Category Archives: Lighting & Electrics

Fridge & Freezers

Fridges and Freezers

open fridge not very energy efficientFor the modern house the fridge is an essential part of daily life. We all know that it is plugged in 24 hours a day 365 days a year but we never look at the amount of electricity it uses or how we can help reduce this. In fact people rarely think it is possible to reduce the energy draw of their fridge or freezer.

TIPS

LEDs

LEDs have been around for decades however it is only in the past few years that they have come to be produced in a manner that gives white light. They can be a fantastic way for lighting up an area. Their application up to now is principally to be found in multi light or beam light formats.

The reason behind this is the level of light from one single LED is for the most part not hectic. Continue reading→

CFLs

CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lights came about to give the lighting efficiency of a fluorescent light strip but from the fitting of a standard light bulb.

Of late they have been greatly criticised for three main things

  1. too expensive (Ed…but they are not)
  2. contain dangerous levels of mercury (but the E.U. have a law on the mercury content to make them safe)
  3. slow to start (but only if you buy the cheap ones, more expensive instant light version have since been developed)

I think it is fair to say Continue reading→

Tumble Dryers

I still do not understand people who dry all their clothes with tumble dryers. Yes it only takes a second to move them from the washing machine to the dryer but it takes a lot longer to earn the money to pay the electricity bill. If you can hang clothes outside and finish them off in the dryer you will save considerably and help reduce the cost of imported coal and oil burned in our power stations. Secondly there are many solutions to outdoor clothes drying where shelters above hanging clothes shield the falling rain our little island is famous for.

For the people out there using a tumble dryer for clothes for a whole family and in particular if your tumble dryer is old, there are more efficient models available now. Continue reading→

Washing Machines

We all need to have clean clothes so is there a way to reduce the cost of cleaning or a way to directly clean more efficiently.

Soft Water will give optimum cleaning when mixed with soap. If you have hard water your washing machine will cost more per wash for a number of reasons.

  1. Less effective with detergents causing people to use more
  2. Causes limescale build-up on heating element requiring more effort to achieve temperatures
  3. Higher temperatures will be selected by machine users to achieve clean results required.

If you have hard water, a water softener can reduce your cost of detergents, reduce the electricity required to heat water, allow you to use lower temperatures to clean clothes therefore further reducing your electricity spend. Continue reading→