Real Life Problem Solving Challenge: Save Electricity At Home

This is indeed an interesting challenge in the season. I never saw this coming... Saving electricity at home is something that we cannot overemphasize. Discussing solutions for better and cheaper energy consumption is paramount, as we see incremental charges in the energy billing system.

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The cost of powering the home is becoming financially burdensome given the inflationary challenges plaguing our economies. Be it generating sets or power supplies from electricity vendors, it is becoming quite challenging. But one thing that has to bother us since we cannot change the situation is to look for legitimate energy saving strategies to help cut costs.

There are arrays of home-use appliances that render services and improve ways of handling chores at home but they come with their own degree of energy charges. The more vital these items are, the more energy consumption it goes with. Some of the common appliances you find at home; Pressing Iron, Freezer/Refrigerator, Washing Machine, Ceiling Fan, Standing Fan (coil), Air Conditioning (AC), Lightening bulbs, Electric stove, TV sets, etc.

01 What are two electrical appliances in your home that use a lot of electricity? Explain with original pictures.

Among the listed electrical appliances, the top two energy-consuming items are my Deep Freezer and Pressing Iron. I would have listed other items like my "lightening bulbs" but that has been replaced by LED energy-saving bulbs with fewer watts capacity and my "Standing/Ceiling Fans" which were rendered redundant since the introduction of rechargeable fans and solar inverter fans. Since relocation, my AC is yet to be mounted because of the crazy energy bills, as there are plans to replace it with a solar inverter model.

Pressing Iron	Deep Freezer

Replacing the duo in my top list of appliances is also in view as this would make more sense in saving a great deal of energy. The deep freezer is an important player in kitchen services and most of our perishable items and fluids. This is the preservative hub of the home where cooked food is stored for subsequent use. It drives down the cost of handling food preparation. Instead of preparing food daily, which in turn burns out our cooking gas or electricity (when we use an electric stove), we can prepare it in larger quantities and store it.

On the other hand, the pressing iron is another key home appliance that helps in our personal fashion. The laundry done through the use of the washing machine is made available for pressing with the iron to strengthen them after the quizzing and rumpling... How we look most of the time greatly depends on the services of the pressing Iron. But because it contains a large coil inside its system to function well, it consumes more energy.

02 What two methods do you use to reduce electricity consumption? Show at least one practical method with a selfie.

In my location, ceteris paribus, there is over 20 to 24 hours of light supply and this makes it a lot easier to plan with my energy use. For the deep freezer, I usually put it on from 10pm till dawn. This is a time when the peak period is. gradually easing to off-peak usage. Energy supply is fuller and the freezing system is more intense. Before dawn, everything is blocked and could stay for the next 24 hours without use. This makes me use less energy during the day and night. At night, it is just basically the freezer that is active.

	Using the Pressing Iron during the day

Whereas during the day, this is where the use of my pressing iron comes in. I do not find myself using both heavy appliances simultaneously at any time. If there's any need to use the pressing iron, I always endeavour to switch off the freezer.

03 Have the two methods you use to reduce electricity consumption resulted in a reduction in your electricity bill or not? Explain

This method or strategy has remained my best strategy. The energy consumption drops significantly. Putting in place a clear dichotomy that doesn’t allow the use of heavy appliances all at once saves me a lot of units. This method support non usage of appliances when no one is using them at the moment.

Due to my nocturnal use of the deep freezer from night to dawn, the home is completely disconnected from any form of energy consumption when we all leave the apartment during the day to work.

04 What is the easiest habit for you to save electricity?

There are some basic habits we need to embrace at every point. These habits are already active in most of the smart homes we have today. Lights automatically come up when a room is in use and go off when out. These can be manually carried out as well for non-smart homes. We do not need to leave appliances open when not in use. As I mentioned earlier, I turn off the entire power system when leaving the house at any time.

Solar Fuse Box	Mini Home Solar Panel

Another habit is replacing all light bulbs with LED energy-saving bulbs. These are bulbs that have little energy used for light supplies. Their consumption is most of the time insignificant when compared to the overall light consumption at home.

Prioritising energy consumption is also another way of saving energy. We can avoid simultaneous use of heavy appliances but if possible, begin the replacement of these gadgets to modem energy-saving appliances. There are solar inverter products available for each of these items though a little costly.

05 What advice would you give to others to save electricity so that they can reduce their electricity bill and save money?

My advice is a model "do not turn on appliances when they are not in use or needed". We do not need to imbibe the habit of being energy-saving conscious.

Most of the time, our appliances are of the old models. There are improved home gadgets that consume less energy with improved performance. We need to start thinking of transitioning.

There are LED bulbs, rechargeable fans, solar inverter Air Conditioners, low energy-consuming deep freezers and refrigerators, etc. This is the way to go with a relatively permanent solution to our energy consumption.

Thank you, for reading...

I'm inviting @m-princess, @annydee01, and @peacemike