Energy Saving Tips For Home - Kitchen

Refrigerator

• Do not open door frequently.
• Set thermostat in medium cooling position.
• Keep adequate space from wall.
• Do not overload the refrigerator.
• Defrost your refrigerator regularly.
• Regularly defrost manual-defrost refrigerators and freezers; frost buildup increases the amount of energy needed to keep the motor running.
• Leave enough space between your refrigerator and the walls so that air can easily circulate around the refrigerator.
• Don't keep your refrigerator or freezer too cold.
• Make sure your refrigerator door seals are airtight.
• Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture and make the compressor work harder.
• Do not open the doors of the refrigerators frequently.
• Don't leave the fridge door open for longer than necessary, as cold air will escape.
• Use smaller cabinets for storing frequently used items.
• Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge.

Mixers

• Avoid dry grinding in your food processors ( mixers and grinders) as it takes longer time than liquid grinding.

Electric Stove

• Turn off electric stoves several minutes before the specified cooking time.
• Use flat-bottomed pans that make full contact with the cooking coil.

Gas Stove

• When cooking on a gas burner, use moderate flame settings to conserve LPG.
• Remember that a blue flame means your gas stove is operating efficiently.
• Yellowish flame is an indicator that the burner needs cleaning.
• Use pressure cookers as much as possible.
• Use lids to cover the pans while cooking.
• Bring items taken out of refrigerators (like vegetable, milk etc.) to room temperature before placing on the gas stove for heating.

Microwave Ovens

• Consumes 50 % less energy than conventional electric / gas stoves.
• Do not bake large food items.
• Unless you're baking breads or pastries, you may not even need to preheat.
• Don't open the oven door too often to check food condition as each opening leads to a temperature drop of 25º C.

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Plants To Improve Your Home’s Air Quality

Clean Your Air With Three Plants

According to Rentokil, it only takes three large plants to reduce volatile organic compounds in your air by around 50-70 percent, in a room the size of 120 sq meters.

If that’s the case, then grab yourself a bunch of these plants and clean up the air in your home. This should be especially important for pregnant mothers or families with infants and small children. Improve the health of your home and the environment in general by eliminating these compounds from the atmosphere.


Here is a list of plants which you can use to clean the air in your home.

Dracaenas
This is an architecturally pleasing plant from Africa which is quite suitable for any room of your home. It’s said to be best at filtering Trichloroethylene and Benzene from our air. If you have a lucky bamboo plant, you’ll also be happy to know that it is a form of Dracaena.

You can find out more about Dracaenas and the different species, including the more popular Lucky Bamboo species, here.

Chrysanthemum
This is the perfect gift for Mothers’ Day. Give you mother a potplant with a Chrysanthemum in it and she’ll be pleased at the sight and fresh smell. These flowers also filter Trichloroethylene and Benzene from the air but they have the added benefit of replacing it with an interesting smell.

Take a look at this page for more on how this plant can improve your livelihood.

Devils Ivy (also called as 'Money Plant' in South Asian countries)
Perhaps my favourite plant to keep in my room has to be Devils Ivy or Epipremnum aureum, as it’s known scientifically. It’s a fast growing, hardy plant which can be grown hydroponically and filters Benzene from the air.

It’s a great little plant to have and you can keep taking off cuts and sticking them in water to get them to grow from bottles in every room of your house. I’m very proud of the little one I have growing on my desk and sometime these holidays I hope to recycle some bottles for some off-cuts I’ll make. This plant comes highly recommended.

Check out more details about this plant at Wikipedia and the Potho Production Guide.

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Energy Saving Tips For Home

Lighting

• Switch off lights and fans when not required.
• Replace bulbs with tube lights & CFL(Compact Fluorescent Lamps).
• Utilize natural light by using electronic chokes & regulators.
• Optimize use of lights in malls, multiplexes & hotels.
• Turn off the lights when not in use.
• Take advantage of daylight by using light-coloured, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to penetrate the room. Also, decorate with lighter colours that reflect daylight.
• De-dust lighting fixtures to maintain illumination.
• Use task lighting; instead of brightly lighting an entire room, focus the light where you need it.
• Compact fluorescent bulbs are four times more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs and provide the same lighting.
• Use electronic chokes in place of conventional copper chokes.

Electric iron

• Select iron boxes with automatic temperature cutoff.
• Use appropriate regulator position for ironing.
• Do not put more water on clothes while ironing.
• Do not iron wet clothes.

Fans

• Replace conventional regulators with electronic regulators for ceiling fans.
• Install exhaust fans at a higher elevation than ceiling fans.

Washing Machine

• Use after 10 PM or before 10 AM.
• Run washing machine only with full load.
• Use the shortest cycle time.
• Always wash only with full loads.
• Use optimal quantity of water.
• Use timer facility to save energy.
• Use the correct amount of detergent.
• Use hot water only for very dirty clothes.
• Always use cold water in the rinse cycle.
• Prefer natural drying over electric dryers.

Geyser

• Use before 10 AM.
• Switch off when not required.
• Reduce thermostat setting from 60º to 50º C.
• Use Solar Water Heater - a good replacement for a electric water heater

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