
- infrared heaters, which are more electricity-efficient than other space heating systems
More energy-saving ideas:
- Set your pool pump to run for shorter periods
- Switch off lights in unoccupied rooms
- Use an electric blanket to pre-heat the bed for approximately 15 minutes (Do not sleep with electric blankets on)
- Dress warmly and use fleece blankets in winter
- Change your curtains to thicker fabrics and darker colours, to retain more heat
- Use a geyser blanket
- Use the appropriate-sized pot for each plate when you’re cooking. Using a small pot on a large plate wastes electricity
- Let plenty of warm sunlight in during the day by keeping curtains open wide, but close them as soon as the sun sets to seal in the warmth
- Use or change to oil heaters or wall heaters (open spaces are more difficult to heat)
- In winter, use your conventional fireplace instead of a heater
- Do not open your refrigerator door needlessly. Remove and replace several articles at once to reduce the loss of cold air
- Let hot foods cool down before placing them in the refrigerator
- Empty and switch off your fridge, and switch off your geyser, when taking an extended holiday
- Use an electric kettle to boil water, not a saucepan or a microwave
- Use low energy lamps for exterior lighting
- Be sure to turn your iron off if you are interrupted while ironing
- Iron large batches of clothing at one time to avoid wasting energy reheating the iron several times
- Switch your iron off before you are finished and complete the ironing on stored energy
- Close doors and windows when using a heater
- Insulate your ceiling to help make your home comfortable and electricity-efficient place. As much as 50% of heat loss in a house can be attributed to a lack of ceilings and ceiling insulation. If the ceiling is well-insulated, heating and cooling expenses can be kept low
City Power relies on you, its customers, to make the necessary adjustments to save electricity in your households. Help us to keep the power on.
For anonymous reporting, please call 0800 002 587 or go to their website.
