There are some appliances in your home which use much more electricity than others, like your AC. In short, they have an appetite for amperes! While the electricity bill may not make you cringe, Mother Earth is paying a heavy price for it! Learn why and how you can help reduce Carbon dioxide emission.
Appliances use electrical energy, which is mostly produced by burning fossil fuels. A lot of CO2 (and carbon monoxide) is dumped in the atmosphere each day during production of electricity. CO2 is the single biggest contributor to global warming.
The appliances which you use everyday in your home, which consume a lot of power are listed below.
Air Conditioner:
Your Air Conditioner uses anything from 1500 to 3500 Watts, depending on the temperature you set, volume of compressor, etc. You can roughly run 25 fans, for the same amount of energy!
What you could do –
- Set the temperature around 26 degrees or higher. Switch on the fan as it would circulate the cool air in the entire room.
- If you are using the AC during daytime, don't let sunlight heat the room you are trying to cool! Use curtains.
- The windows and doors of the room should be tightly shut to avoid wasting energy.
- Clean the filters frequently. The AC pulls air from the room in, cools it and circulates it back in the room. If the filters are clogged with dirt, the AC will use more electricity.
Electric Iron:
An Electric Iron's power consumption is surprisingly equal to AC's at 1500 Watts, though we use it for a much lesser time. But, you can save some energy here too!
What you could do –
- Keep turning it on and off, to maintain temperature, or get an Electric Iron with temperature settings.
- Do not use a lot of water on clothes while ironing.
Immersion Rod:
Surprised? A tiny little immersion rod actually sucks up 1000 Watts! Solar energy can do the job for free…though it might take up a lot of time.
What you could do –
- Heat water to an optimum temperature and not boiling hot. Save water, save energy.
- Constantly remove the hard salt part that deposits on the rod's surface. You can scrape it off or clean it with strong cleaning agent.
Washing Machine:
A washing machine uses roughly 300 Watts. If you own a washing machine which heats water to wash the clothes, add another 1000 – 2000 Watts to its power consumption!
What you could do –
- Avoid Washing Machines which have a built-in heating feature. 90% of energy will be wasted in heating water.
- Wash the clothes when the load is full. You'd save water and power.
- Use dryer only when necessary. Let solar energy do the job for free!
Fridge:
A fridge uses roughly 200 to 500 Watts, depending on the volume of the compressor. It's much lesser than what an Air Conditioner uses, but considering it runs 24X7X365, the energy used adds up.
What you could do –
- Don't put hot food in the fridge. Let it cool before you place it in.
- Set the temperature to level 1. You really don't require your fridge to be very cold!
- Clean the coils regularly. Also, ensure that the gasket keeps your fridge air tight!
- Defrost regularly. It's the simplest thing you can do to save.
So try the greener habits. It may not stop global warming overnight, but it's a start for a better tomorrow. And the green habits will surely reflect in the electricity bill!
