Saloni Khare tells you how to...

Recently I chanced upon a conversation in which the lady of the house was telling another that she had switched over to a new range of lamps that offered huge savings in terms of energy consumed and cost thereon. I was all ears as she went into considerable detail regarding the economics. Making a mental note, I headed straight for the lights dealer to get the mathematics right.

This is what I gathered. Assuming that you run a 100W bulb for say, six hours every evening and the electricity costs Rs 2.50 per unit (well over Rs 3 in some cases), your yearly cost per point is Rs 547.50. Compare this to a 20W economy saving bulb which gives the same light output of a 100W bulb. The electricity consumption is automatically one-fifth or 20 per cent. In money terms, your expense is down to Rs 109.50 per point — a cool saving of Rs 438. This is for a single point.

The figure is quite substantial when you multiply it by the number of points you use per day. These bulbs have a life span of five years and therefore, make up for their initial high purchase cost over this extended life.

Other changes in your home can go a long way towards keeping electricity bills reasonable:

•Switch over to a 36W slimline tubelight which gives a power output twice that of a 100W incandescent bulb. It renders a saving of over 60 per cent, in addition to more light.

•Replace the traditional chokes of your tube lights with electronic ones. This saves a further two-third of the energy consumed.

• Keep lights and fixtures clean and dirt-free. Dust and dirt reduce lighting levels by as much as 30 per cent.

• The next time you decide to paint the walls of your house, go in for light colours. Doing this helps reduce lighting requirements by up to 40 per cent.

• Consider rearranging the furniture to make your lighting task-based. Reading, studying, cooking and sewing require more light. Watching TV or conversation require much less.

• With the approach of summers, use of ACs is unavoidable. Try to use them an hour or two less every day. Keep windows shut after switching off to keep the room cool for some more time. You would be saving significantly on power consumption. An AC switched off for an hour can keep a 36 watt slimline tubelight going for 50 hours!

•Clean the AC filter at least once a fortnight. A choked filter means improper cooling and greater power consumption.

• Refrigerator expenses can be reduced by cooling the food sufficiently before storing in refrigerators. Check on the seal or gasket lining of the fridge. Avoid opening the fridge door frequently. Defrost the fridge once the ice gets more than 1/4 inch thick. Regular defrosting reduces power consumption.

• Clean and lubricate your fans regularly. Replace old resistance regulators with electronic regulators. As with lights, switch off fans when leaving a room.

• Use of instant heating water heaters rather than storage water heaters ensures electric consumption only to the extent required.
So next time you open up your electricity bill let a 100W smile light up your face, not a zero watt worried frown...

Appliance Capacity Consumption
Instant geyser 3000 W 3 units per hour
Immersion Rod 1000 W 1 unit per hour
Air Conditioner 1500 - 2500 W 8.5 - 14.5 units/day
Air cooler 170 W 1.7 units/day
Fan 60 W0, 6 unit/day
Refrigerator 200 W 2 units/day
Electric kettle 1000-2000 W 1-2 units/hour
Hot plate 1000-1500 W 1-1.5 unit/hour
Oven 1000 W 1 unit/hour
Toaster 800 W 0.8 unit/hour
Iron 750 W 0.65-0.75 unit/hour
Incandescent bulb 100/60/40 W 0.5/0.3/0.2 unit/day
Fluorescent lamp 40/20 W 0.28/0.15/day
Slim tube 36 W 0.26 units/day
Compact fluorescent
Lamp 7/9/11/13 W 0.06-0.09 unit/day

Source Energy Management Centre, Ministry of Power, Government of India