Saving energy at household

I have put here a series of tips that will help you to save on your electricity bill.  Broadly speaking the consumption of electricity can be divided in the following categories:

1. Water heating

2. Household appliances

3. Lighting

1. Water geysers are one of the highest energy consuming/less efficient equipment in a household.  These machines converts the energy to heat and heat then is imparted to water.  There are two types of water heaters, one with storage tank and the other without that supplies water directly to the faucet. A tankless water heater circulates water through a series electric coils when you turn on the hot water faucet. Because the water heater doesn’t store hot water, it costs less to operate.  The storage water heaters comes with a tank which is heated to a desired temperature. When the hot water is drawn cool water from the pipes are filled in the tank. Water heaters generally range from Rs. 2000 to 6000. The only way to be sure about their efficiency is to check for BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) certified energy star rating.  The other kind of heater is an immersion heater which is a low cost solution, they generally range from Rs.450 to Rs. 600.


2. Home appliances constitute about 35%-45% of the total electricity consumed.  An average Indian household has the following appliances, like refrigerator, television, washing machine, air conditioning, etc.  One way is to make sure that the appliances come with an energy efficient star rating from BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency), an average of 3/5 stars are a better choice.  While selecting to buy a washing machine, the following are the criteria to keep in mind.  Use a front loading washing machine as they consume 2/3 less water as compared to top loading.  You can also choose to wash your clothes in the off peak timing (late nights, afternoons) when the per unit electric charges are lesser.  


3. For lighting, you can also read my article on lighting energy saving strategies which is generally about 10-15% of your bill. 

• Change all your incandescent lamps to FLs or CFLs. if you are ready to spend some more money then you can use occupancy sensors.
• Make use of maximum daylight by installing french windows (long). Try using full transparent glass panes with tint to avoid excess sun exposure, if any.
• Avoid using thick curtains in rooms where daylight is limited.
• Use light wall colors/wall papers which will increase the reflectance.

I hope you find these easy to follow and let me know if you saved money!

-Rajitha

Kitchen garden

It took me a visit to the local vegetable market to realize that the inflation is real and unbearable. So I decided that why not grow one's own vegetables in the backyard (if you have any) or in small gamlas. I live in a typical apartment like household in Mumbai with no backyard and no sufficient space in verandah, so have chosen to use gamlas. I have used a 1' X 3' space and filled it up with 4" of mud to ready the base for my palak and methi cultivation. I chose to grow both these because of its high nutritive value, speedy growth, and most importantly one can never find fresh palak in the market.

Then I took a gunny bag about 1.5' dia and filled it up with 9" of mud to grow red leafy bhaji or lal cheera as locally known. These don't require much of maintenance and can completely grow in about 3 weeks.

How to save on electricity bills for lighting your houses?

I found this very useful link that tells you how to save the cost on lighting your house. 

The strategies are quite simple and easy to do at home.
1. Change all your incandescent lamps to FLs or CFLs. if you are ready to spend some more money then you can use occupancy sensors.
2. Make use of maximum daylight by installing french windows (long). Try using full transparent glass panes with tint to avoid excess sun exposure, if any.
3. Avoid using thick curtains in rooms where daylight is limited.
4. Use light wall colors/wall papers which will increase the reflectance.

http://blog.mapawatt.com/2010/09/26/residential-energy-saving-lighting-strategies/comment-page-1/#comment-14941

Tips for choosing green building sites

I liked this set of tips provided for buyers who want to have a green home. The simple illustrations really drive the point across.  I am sure that curious buyers even if without green inclination will be motivated to least save their operating costs by following these steps.

http://blog.mapawatt.com/2010/09/23/money-saving-tips-for-green-building/

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/19/opinion/19friedman.html?_r=1&hp

First Post

This is my new blog about Green Buildings in India!