The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : Tips to cut your power bills

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Friday, Jul 04, 2008
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Kerala - Kochi

Tips to cut your power bills

G. Krishnakumar

KOCHI: Worried over electricity costs rising to shocking heights? The Bureau of Energy Efficiency under the Union Ministry of Power is ready to help consumers.

It has come out with several valuable tips on how to keep your bills under control. The programme is part of the nationwide campaign to save energy for the future.

According to experts, the light switch is the best energy-saving device. Turn off lights when not required. Many automatic devices can help in saving energy used in lighting.

Consider employing infrared sensors, motion sensors, automatic timers, dimmers and solar cells wherever applicable, to switch on/off lighting circuits.

As far as possible use task lighting that focuses light where it is needed. A reading lamp, for example, lights only reading material rather than the whole room. Dirty tubelights and bulbs reflect less light and can absorb 50 percent of the light; dust your tubelights and lamps regularly. Fluorescent tubelights and Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) convert electricity to visible light up to five times more efficiently than ordinary bulbs and thus save about 70 percent of electricity for the same lighting levels. Ninety percent of the energy consumed by an ordinary bulb (incandescent lamp) is given off as heat rather than visible light. So it is better to replace your electricity-guzzling ordinary bulbs (incandescent lamps) with more efficient types.

The CFLs use up to 75 percent less electricity than incandescent lamps. Use ceiling or table fan as first line of defence against summer heat. Ceiling fans, for instance, cost about 30 paise an hour to operate — much less than air conditioners (Rs.10 per hour).You can reduce air-conditioning energy use by as much as 40 percent by shading your home’s windows and walls. Plant trees and shrubs to keep the day’s hottest sun off your house.Turn off your computers, be it at home or at office, when not in use. A computer that runs 24 hours a day, for instance, uses — more power than an energy-efficient refrigerator.

Screen savers save computer screens, not energy. Start-ups and shutdowns do not use any extra energy, nor are they hard on the computer components. In fact, shutting computers down when you are finished using them actually reduces system wear, and saves energy. Battery chargers, such as those for laptops, cell phones and digital cameras, draw power whenever they are plugged in and are very inefficient.

Pull the plug and save. — that is the mantra for conserving energy.

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