8 Energy Saving Tips PLUS Earth Hour 2011 count down

Electricity has always been a main concern of most households, as bulk of each family’s monthly funds would definitely be going to the electric company. We are very dependent on electricity as it is a necessity of everyone in this age. Most of us take it for granted and we only start saving energy only when we have to pay our own electric bills as we start living on our own. Here are a few suggestions that we could do to lower or electricity consumption.



Swtich the Television off after watching
    A lot of people leave their television sets open even if they’ve finished watching their favorite show. Some, on the other hand, would sleep without turning off their television. These are some instances where electricity consumption could be minimized. I was guilty of this back then. I would switch on the TV and work at the same time without even listening or watching. This may become a bad habit but, it's time to change.


Set a schedule on ironing clothes
    My mom would always tell the helpers to iron clothes only every other day and to do it from start to finish before pulling the plug. This is because plugging and pulling the iron plug consumes huge amount of electricity that’s why it is better to do ironing when there is already a large volume of clothes. This goes the same with air conditioning systems.


Go Green. Get Eco-friendlier air conditioning systems
    I’ve already heard a couple of feedbacks from friends who have switched from their traditional window-type air conditioning system to the split-type inverter technology which consumes only half (more or less, depending on the ratings) of your old air-conditioning’s electricity needs. This is usually the option of offices as they are the ones who use air-conditioning system for at least 10-12 hours a day.


Change to energy efficient pin-lights
    There are a lot of bulbs that are energy efficient nowadays and they’re brighter than the florescent lights that we used to have. Try changing your florescent lights to pin-lights as they consume less electricity.


Turns the lights off when not in use
    Others have been used to not turn their lights off when they sleep. I guess they’ve started that practice when they were still very young. Imagine a room in every house lit up every night for 20 years – that is a lot of energy consumed! Slowly try to eliminate it by using night lights as they consume less energy and eventually turning the lights off when you’re about to go to bed.


Practice Everyone-Out, Electricity-Out
Don’t forget to turn all lights and power switches off when you go out for dinner with the whole family as keeping those turned on for hours when nobody is around is definitely a waste. This is one habits most chinese should practice. They don't want to leave their homes dark thus, leaving a light or two switched on even though no one is using it.


Power-save our computers
    Set your computer to standby mode after being idle for a couple of minutes. This would not only be healthier for your computer but this would also lessen your electricity consumption. Also, screen savers double as energy savers. Not only does it do that but, it helps preserve those precious pixels as being steady in a certain image for long hours can burn out your pixels.


Teach our children to conserve energy
    Children nowadays are not very conscious on conserving energy. They would often turn the television on to watch their show with their computers also turned on in front of them while they listening to the radio. They do too much multi-tasking that they don’t realize they’re not really being efficient. It is important that at an early age, they learn to understand the concept and importance of concentration and conservation. Sounds familiar?

Practice the earth hour as often as you can. Minimize the use of electricity and use only when needed. When all households will be contributing to this routine, it will definitely make a difference to mother earth. Let’s start acting now!

Next Earth Hour will be on the 26th March 2011, 8.30pm.



Cheftonio