How's your Electric Bill?

My boss told me that it’s now P13.00 per kwH (or maybe higher, I forgot the exact value). As a result, people’s electric bills have doubled. I’m not super affected because my electric bill here at Fort.5 never goes past P400.00 (woohoo!) We don’t have air conditioning and we’re out most of the time. We actually don’t need A/C since its pretty cool here (no direct sunlight!) , besides – wala sa amin ang nasanay na naka A/C. I have an energy efficient ref, use LPG, and bring laundry home to Laguna (not too efficient, but hey, we go home on weekends anyway, so oks lang). Other appliances include a toaster, a microwave oven, an iron (si LTJG lang naman ang nagpaplantsa, my clothes are usually wash and wear) and an old, old TV (probably the least efficient of our stuff), laptop, printer, scanner. All our lights are Compact Flourescent Lamps (CFL) may cost more but illuminates better and lasts xxx more than your normal round bulbs (meron pa ba non???)

Anyway, I’ve been visiting the Department of Energy a lot because of my job, and I’d like to share with you some of the tips I got from some DOE flyers. They have a LOT on energy awareness, I wonder how they spread the word around? Allow me to give them a hand… and I quote, “Start today and see how much you can save!”

On Airconditioning

~ Choose an A/C unit with high “Energy Efficiency Ratio” (EER). This consumes less electricity. Newer models nowadays are always labeled.

~ If you’re leaving the room for a long time (say, more than 2 hours), turn off the A/C, it uses less current to bring the temperature down again when you return and turn it on again.

~ Switch to fluorescent lighting. Incandescent bulbs are much better heaters than light sources (that’s why they’re used for poultry!) – these IBs will compete with you’re A/Cs, making it work harder.

On Refs and Freezers

~ Defrost regularly. More than ¼ inch of ice build up puts on an extra load on the motor

~ Check ref if it is not losing cool because of a leaking gasket (edge of door). Test this by closing the door on a peso (or dollar or dong or whatever, hehe). If the bill slips out when you pull on it, it’s either the gasket needs replacement or the door needs adjusting

~ Don’t set the thermostat colder to get it started on the theory that it will cool/ freeze faster.

~ Make sure you have just the right size fridge for your needs!

On Kitchen Appliances

~ Thaw frozen food thoroughly before cooking

~ Do not boil water in an open pan/ pot. Covered pots will boil sooner over less heat

~ Never use small pans on big burners or heating elements (for electric). Flame or heat exceeding the diameter of the pan is lost in the air.


On Laundry

~ Avoid washing partial loads. In other words, ipunin ang labada bago labhan. Use the full machine capacity

~ Avoid using the electric drier. Practice using the old-fashioned sampayan !

~ Dampen clothes moderately when ironing. Excessive moistened clothes take longer to iron

~ Turn off flat iron shortly before ironing the last piece.. it will stay hot long enough to finish the job


That’s all for now! Remember, conserving energy or using energy efficiently not only lowers your electric bills but also lets you contribute less to the energy shortage AND pollution ;-)