0

Tips to Reduce Energy Consumption & Electricity Bill in India

Wouldn’t it be great if you are able to reduce your electricity bills by up to 50%? Well, by all means, it’s possible and requires you to follow simple energy-conserving steps. It saves your money and increases energy security, and helps in reducing pollution.

There are numerous ways to save electricity and conserve energy in your home.

This article enlightens your knowledge by discussing the tips to reduce energy consumption resulting in reduced electricity bills.

You can take proactive measures and bring changes in your lifestyle for reducing your energy consumption. For example, using energy-efficient appliances and switching off the devices when not in use; is a simple way of avoiding using unnecessary energy.

Follow the below-mentioned tips for reducing energy consumption and electricity bills effectively.

Install Solar Panels

The future belongs to clean and green energy sources like solar energy. Therefore, governments are promoting the usage of solar energy across the globe by giving subsidies. As a result, there is increased awareness about adopting this massive source of energy.

Every year, India receives around 300 days of sunshine, and that makes it an ideal place for harnessing solar energy.

Solar panels provide an efficient way of generating renewable electricity in an eco-friendly way. These can be installed on your rooftop or terrace.

Although installing solar panels requires a one-time investment, you can easily recover the costs many times over and make substantial savings on your electricity bills in the long run. These

On average, a 1kWp solar rooftop plant that receives 5.5 sunshine hours daily can generate approx 4.6 kWh of electricity.

Moreover, installing solar panels on your rooftop allows you to generate electricity for your own needs and contribute to the electricity grid. Thus, you can export the excess energy to the electric grid and reduce the need for electricity for your usage.

Use LED Lighting and Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs

Using low-consumption LED lighting, and energy-efficient light bulbs help in creating a big difference in your electricity costs. With LED (light-emitting diodes) lights, you can make huge savings as these reduce your consumption of lighting energy up to 90 per cent.

On the contrary, traditional incandescent light bulbs increase your consumption of lighting energy by consuming an excessive amount of electricity. Thus, you need to replace them with energy-efficient light bulbs.

The compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs are five times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, while LED bulbs are more energy-efficient than CFL bulbs. Thus, replace all your light bulbs with LED bulbs as these can save about 70% electricity.

Use Power Strips for Connecting Multiple Gadgets

If you have any electrical or electronic appliances placed near each other and vying for an electrical outlet, use a power strip for plugging them.

Thus, when none of these devices are needed, you can switch all of them at once for saving immense energy.

Use Light Colours Wall Paints

Ensure to paint your walls in light colours to reflect the existing natural light and thereby reduce the dependency on artificial lighting. Thus, try to accommodate sunlight in your home as far as possible for saving energy and boosting your mood.

• Use natural light as far as possible. For example, rather than working under the lights, open the curtains and blinds in the daytime to accommodate natural light. Using natural light is not only economical but also refreshing.
• Always switch off the lights and appliances when not required.
• Take help of technology for switching On/Off lighting circuits by installing motion sensors, solar cells, infrared sensors, dimmers, automatic timers, etc.
• Prefer task lighting like using a reading lamp rather than lighting the whole room for reading.
• Ensure to dust your tube lights and lamps regularly as dirty tube lights and bulbs reflect poor light.
• Ensure that your home design has provisions for accommodating natural sunlight and ventilation for reducing the lighting and cooling requirements of appliances.

• The cost of using an AC (Rs 10 per hour) is much higher than a ceiling fan (30 paise an hour). During winters or cold climatic conditions, avoid using an air conditioner for beating the summer heat. Instead, use ceiling fans or table fans.
• Keep the air conditioner temperature at 24°C-25°C for reducing electricity consumption. If you run it at a lower 18 °C temperature, it consumes much more electricity.
• Shade your home windows and walls as it helps in reducing the air-conditioning energy consumption by up to 40 per cent.
• Use fans for circulating cool air in your room.
• Ensure that the doors and windows to your air-conditioned rooms are closed. Any leakage increases the workload of your AC and its power consumption.
• Buy and install the latest energy-efficient,5-star, and inverter-based air conditioner while replacing the old ones. The latest inverter tech ACs are designed to optimize power consumption and provide substantial power savings while working continuously.
• Ensure to clean the filters of your AC regularly, as dirty air filters may reduce airflow and increase electricity consumption.
• Get the annual professional checkups and servicing of your AC; done on time. Ensure your air conditioner’s components are performing optimally at the highest efficiency.
• Plant lots of trees in your garden to keep the sun’s heat away.

• Ensure to place your refrigerators away from direct sunlight and other sources of heat like ovens or stovetops.
• Keep enough space around the refrigerator for ensuring continuous airflow.
• Don’t keep the door of your refrigerator open for long. Be clear about what you need from your fridge before opening its door.
• Don’t keep too hot or warm food directly inside your fridge. Instead, allow it to cool and cover it well before placing it in the fridge compartments.
• Ensure that the rubber door seals of the refrigerator are tightly closed.
• Do regular cleaning of your fridge and clean the coils at regular intervals for maintaining the free circulation of air.
• If your fridge needs manual defrost, then remember to defrost the freezer compartment at regular intervals.

• Use microwave ovens for reducing cooking time, especially when you are cooking small quantities of food. Replacing your regular oven with a microwave can provide up to 50% savings on your cooling energy costs.
• While using a microwave for cooking multiple food items, ensure to keep larger and thicker food items outside for proper heat circulation.
• Use an energy-efficient electric kettle for heating water as it consumes less power.
• Keep your electric kettles regularly clean by using vinegar and boiling water for removing hard mineral deposits.
• Ensure to fill the kettle with the amount of water needed and avoid overfilling it.

• Always shut down your computer and turn off your TV when not in use.
• Ensure that your computers, copiers, monitors go on sleep mode when not used for some time. This helps in reducing energy costs by 40 per cent.
• Whenever you are done charging your laptops, digital camera, and smartphones, ensure to pull the charger from the plug as it may continue to draw power.