House is a fixed factor in energy consumption. A properly designed house
would provide ample light in the daytime and thus energy consumption for light
in daytime would be near zero. By using proper material for construction and the
right direction of windows, Energy requirement for Air-conditioning (cooling)
and heating can be reduced drastically. Solar energy can be used in the design
to either keep the house cool in summer/or Heat in winter.
In India, generally houses are not designed to be Energy efficient - if so it
is rather accidental rather than a well-focused design concept. One cannot
change the house design drastically after building. However if one is planning
to purchase a house or relocate a house, one can look for energy efficient
design. If one is planning for constructing a house, he has the freedom to
design energy efficient house, in consultation with Energy Experts.
Certain gadgets like Water Tank Level indicators really help not only to save
electricity but also help to avoid water wastage (overflow) by blind pumping.
These gadgets really help to save energy and give indication and timely warning
about water availability.
The wastage Factors
Insulation
Faulty wiring
Over rated heating gadgets
Improper fittings
Wrong placement
Negligence in usage
Wrong habits
Improper usage
Improper ventilation
Negligence toward maintenance
Locating and Saving Energy losses
Locating the source of wastage will help us to plug the wastage and find
alternatives and corrective action required
Electricity Usage
Lightning is the most common use of electricity. Lightning contributes to
about 20 to 25 % of electricity consumption in a household.
Air Conditioning could contribute 40 to 70% of consumption in a household
in summer months.
Water heating in winter for taking bath could contribute to 30 to 40% of
consumption.
Room heating using room heater could contribute 30 to 50% of electric
consumption in winter
Well designed Refrigerator consumes around 10%
Television is responsible for about 5% of electric consumption.
Less than 5 to 15% of consumption is from other gadgets like Press for
ironing and other miscellaneous gadgets
The percentage of consumption share depends on life style and family size and
number of hours utilized in each function.
Especially in the Air-conditioned Rooms, It is a good idea to use double
glass properly fitted window. The window cost may double but in the long run
energy saving would make it economical. Doors of good insulating material are
recommended. There should be no leeks through doors and windows.
If a new house being constructed, hollow bricks may be used. One can consider
insulating walls by using double walled insulating material.
Choose the proper colour to obtain maximum reflection or absorption of heat
energy. Surface finish can be designed to obtain proper reflection/absorption
characteristics. Using properly design fan and humidity control may reduce
number of hours/days Air-conditioning need to be used in summer.
Think and adopt methods to reduce volume of the living room. This will result
in saving energy, as the requirement of energy will be reduced both in summer
and winter.
Saving Energy in Kitchen
Kitchen is the center of cooking activity-requiring energy for all
activities. Utensils like kadai and tawa get deposits due repeated use of oil,
giving them a layer of bad conductor. This results in gas wastage. The deposits
need to be removed regularly. Use proper size of burner. A right utensil for the
right job saves gas usage. Utensils with flat bottom get heated faster but are
not suitable for deep frying.
Switching off gas when not require and not leaving gas on with utensil on gas
waiting for vegetable to be cut etc. would result in gas waste. Cooking in
excess of requirement results in excess energy while cooking. Then, energy used
in Refrigeration to save the food from spoiling and ultimately a major wastage
as most of the excess old food goes to dustbin.
Leaving the water tap open or opening the tap more than required with full
force, results in water wastage and energy wastage as the water has to be pumped
using Electric Energy.
Using Cooker or cooking under pressure by closing the lid of utensil saves
considerable energy and time.
Exhaust fan in the kitchen if too big would create vacuumed in the kitchen
resulting in cool air to be sucked in from outside and flow over cooking
utensils on the gas, delay in delivering heat within utensil.
Avoid preheating oven to save energy.
Liquid Petroleum Gas
At present LPG is exclusively used in Kitchen for cooking. Today it is the
most economical fuel and its usage can be extended to water heating and running
Generators at home and also as a stand by power. An average family uses one gas
cylinder of 14.5 Kg per month.
