According to the US Department of Energy, the most effective way to conserve energy is through conservation and energy efficiency practices, which can reduce household electricity costs by up to 25%.
Energy efficiency is the reduction of energy waste.
It means doing the same task with less energy.
“The cleanest, cheapest, most reliable source of energy is what countries can avoid using, while still providing full energy services for citizens. That is why the IEA refers to energy efficiency as the ‘first fuel’.” – International Energy Agency
Small, simple actions and behavioural changes can add up to substantial savings in wasted energy and costs over the long term. When you calculate the number of items in your home that use energy (e.g. light bulbs, appliances, air conditioners, water heaters, electronics and more), it becomes clear that if you are using excess and unnecessary energy to power these items, it will negatively impact your utility bill.
The best place to start when implementing energy efficient practices is to assess your home’s energy use by finding out how you are using energy, and where you’re losing the most energy so you can develop a plan to save in the short and long term. If you have a BELCO AMI Meter installed, you can create an account at belco.bm and see your hourly usage, which will help you to determine which behaviours are the most beneficial to adjust.
For more information on how our AMI meters can assist with your energy efficiency endeavours, please visit: belco.bm
You may not realise it, but you probably have some well-established, energy-indulgent habits and behaviours that can be modified or adjusted. For example, on a hot day, do you need to lower the temperature down to 65°F inside, or could you bump it up a few degrees? Small actions can have a big impact. What habit changes and/or behaviour modifications are you willing to make?
“People around the world make around 40000 searches every second on Google. While you’re getting the answer for your query within a blink of an eye, it’s taking a lot of energy in return. Google’s data centers spend enough energy that can power 200,000 homes. It’s assumed that 10 Google searches cost energy that’s enough to power a 60-watt lightbulb for an hour.” – ecofriendlyfact.com
Concentrate on no-cost measures to become more energy efficient rather than high-cost measures first, and then see if your energy expenditure is at a level you’re happy with. If not, it might be time to consider higher-cost measures like investing in energy efficient appliances.
Not sure where to begin? We’re here to help. This list is not exhaustive, but we recommend trying some of these tips that are most relevant or appropriate for you.
- Educate your household so everyone recognises the importance of saving energy.
- Turn energy saving into a game for kids to help them to remember to switch things off.
“About 5000 years ago, man created his first energy source other than ancient fire (thank those cavemen!). It wasn’t until 1821 that the first natural gas light was created. And the first power plant wasn’t opened until 1882 by Thomas Edison. It serviced just eighty-five buildings. What seems like a standard of living that we can’t do without now is actually a fairly modern state of being.” – postconsumers.com
- Completely switch off your TV when no one is watching.
- If you’re listening to the radio through your TV, make sure you use the radio screen blanking feature if available.
- Turn the TV off before going to sleep or use a timer if you prefer to go to sleep with the TV on.
- Ensure your TV is on the most energy efficient “picture mode” available, which is generally the ‘standard’ option.
“Reducing your PC monitor brightness from 100% to 70% can save up to 20% of the energy the monitor uses. (Harvard)” – environment.admin.cam.ac.uk
- Turn your laptop and/or desktop computer off when not in use.
- Reduce your laptop and/or desktop computer’s brightness.
- Do not turn on or use printers unless completely necessary. Use e-tickets where possible.
- Unplug gaming consoles/systems when not in use.
“Only 5% of energy drawn from a phone charger is used to charge the phone. Chargers use energy as long as they are plugged into a power source so 95% of the energy is wasted.” – medium.com
- Stop overcharging your mobile phones by leaving them on charge all night.
- Consider utilising your mobile phone settings, such as screen brightness, battery-saving-mode and airplane mode, to reduce your phone’s charging time. Better still, turn off your phone completely when charging it. The less power your device is using, the quicker the charge time.
- Try solar portable charging banks for your mobile phones and other devices.
