CA – JUN 15 – COVER STORY

May20

Posted by CERC India
Posted in monthly

COVER STORY

Go green with your domestic appliances

People are increasingly adopting eco-friendly practices to reduce energy consumption, increase the life span of their appliances, decrease global warming and check pollution levels. Here are some easy tips to use domestic appliances in an energy efficient manner. Also, look for the energy star label given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) before buying.

Lighting Your Home

Paint the walls a light colour. Dark colours tend to absorb light, requiring more energy spent on lighting.
Use compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) and light emitting diodes (LEDs) instead of conventional incandescent bulbs. They save energy, have a longer life span and are economical in the long run.
Houses should be built in a way that they use the natural light during the day.
Lamps lose their brightness because of dirt. Regular cleaning can increase light output.

Refrigerators

A refrigerator uses electricity 24 hours a day. That is why improved energy saving is such an important issue.
Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight and do not open the door/s frequently.
Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers and do not keep the temperature in the refrigerator or freezer too low.
Place the refrigerator in a cool place, protected from direct sunlight, a little away from the wall.
Replace refrigerator if older than 10 years. Older models can often use over three times the energy of newer models.

Washing machines

Wash only full loads. If you need to wash a small load, be sure to use the appropriate water-level and timer setting.
Clean the lint filter after every load to improve air circulation and periodically check your machine vent to ensure it is not blocked.
Dry towels and heavier cottons in a separate load. During summer, dry clothes in the sun.
Use the correct amount of detergent to avoid unnecessary machine work and energy consumption.

Air conditioners

Choose a proper sized equipment. Equipment too large for the space to be air conditioned will consumer more energy.
Programmable thermostats should be used with air conditioners to regulate the temperature for times when few people are working, so as not to turn off the equipment completely. In large spaces, equipment that is turned off at mid-day will have to work at higher power to re-cool the area when the users return. The use of occupancy sensors can help improve AC performance.
ACs with tropical inverter compressors (DC twin rotory compressors) work more efficiently than conventional compressors and help save energy.

Electric irons

Select 550W/600W/750W rating of irons instead of 1000W.
Use thermostatic electric irons with temperature knob settings for various types of fabrics. Use thermostatic steam irons for pressing jeans, corduroy and other thick varieties of fabrics.
After ironing cotton fabrics, switch off the iron and press other light varieties of fabrics like nylon and georgette.
It is better to use electric irons during day time. Avoid using between 7.30-10 pm.

Food mixers

If you use a mixer-grinder for making chutney or tomato puree, grinding wet rice and pulses, select the models with 550/600W rating.
For making powder out of hard ingredients and mincing meat, select mixers with 750/1000W motors.

Hand blenders

Select the model of medium wattage range (250-300W) to get the required performance with appropriate accessories.

Outside sources: www.ireda.gov.in, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Efficient Products and Consumer Behaviour by CUTS International, Test (Germany)

CA – JUN 15 – COVER STORY

COVER STORY

Outside sources: www.ireda.gov.in, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Energy Efficient Products and Consumer Behaviour by CUTS International, Test (Germany)

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