Times are tough and no one understands this better than the team at MoneyShop. That’s why we’re not going to punt expensive alternative energy systems. Instead, we’ve compiled a list of basic, no-cost or cheap-cheap ways to reduce your electricity usage drastically.

From government, to businesses and private individuals too – everyone is concerned with saving electricity.  Regardless of whether you’re keen to save a couple of bucks on your monthly bill or really concerned about conserving power for the grid and, in so doing, avoiding load shedding, minimising your electricity is just generally a really good idea..

So here are our MoneyShop tips on how to bring your home’s electricity usage down substantially without spending outrageous amounts on “going green”…

Know your number:

Before you get cracking with your drive to save electricity, you need to know how much you’re currently using. Sure, your monthly Eskom bill gives you an indication, but it doesn’t necessarily show you the full picture. Ideally, you want to work with a more accurate projection of power consumption over the course of a full year.

The easiest way to get to this number is by using 49M’s online calculator here. All you’ll need to do is refer to your Eskom statement to find out what your kWh usage per month is and insert this figure as well as the amount of square meters of your home into the calculator.

Et voila! What follows should be the number of kWh you’re projected to consume per year. This free, quick and easy to use calculator is smart too, even taking into account that you’re likely to use more energy in winter and including this in the calculation as well.

At the end of this exercise, you should have your number. Write it down somewhere safe. You’ll need it in a couple of months to compare how effective your drive to save electricity in your home truly was.

Understanding what’s watt:

While electricity is measured in kilowatt hours (kWh), most household appliances are rated in watts (units much smaller than kilowatt) and this can cause confusion. Luckily, you don’t need to understand the elaborate theory behind all of this.

All you need to know is that, on average:

  • 24% of your home’s energy usage is spent on the geyser
  • 18% is spent on heating and cooling your home
  • 17% is used for lighting
  • 15% of consumption is utilised by consumer electronics left on standby mode (yikes!)
  • 11% on cooking
  • 8% on fridges and freezers
  • 5% is used by actual consumer electronics in use

Get down to basics:

Times are tough and no one understands this better than the team at MoneyShop. That’s why we’re not going to punt expensive alternative energy systems to take you off the grid or recommend you rip out your electric stove and replace it with a fancy gas one instead (although, if you’ve got the cash, it is definitely worth considering this!).

Rather, we’ve compiled a list of basic, no-cost or cheap-cheap ways to reduce your electricity usage drastically:

  • Start with the obvious…

Paying attention to your power usage will go a long way to helping you minimise your spend. Turn off the lights when leaving a room and don’t keep your geyser on while you’re on holiday.

  • Don’t be silly with standby-mode!

As you’ve seen from the stats regarding electricity usage above, leaving your appliances and electronics on standby-mode accounts for a whopping 15% of your home’s power usage. Simply switching everything off (as in completely-off) can save you mega bucks and mega watts.

  • Lower the temperature, of your geyser, that is.

You won’t even notice a simple decrease from 70 degrees to 60 degrees in your geyser and it will end up saving you big. In fact, an average household with a 150-litre geyser could save more than 122kWh of energy per month. That’s more than R70 per month just like that!

  • Insure your home is insulated and don’t leave windows open when it’s cold.

Wear warmer clothes or pile on those blankies, but try to minimise your use of heaters or air-conditioners. We know SA starts gets chilly this time of the year, but consider turning your heater on for short bursts at a time.

  • No more splishing and splashing for hours.

Instead, limit your time in the shower and make rub-a-dud-dud in the tub a weekly treat rather than an everyday affair. Showering requires way less water which means your geyser doesn’t have to work that hard either.

  • Use the kettle instead of the stove.

Boiling water on the stove consumes a lot more energy than simply using the kettle (and the kettle’s quicker too).

  • Limit your pool pump

Did you know that reducing the running time of your pool pump from 10 hours a day to six will reduce its electricity consumption by 40%?  Plus, in wintertime you can reduce the running time down to two hours a day – that’s a huge saving right there! Also, if you have some extra cash, installing a pool cover will help you reduce the time that you pool pump needs to run daily and it will also increase the temperature of your pool.

There are many avenues to explore when it comes to cutting down your energy consumption. Some, like the ones we’ve covered here, will cost you nothing. Others, like installing a blanket for your geyser and covering up your pool will set you back a couple of thousand Rand but will yield large returns.