The Easy Way To Save Electricity And Money

By Wan Shahara Ahmad Ghazali KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 (Bernama) -- Consumers who feel the pinch due to the rising cost of living still have two choices in managing with their purse - earn more money or cut down on spending. However, due to time constraints, the second option is an easier and a practical one. Cutting down the spending starts right from home, and the small savings from many fronts accumulate into big savings. One of the places where one can easily save is by using electricity prudently and therefore effectively reducing their electricity bills. Cutting down the electricity cost through prudent usage is a viable option and has been proven through a project undertaken by students of a secondary level school, namely Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Marudi, Baram, in Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. The project that won the competition organised by the Malaysia Water and Energy Consumer Association (Wecam), proved that by making some adjustments to our daily lifestyle, the use of electricity could be reduced by 70 per cent within two months. PROTECTING EVERYONE'S INTEREST The project's outcome brought significant savings in monetary terms, in fact Wecam's Secretary General Foon Weng Lian was obviously excited to see the saving rate exceeding the initial conservative estimate of 50 per cent. WECAM was established by the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (FOMCA) with the cooperation of the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water and other players of the water and energy industry to protect the consumers in the nation's energy and water cycle. Interestingly, the SMK Marudi students' project only called for the change of several parameters including rising the air conditioner temperature setting in the teachers room to 24 degrees Celsius. "Many of the office buildings fail to adjust the air conditioner temperature setting and instead set them at 16 degrees Celsius throughout, this contributes to energy waste," stressed Foon. In the latest development, the government also took the initiative of coming up with a circular making it mandatory for government offices to raise the temperature to between 23-24 degrees Celsius. EMULATE SMK MARUDI Foon also called on the public to emulate the attributes of the students' project including shutting down air conditioner and, instead, use fans when it rains and open windows regularly to improve ventilation. Also, to reduce energy usage lights were rarely turned on during the day and rooms were decorated in bright colours that reflected light, thus providing natural lighting. Foon admitted that he was impressed with the commitment shown by the students who had proven that the electric bills could be reduced significantly by changing daily habits. Therefore Foon urged that consumers, especially the parents to learn from the student's experience and get ready to change their daily habits to help reduce expense. He provided an example of how energy is wasted, that literally happens in every household when the television and the cable tv decoder is left on standby mode. "What the consumers may not be aware is that the decoder in the standby mode consumes between 85 and 90 per cent of its normal energy, so imagine the amount of energy wasted if it is left in standby mode throughout the night or 24 hours daily," asked Foon. LATENT CURRENT STILL FLOWING Apart from switching off the electrical equipment not in use, the consumers should also disconnect the plug from the power point. Foon went on to explain that the plug connected to the power point would still allow the flow of the latent current to the equipment despite being switched off. Moreover, disconnecting the plug from the point also protects the electrical equipment from power surge or lightning. Family members should switch off the fan and lights when there is no need for it. If the computer and electrical appliances are not going to be used for more than 30 minutes, they should be disconnected from the power source. It is good advice to choose wisely when puchasing electrical appliances and buying power saving appliances that include LCD monitors, instant water heaters instead of stagnant water heater and fluorescent light instead of incandescent bulb. AN ENERGY SAVING CULTURE Saving energy should be the culture in office, public places or even when one is on holiday. Just imagine if everyone could make this their way of life, definitely the energy generation can be reduced or maintained at the current level. This in turn could help reduce green house gas emission and overcome environmental pollution. This also means that power generation and transmission cost could be reduced or future spikes in tarrifs could be avoided. Moreover, the national petrolium company Petronas is not going to be subsidising the natural gas for power generation forever, with the subsidy amounting to 66 per cent compared with the market value, to generate electricity. BUY SAFE ELECTRICAL APPLIANCES The government in fact has conducted numerous studies and provided incentives to encourage prudent use of electricity. In fact, the Energy Commission has introduced 'energy saver' labels on electrical appliances that meet the safety and energy efficiency standards. "Unfortunately, too many consumers fail to take note or understand the labels including the electrical appliance sales people," lamented Foon. -- BERNAMA