Tips on how reduce your electricity bill
Take advantage of the heat sensing control for stove plates. It allows the stove plate to cut off the electricity supply occasionally while still cooking. It does not affect the food, only your bill.
Is your electricity bill so high that it makes you want to fall off your chair? Eskom shared some tips on how to save electricity, to help decrease your bill.
Dishwasher
Fill the dishwasher completely before operating. Partial loads waste electricity and water.
Short wash cycles, rinse-only cycles, mid-cycle turn-off, and other features are designed for energy conservation as well as convenience.
Refrigerator
Choose a refrigerator of a size based on the needs of your family – a refrigerator operates at peak efficiency when full.
Do not open your refrigerator door needlessly. By getting into the habit of removing and replacing several articles at once, you’ll save electricity.
Let hot foods cool down before placing them in the refrigerator. (To prevent bacterial growth allow about 20 minutes standing time).
Switch off, empty or clean your fridge when taking an extended holiday.
Freezer
Freezers and refrigerators operate most efficiently when filled to the capacity recommended by the manufacturers.
Food to be frozen should be placed in contact with those parts of the freezer that contain the refrigerant tubes, usually the sides of chest models.
On all models, keep the condenser panels at the rear of the freezer clean and dust free for maximum efficiency and conservation of energy.
Electric stove
Use a pressure cooker to conserve energy when cooking foods that take a long time, such as pot roasts, stews and steamed puddings.
Do not overcook foods, especially vegetables. Overcooking destroys essential nutrients.
For full efficiency from radiant stove plates, the stove plate reflectors (underneath the stove plates) should always be kept clean.
Microwave oven
Use your microwave oven to cook small to medium quantities of food. To cook larger portions of meat, it is better to use a conventional oven.
Never turn your microwave on when it is empty, you could damage it.
Keep the edges of your microwave door and its hinges clean. To wash the inside of your oven, boil a cup of water in it and then wipe down.
Washing machine
Buy a washing machine which offers a variety of water temperature settings.
A front-loading washing machine uses less water and costs less to operate, even though the purchase price may be higher than that of a top loader.
Use warm and cold water settings as much as possible in order to cut down on power consumption.
Tumble dryer
Clean the lint filter on the dryer after each operation to maintain full air flow and to maximise the drying efficiency.
On sunny days, take advantage of good weather and dry your clothes outside.
Iron
An iron consumes as much energy as ten 100 watt light bulbs. Several steps can be taken to increase ironing efficiency.
Iron low temperature fabrics first to reduce warm up time.
By removing clothing promptly from the dryer and folding it carefully, many items will require no ironing, or just a quick press.
Heaters
Electric blankets consume little electricity. However, the correct method of use is to switch them on to the highest setting and warm the bed just before climbing in – then switch them off.
Close doors and windows when using a heater.
For more tips, click here.
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