Saving Energy in Bathrooms
Use washing machine with full load. Less energy is consumed with one full
load than two half load. This will also save time. Using shower requires less
water and less hot water. This could result in big saving.
Lot of energy could go wasted through leaking hot water tap.
Generally pipes from storage heater to taps go through wall, In winter the
wall becomes cold and lot of energy gets wasted while water is getting delivered
through such pipes. Pipes should be insulted and not to far from water heater.
Another aspect of storage heater is while the hot water is drawn, cold water
fills the tank cooling the hot water. So while 25 Litres may heated to say 80
degree, but a bucket of 25 litres when filled will be 50 to 60 degree or less
depending on temperature of inlet water. The solution may lie in using
pre-heated water from solar heater or simply use a instant heater as it does not
store much water. Energy is not wasted in heating excess water. Hot Water should
be drawn when needed and not in advance as the water would cool down fast in
winter.
Your best choice in low-flow shower heads is one with a temporary shut-off
button that allows you to turn off the water while lathering up without having
to readjust the temperature when you turn the water back on.
Turn off the water while shampooing or soaping up. Use a brush or washcloth
to get rid of stubborn dirt quickly.
House electric wiring should be fault free, equipped with proper fuse and
over load protection. The wire rating should be at least twice the load
otherwise the wires carrying current will become hot and lose energy and would
be in danger of catching fire and may result in short circuit.
The consumption by way of lightning though not very high is a common function
and is required through out the year as bare minimum for todays society
norms. Therefore the cumulative effect could be substantial.
Whenever water is heated, the loss of heat depends on area of surface exposed
to air, the conductivity of vessel and also the difference between water
temperature and atmosphere temperature. 35% of energy is last through walls in
case of Air conditioning and heating and 25% through roof. Only 45% of energy is
utilized in that case.
Areas not used can be lighted with lower wattage bulbs to save the energy.
Gadgets like TV should be switched off when not being watched. Many new
technologies are coming up for lightning before using and investing on them, one
must calculate their economy. Some times it is not possible to recover the
additional cost in the life time of the lightning gadget. CFL lamps of
appropriate wattage are good solution at this stage. Using electronic regulators
instead of resistance type may save energy.
Maintenance & Safety
Keep the electric wiring in good health change any wire getting hot. Use good
quality of plugs and sockets to avoided loose contact. Clean bulbs and tube
lights regularly as the dust deposited over them can cut out as much as 50% of
light.
Leaking pipes especially hot water pipes and fault taps need to be attended
urgently. Water leakage from flush could empty the overhead tank in few hours.
Get the geyser cleaned every year to remove salt and scaling. Scaling and
deposits result in delayed heating and energy wastage.
Using more efficient gadgets
A Sure way of reducing the wastage is to use more efficient gadgets especially
like Air -Conditioner, Water heater, TV and light bulbs.
Tips for Using Refrigerator/Freezer
Set the refrigerator temperature between 36 and 40 degrees Fahrenheit,
the freezer not lower than 0 degrees Fahrenheit.
Open the doors as seldom as possible and close them quickly, Do not
remove and keep putting things with the door open for more than required
time. When telephone bill rings as you open the Fridge close the fridge
before attending to the call.
Cool foods to room temperature before placing them in the refrigerator
unless otherwise noted in the recipe. But don't leave food out so long at
room temperature that you start growing salmonella, botulism or other nasty
food poison. Don't leave food out on for longer than 30 minutes.
Defrost manual refrigerators when the frost is inch thick.
If you do not need a second refrigerator, then unplug it and have the
door removed.
Keep condenser coils clean.
Keep the freezer portion full. This will help you to retain cold air
as you open and close the door. Your freezer works more efficiently when
full than when nearly empty, so put some plastic containers like old milk
jugs with water in them in the freezer to take up empty space. Really. This
isn't a joke.
