Stories from Our Biosphere

Saving Energy in Your Home – A room by room guide

Your electricity costs do not need to be high, there are many residents with very low power bills and all it takes is some changes to the way you use electricity.

There are many things you can do to reduce the amount of power you use.

Kitchen

Are your white goods and appliances energy efficient (remember the stars)?

Cooking

Small appliances are more efficient to use than the stove or oven, so use the toaster not the grill, use a kettle not the hotplate. Cook with lids this keeps the heat in the pot and out of your house.

Ways to reduce energy in the kitchen
• Use the microwave instead of the oven or cook top.
• Try not to use hot water for rinsing dishes.
• Use lids when cooking.
• Consider composting your food scraps.
• Choose a cool location for refrigerators and freezers.
• Repair leaking taps.
• Only boil the water you need.
• Don’t leave the refrigerator door open too long.
• Choose energy efficient appliances.
• Use small appliances where suited.

Bathroom

There are many options to be efficient in the bathroom.

• Energy Detective
• Do you shower for too long?
• Do your taps leak?

Mould
It seems many people think that to stop mould in their homes, you have to leave the air-conditioner on all the time.
But there are plenty of residents that don’t use the air-conditioner all the time and don’t have mould problems, so try these tips:
• Keep the house clean to remove surface dust.
• Keep the home well ventilated.
• Use a fan to circulate air when it is raining.

Ways to reduce water and energy in the bathroom
• Shower for 4 minutes or less.
• Don’t leave the tap running when shaving or brushing your teeth.
• Fix leaking taps.
• Did you know a bath will use more hot water than a shower.
• Check the solar booster is turned off.

Bedroom

Ways to reduce energy in the bedroom
• Keep the windows shut through the heat of the day, and close the curtains and blinds to block out the heat of the sun, open them once the sun has gone to catch the cooling breeze.
• Use fans not air-conditioners.
• Use compact fluorescent lamps.
• Turn appliance off at the wall.
• Keep the air-conditioner filters clean.

Laundry

It’s not too hard to change the efficiency of your laundry requirements; it could start with putting up a clothes line under the carport.

Ways to reduce energy and water in the laundry
• Dry your washing on the clothes line instead of in the dryer.
• Try washing with cold water, most times this is all you will need.
• Are your washing machine and dryer energy and water efficient? The more stars the better.
• Only wash full loads or choose the correct water level setting.
• Buy detergents from biodegradable substances.
• Clean your filter every time you use the dryer.

For more informations download the full Comfortable Energy Living Booklet

Contributed by: Michael Davies, Sustainable Energy Management