Here are a few tips to help you minimize the electricity bills for your apartment. Follow these and let us know your feedback:
1. Turn off lights when not in use. Use "task lighting" rather than lighting the whole room unnecessarily for close work.
2. Replace incandescent lamps, (ie. regular light bulbs) with compact fluorescent lights. While more expensive to purchase, (prices continue to drop) they pay for themselves with time, taking 1/4 of the power and having a life of 7 to 10 times a long. They also generate much less heat which is a big bonus during the summer. You will get full life expectancy out of these lamps in open fixtures where the air can circulate and you will get a shorter life in a fully enclosed light fixture due to somewhat higher temperatures lowering the life of the internal electronic circuitry.
3. If you are going to use incandescent lamps, (ie. regular light bulbs,) use them with a light dimmer, so that when you don't need as much light you can dim the lights and use less power.
4. Dust your lamps and light fixtures with the power off. Even a thin layer of dust reduced light levels.
5. Unless absolutely necessary, use a fan rather than an air conditioner during the summer. Of course if you have asthma or other respiratory problems, a heart condition, are a senior, or on many kinds of medication that make you more vulnerable to heatstroke your health is most important and you should continue to use your air conditioner. But you can always decide to set the temperature a bit higher. If you are going to use an air conditioner, get one with a built in timer so you aren't wasting energy cooling your home when nobody is there.
6. Portable and baseboard electric heaters are real power hogs and if improperly used can be a fire hazard (see the Apartment Safety page). Setting the temperature a couple of degrees lower during the winter can save you a lot of money and you can remain comfortable if you wear thicker clothing or an extra layer like a sweater. A ceiling fan is also useful and will force the hotter air that rises to ceiling downwards to where you are.
7. Use curtains and shades on your windows, to keep the heat in during the winter. Use window shades to reduce or block sunlight and heat during the summer, particularly if you have windows that receive direct sunlight.
8. Small appliances use less power than larger ones. Save money by using a microwave oven rather than a regular electric oven/stove. Use an electric kettle rather than a stovetop one. If you are buying a toaster, don't buy an extra long slot one, if you aren't going to use the extra long slots, because the extra energy / heat is just going to be wasted going up the open space. Cooking with a microwave oven typically uses less than half the energy of an electric stove/oven because it wastes less heat something to think about on a sweltering hot summer day.
9. And last but not the least, buy all appliances that are five star rated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) - these appliances have a better energy efficiency and save you money on your electricity bills.
2. Replace incandescent lamps, (ie. regular light bulbs) with compact fluorescent lights. While more expensive to purchase, (prices continue to drop) they pay for themselves with time, taking 1/4 of the power and having a life of 7 to 10 times a long. They also generate much less heat which is a big bonus during the summer. You will get full life expectancy out of these lamps in open fixtures where the air can circulate and you will get a shorter life in a fully enclosed light fixture due to somewhat higher temperatures lowering the life of the internal electronic circuitry.
3. If you are going to use incandescent lamps, (ie. regular light bulbs,) use them with a light dimmer, so that when you don't need as much light you can dim the lights and use less power.
4. Dust your lamps and light fixtures with the power off. Even a thin layer of dust reduced light levels.
5. Unless absolutely necessary, use a fan rather than an air conditioner during the summer. Of course if you have asthma or other respiratory problems, a heart condition, are a senior, or on many kinds of medication that make you more vulnerable to heatstroke your health is most important and you should continue to use your air conditioner. But you can always decide to set the temperature a bit higher. If you are going to use an air conditioner, get one with a built in timer so you aren't wasting energy cooling your home when nobody is there.
6. Portable and baseboard electric heaters are real power hogs and if improperly used can be a fire hazard (see the Apartment Safety page). Setting the temperature a couple of degrees lower during the winter can save you a lot of money and you can remain comfortable if you wear thicker clothing or an extra layer like a sweater. A ceiling fan is also useful and will force the hotter air that rises to ceiling downwards to where you are.
7. Use curtains and shades on your windows, to keep the heat in during the winter. Use window shades to reduce or block sunlight and heat during the summer, particularly if you have windows that receive direct sunlight.
8. Small appliances use less power than larger ones. Save money by using a microwave oven rather than a regular electric oven/stove. Use an electric kettle rather than a stovetop one. If you are buying a toaster, don't buy an extra long slot one, if you aren't going to use the extra long slots, because the extra energy / heat is just going to be wasted going up the open space. Cooking with a microwave oven typically uses less than half the energy of an electric stove/oven because it wastes less heat something to think about on a sweltering hot summer day.
9. And last but not the least, buy all appliances that are five star rated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) - these appliances have a better energy efficiency and save you money on your electricity bills.
This informative post courtesy Central Park Gurgaon. Welcome to Luxury, Welcome to Central Park!
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