Make sure foods are covered before you put them in the refrigerator.
Otherwise the moisture in them will evaporate, which makes the refrigerator
use more energy.
Make sure you get everything out the first time you open the door.
This will help to eliminate unnecessary door openings.
Range/Oven
Only use pots and pans that fit the heating units.
Use a flat bottom pan with a tight fitting lid.
Don't preheat the oven unless the recipe calls for it.
You do not always have to preheat when you are broiling.
Use a timer and try to avoid opening the oven door before the food is
done.
Plan meals ahead so that several foods can be cooked at one time.
Use a pressure cooker, instead of oven - it can save energy and
shorten cooking time.
Microwave
Use when reheating leftovers.
Use to thaw out foods when time does not permit natural thawing.
Use the microwave oven in place of the conventional oven whenever
possible in the summer because the microwave does not heat up the kitchen.
Easy Cooking Tips
You don't have to relearn how to do everything from making a feast to boiling
water to achieve some easy energy-savings in the kitchen.
Smaller is better. Smaller pans need less energy to heat up. Microwaves
use less energy than full-size ovens. Smaller ovens use less energy than larger
ones. Match the pan size to the size of the element on your electric cook-top.
Make sure the pan covers the burner without going more than an inch beyond it.
If you use a burner that is larger than the pan, you are paying to heat not just
the pan but the air over the uncovered part of the burner.
Clean those metal burner pans under the burners so they are bright and shiny.
They'll reflect the heat better back up to the pan. (It stands to reason that
chrome-finish burner pans reflect more heat than black metal burner pans, but I
haven't found my theory confirmed anywhere. Can anyone tell me if I got this
right?)
Cover your pots when you can. The water will boil faster. That's physics.
Use the least amount of water you can get away with. It will take less time
and energy to bring it to a boil. Use the lowest possible heat setting to keep
the water boiling, steaming, simmering, or whatever your recipe calls for.
If you have an electric cook-top, turn the burner off right before you finish
cooking. Make use of the heat the burner continues to give off as it cools down.
The flame on your gas burner should be blue. A yellow flame means the gas is
not burning efficiently. Call the gas company to check it.
Defrost frozen food in the refrigerator before cooking. None of that
"just run it under warm water until its ready." That wastes hot water.
And don't just toss the hamburger on the counter to thaw. You are asking for
visit from the food poisoning fairy.
Preheat your oven the minimum amount of time. In fact, while breads and
pastries need a preheated oven other foods may not.
Turn on the oven light and look through the window in the door instead of
opening the door to check if the food is done. Every time you open that door it
takes the food longer to finish and you waste heat that the oven worked hard to
make. For the same reason, don't peak under the lids on the stove-top.
Don't put foil on the racks or block the flow of air in your oven any other
way. To keep that air flowing, stagger pans on the upper and lower racks if you
are using more than one pan at a time.
Don't overcook food. Set a timer. Use a meat thermometer.
If you are going to use the self-cleaning feature on your oven (and do you
really need to?), start the feature right after you've cooked something so the
oven starts out already hot. Remember not to use it more than once a month (less
if possible). Be sure your ventilation fan is on when cleaning the oven.
Your microwave will work more efficiently if the inside surfaces are clean.
So if yours looks like the microwave at work, with three inches of crud on the
walls, it's time to get out the sponge.
If you have microwave-safe serving dishes, use those in the microwave so you
only have one dish to wash instead of two.
Energy Audit
If you want to be more scientific, either you can do the energy audit your self
or take the help of an electric engineer. Make a chart of all gadgets including
bulbs etc along with the wattage. Not down the time for which they are used in
day. Multiply wattage and time in hours to get individual Kilowatt hour used by
individual item, Add Kilowatt hour used by each item to get the total
consumption of the day.
Gadgets with auto cutouts like geyser Air-conditioners, Ovens etc - it is the
time actually the gadget used electricity and not the time for which it remained
on.
Useful Reference Links:
