COMMON WAYS TO CONSERVE ENERGY IN OUR HOMES

OVERVIEW CONCEPT OF ENERGY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT THE NEED TO CONSERVE ENERGY COMMON WAYS TO CONSERVE ENERGY IN OUR HOMES, INDUSTRIES AND OFFICES

CONCEPT OF ENERGY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT; Energy conservation is very important for the development of any country, and also very important for our homes, offices and industries. Energy conservation and management encompasses the general scope of all energy forms and sources. But our emphasis will focus more on power(Electricity), the usage and management. There is need to sensitize the masses on how to use and manage the little energy we have for proper utilization for the development of the country. Adequate law, policy, regulation and orientation must be put in place in other to achieve a balance between the generation and utilization.

THE NEED TO CONSERVE ENERGY There are so many reasons and needs why we should conserve energy or electricity in our homes, offices and industries. Below are some of them; 1 Home inefficiency 2 Generator inefficiency 3 Because of how is made 4 Impact on the environment 5 Increase in commodity etc.

COMMON WAYS TO CONSERVE ENERGY IN OUR HOMES, INDUSTRIES AND OFFICES With today's high energy costs an organization must take advantage of every savings opportunity that does not interfere with its core business. However, most organizations do not realize that they can reduce their energy consumption and costs by % through a comprehensive energy conservation program. The key to saving energy is to educate, motivate, and empower the people responsible for the day-to-day operation of the facility. Every facility needs an "Energy Champion" who understands how their HVAC and lighting systems should operate.

Whenever you save energy, you not only save money, you also reduce the demand for such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. Less burning of fossil fuels also means lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the primary contributor to global warming, and other pollutants. You do not have to do without to achieve these savings. There is now an energy efficient alternative for almost every kind of appliance or light fixture. That means that consumers have a real choice and the power to change their energy use on a revolutionary scale. The ways to reduce this wastage and conserve energy include;

Home appliances 1. Turn your refrigerator down. Refrigerators account for about 20% of Household electricity use. Use a thermometer to set your refrigerator temperature as close to 37 degrees and your freezer as close to 3 degrees as possible. Make sure that its energy saver switch is turned on. Also, check the gaskets around your refrigerator/freezer doors to make sure they are clean and sealed tightly. 2. Make sure your dishwasher is full when you run it and use the energy saving setting, if available, to allow the dishes to air dry. You can also turn off the drying cycle manually. Not using heat in the drying cycle can save 20 percent of your dishwasher's total electricity use.

3. When using your washing machine, make sure is set to warm or cold don’t turn it to hot. Heat consumes more power than cold and make sure is set to energy saving mode. Doing this will make you serve more energy than expected. 4. Please turn down your water heater for every heating garget consumes the largest chunk of power in your home and also in the industry. If you must boil your water please use alternative means. This is because it requires lesser amount of kerosene or gas to boil 1letre of water than using electricity. 5. Select the most energy-efficient models when you replace your old appliances. Look for the Energy saving once - your assurance that the product saves energy and prevents pollution. Buy the product that is sized to your typical needs - not the biggest one available.

6. Buy energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs for your most-used lights. Although they cost more initially, they save money in the long run by using only 1/4 the energy of an ordinary incandescent bulb and lasting 8-12 times longer. They provide an equivalent amount of bright, attractive light. Only 10% of the energy consumed by a normal light bulb generates light. The rest just makes the bulb hot.

7. Turn the lights off and other gargets such as A/Cs, fans, heaters and other power consuming appliance when they are not needed and when leaving the house. Avoid unnecessary wastage. 8. Use a standard conducting material for wiring (IEE or ISI) standard so as to avoid much loses.

ENERGY CONSUMING LAMP

EXAMPLES; Electric power is measured in watts (w). watts is the “Real” power we consume. What ever unit you buy from PHCN is measured in watts. So one has to be very careful how we use those units. A very common equation we use to solve most of these problems, to know the amount of wattage we consume in other to cut cost in our daily use of house hold appliances is; P = VI where p = power(w) v = voltage I = current An appliance drawing 2kw for a period of 2hrs is said to have consumed 4kwh of electricity.

An appliance drawing 1000w(1kw) of power for 1hr is to have consumed 1kwh of electricity. An electric bulb rated 100w drawing power for a period of 5hrs is said to have consumed 500w of power(0.5kw). Assuming you have 10 of these bulbs in your house, in every 5hrs you have consumed 500 X 10 = 5000w which is the same thing as 5kw of power believe me is a very huge amount of power being expended.

A 1000w toaster takes 3minutes to cook toast, the electricity consumed will be; 1000w = 3/60 = 50wh or 0.05kw. So, assuming you are toasting, boiling water with an electric kettle, the fridge and A/C on at the same time... well your guess is as good as mine. A main operated electric jug 9.5A while operating. How much power is it consuming? Assuming the main is 240AC. P = V x I = 240 x 9.5 =2280w or 2.2kw.

Then compare it with this; An energy saving bulb drawing 30w of power for a period of 10hrs is said to have consumed 30w x 10 = 300w or 0.03kwh. Now it’s clear. By doing this you save a reasonable amount of energy for another day.

CONCLUSION For the development of our economy and for the sustainability of energy; 1. People must be sensitize on how to manage these resources. 2. The regulatory bodies must seat up to perform their duties. 3. Proper policy must be put in place to checkmate the activities of industries, organizations and individuals who are major contributors in the wastage of the resources.

REMEMBER ENERGY SAVED IS ENERGY PRODUCED.

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