“LED light bulbs use only one-sixth of the electricity that the traditional incandescent bulbs use. But they are 40 times more long-lasting than the traditional ones.” – ecofriendlyfact.com
- Regularly dust lights to avoid needing additional forms of lighting.
- Turn the lights off when you leave a room.
- Arrange your rooms to let natural light in through the windows and use mirrors to reflect that light to help keep rooms bright.
- Make the most of natural light during the day – open curtains and blinds throughout the house to let the light in.
- Clean dirty windows, both on the inside and outside as dirt can block up to 10% of natural sunlight!
- Keep sliding glass door tracks clean because a dirty track can ruin the door’s seal and create gaps where cold air can escape.
“Heating homes in the winter and cooling them in the summer accounts for over 55% of the average American’s utility bills.” – erc-co.org
- Turn off your air conditioning units in rooms that are not in use.
- If it’s hot outside, draw your blinds and curtains to block the sun’s rays.
- Think about how you’re dressed. Can you achieve a comfortable temperature by dressing down when at home? Can dressing down allow you to have a slightly higher temperature on your air conditioning system (For example, 72°F instead of 68°F)?
- Open windows to create a cross breeze, allowing you to naturally cool your home without switching on air conditioners. This is an ideal tactic in spring when temperatures are mild.
- Turn off your fan when you leave the room.
- Got wooden or tile floors? Swap your vacuum for a broom.
- Don’t iron items that people never see.
- Try to do one fewer load of washing a week.
- Soak particularly dirty clothing items before you put them in the washing machine.
- Give all items a decent shake when transferring from washer to dryer to prevent tangled items from taking longer to dry.
- Keep your dryer in a warm room.
- Remove clothes from the dryer as soon as they’re dry.
- If your dryer has vents, check that the outside vent works properly and doesn’t have any dust or debris that might be blocking it.
- Hang your clothes to dry.
- Cook outside on a grill.
- Don’t cook food in its frozen state.
- Use smaller appliances and oven alternatives, such as microwaves, slow cookers, pressure cookers, toasters, air fryers, etc.
- Keep the glass in the oven door clean so you can look in without opening the oven door.
- Reduce potato cooking time by boiling them in a saucepan before roasting them in the oven.
- When cooking on the stovetop, use lids, where possible, to keep the heat in.
“If everyone boiled only the water they needed every time they used the kettle, we would save enough electricity in a year to power the UK street lights for nearly seven months. (Energy Saving Trust)” – environment.admin.cam.ac.uk
- When boiling water on the stovetop, be sure to only use as much water as you need to cover the food you’re cooking.
- When boiling water in a kettle, only boil the amount of water required.
“A fridge that your parents bought 30 years ago uses four times more electricity than the modern one you’re using now.” – ecofriendlyfact.com
- Defrost frozen food ahead of time in the fridge.
- Scrape dirty dishes instead of rinsing them before loading in the dishwasher.
- Try to reduce running the dishwasher by one run each week.
- If you wash up by hand, make sure you use a washing up bowl rather than running water from the tap the entire time.
- Use a shower timer to reduce the length of your showers.
- Take slightly colder showers when possible.
- Swap one bath per week for a four/five-minute shower.
- Turn the shower off when lathering up (shampoo, shower gel or soap).
- Turn the tap off when you’re brushing your teeth, shaving, or washing your face.
“When we turn our clocks forward each spring, we shift an hour of daylight toward the end of the day. In 2008, U.S. Department of Energy experts studied the impacts of extending Daylight Saving Time by four weeks. The extension saved 0.5 percent of electricity each day. Even though it’s a small percentage, that amounts to 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours saved, or the amount of electricity used by over 100,000 households for a whole year.” – climate.nasa.gov
It’s easiest to start with simple, no-cost practices and then progress to more costly investments overtime. Any action taken to reduce energy consumption can lead to savings on your monthly bill while also reducing harmful environmental emissions.
For more tips on energy efficiency, visit: belco.bm