10 Tips to Reduce Your Electricity Footprint

You don’t need to see the stats to know that Shanghai wastes electricity – just look at the night sky. Where the fudge are the stars? China’s per capita usage is just a modest 4300-something kWh, which is three times lesser than United States’ number. But Shanghai shamelessly uses around 700 kWh per capita which ranks the highest in consumption compared to the other provinces in the country. Electricity looks clean, but people, we know it is mostly from coal – which means years of smog winters to come. We have compiled a list of really simple and easy tricks that can reduce your electricity footprint.

China’s electricity mix in 2016 in TWh, Simon Goss,nerypost.eu

Source: dx.doi.org

Air Conditioners/Heating:  Set the alarm

Four seasons-weather pattern is colourful but with it comes high electricity bills due to overuse of AirCons. If you are buying a new AirCon, make sure it has the energy level 1. A really simple tip is to use the timer mode to switch off at a set time after cooling or heating. For example, if you wake up at 6:30am, you can set the AC to switch off at 5:45. Even 30 min of off-time makes a big difference.

Refrigerators: Keep it away from heat

Just like the AC, it is a good idea to familiarize with the energy label for refrigerator purchases. Refrigertors unlike AC, are always on and is the biggest chunk of your electricity bill. A very simple trick is to keep the fridge away heat sources: Do not keep them near the balcony under direct sunlight, or near the oven or inside the kitchen. Even a measly 5 deg C difference can reduce up to 20% eletricity use.
 

Television: turn up the volume..NOT!

There is nothing more annoying that waking up to a loud Mandarin language TV program that your neighbour decides to watch on a Saturday morning. Also, loud volume is not energy efficient. Turning down the volume even by 2% will save a good few watts here and there. It will be a good experiment to try and see the exact numbers saved. My mother who is partially deaf, watches the TV on mute – am sure she saves a lot of electricity than I do. 
 

Image Source: capehearingaids.com

Computers: Screensavers don’t save

Yes, you had a great vacation and you have to brag. Even if you are not at your desk, you would like them beach photos to float around when your computer is in ‘screensaver’ mode. It is not good news for eletrcitiy saving. If you use 3D images, it is even worse as it will put your computer into gaming mode and burning more electricity. So, the smart thing to do would to keep your screensaver option to “none” as shown below. It will also increase your laptop battery life. 

Bulbs: Invest in the eco-friendly options

It will be easier to remember what kind of bulb to avoid and that would be the traditional-incandescent type. Almost 90% of the energy given off by it is actually just heat. Three types to remember to look for are the halogen-incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Invest a bit more of money in them, they save a ton of eletricity and is ideal if you want to leave them on for extended periods of time in the night. 

Image source: energy.gov

Lights: Be concious, turn it off.

It is a myth that a bulb burns more energy when you switch it on and off vs leaving it on. It does however, sometimes impact the bulb itself, as it will reduce their operating life. No matter what type of bulb you use, keeping them off, will by default, save electricity. A simple tip is, if you are not in that room, switch the lights off. Your cats can see in the dark, they won’t care.

Close them curtains: Prevent cooling or heating leaks

Curtains provide privacy but is also an energy saver. The windows, even when closed, will cause heat or cooling loss and will change your indoor air temperatures. Around 25 percent of your heated or cooled air is lost and your cooling/heating-unit will continue to work harder to maintain the temperature. It won’t be a bad idea to invest in insulated curtains for your house. Check this one out on Taobao. But just try keep your curtains closed and see the difference.

Powerstrips:

Using a powerstrip won’t reduce your eletricity consumption, but is a neat trick. If you are using multiple gadgets like computer, TV etc, you can plug them all into in the same powerstrip. That way, when you leave your house, you can turn them all off at once. Remember, the electricity will continue to be drawn from sockets plugged-in electronics, even when they’re turned off.

USB Fan for cooling you down at work

It is tempting to blast that AC full on as soon as your sit at your desk after your morning commute. Resist that tempetation and plug in your USB fan. Chances are that the temperature inside your office is already lower than outdoors – you just need to give your body time to cool down. For this, a haldheld fan or a desktop USB fan is ideal. You will notice that this tiny fan will make you feel cold just after 10 minutes of use. 

Smartphones: Use them for quick research

The  bar-graph explains it all. Your smartphone is perhaps the most electricity efficient gadget for browsing. Of course, extend periods of internet research on your phone will break your spine, cause text-neck  and you will probably spend more for doctor visits. Nonetheless, if it is for quickly surfing the internet reviews etc, smartphones are ideal.

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