Five Steps to Save 10% of Your Home Electricity Bill in Singapore

Today, escalating prices are draining family budgets. The cost of energy is soaring and there is little that you can do about it, but there are some ways you can save energy, and save money at the same time.  Here are 5-step energy saving tips for you to save 10% of your home electricity bill.

Step 1 – The air-conditioner uses the bulk of the electricity in a home. A fan uses less than 1/10th the electricity used by an air-conditioner! Use a fan instead of an air-conditioner to keep cool. Save about $70 a month or about $820 a year*.

• Did You Know? You can use three fans to keep cool and you would be using only about a quarter of the electricity used by an air-conditioner!

Step 2 – The lower the temperature setting, the more energy used by your air-conditioner. If you use an air-conditioner, set the temperature at 25oC or higher. For every degree raised, save about $25 a year*.

• Did You Know? The energy consumption by the air-conditioning unit increases with the difference between the room and outdoor temperatures.

Step 3 – Switch off home appliances at the power socket. Standby power can account for up to 10% of your home electricity use. Do not leave them on standby. Save about $70 a year*.

• Did You Know? After switching off your appliances (e.g. televisions, computers, printers, VCD, DVD and CD players) with the remote control, many of them continue to draw power. To reduce standby power, turn off these appliances at the power socket.

Step 4 – Choose energy efficient light bulbs (e.g. compact fluorescent lamps). Using a compact fluorescent lamp (7W) instead of an incandescent bulb (40W) can save about about $20 per bulb per year*.

• Did You Know? Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) use up to 80% less electricity than incandescent light bulbs to produce the same amount of light, and they can last up to 10 times longer!

Step 5 – Choose an energy-efficient appliance (e.g. air-conditioner. refrigerator) by checking the energy labels. A 4-tick air-conditioner saves you about $460 in electricity bills a year compared to a 1-tick model, and a 4-tick refrigerator saves you about $130 a year over a 1-tick model*. To find energy labeled appliances, check out the database of registered goods.

• Did You Know? The energy label found in all refrigerators and air-conditioners at the point of sale helps you identify and select an energy efficient model that suits your needs. The more ticks, the more energy efficient the model is.

This energy saving tips is extrated from E2 Singapore at http://www.e2singapore.gov.sg/energy-saving-tips.html.

*Based on electricity tariff of $0.3045 per unit (kWh), assuming a single-split, 1000W air-conditioner, a 75W electric fan and 400-litre refrigerator used 365 days a year, and assuming 35W of standby power in a home.