Intro

Below you will find some really simple tips to use less electricity. You can do your bit for the planet, while also helping your own pocket. Win win.

9 Simple Tips to Use Less Electricity

1. Cool Washes

Choose a cooler temperature for your washing machine. By lowering the temperature to 30-40 degrees can significantly reduce the amount of power needed to heat the water. This temperature is generally fine for washing clothes and is much more gentle on your clothes, meaning they’ll last longer too.

Always press the rapid wash button too. How dirty are your clothes? Unless you’ve been out rolling in mud, a rapid wash is all you need.

2. Remember to turn things off

Turn everything off when not in use. Leaving lights on is unnecessary and leaving appliances on standby can use a lot of energy. When you plug your phone out in the morning, remember to switch it off in the wall. Don’t leave your tv or computer switched on all the time. Even that small standby light can use unnecessary energy. If not in use, turn it off.

Tip: Do you find it hard to remember to switch things off? Leave a post it reminder by the light switch or near the door so when you’re leaving the room you’ll see it. Once it becomes habit, you can get rid of the note.

3. Full loads only

Only do full loads – this counts for both the washing machine and dishwasher. A half or 3/4 load uses the same amount of power. this is so wasteful. Don’t turn it on until it is full. Fill your dishwasher in an efficient way to get as much dishes as possible in it.

4. Dry clothes the smart way

Dry your clothes the right way. I suggest you use a clothes horse or hang them (weather permitting). Let them dry in the natural air. It’s better for your clothes too. Using the dryer is very harsh on your clothes. It shrinks them, and can warp the plastic – yes, the majority of our clothes are made of plastic.

If it is winter, it can be hard to get them fully dry from hanging them out alone. If they are slightly damp after a few hours, put them in the dryer for 15 minutes to finish them off – but no longer.

Tip: One other tip I’ve heard is to put a dry towel in the dryer with the wet load . This apparently, significantly speeds up drying time.

5. Maintain your fridge

Clean the back of your fridge – the cooling pipes on the back of the fridge can get coated with dust and grime, which reduces efficiency. This means more power is needed to keep the interior cool. Cleaning the pipes every so often can boost efficiency.

Also , being 10cm from the wall improves efficiency too. The space allows air to circulate, meaning less power is needed to keep the temperature inside constant.

Make sure your fridge isn’t too full. This will also interrupt airflow, meaning more electricity is used to maintain a cooler temperature all around.

One final fridge tip – defrosting frozen food in the fridge is not only safer for your health (less bacteria multiply in the cooler temperatures), but it actually helps cool your fridge, reducing the electricity needed to cool it for that period. Every little helps!

6. Low energy light bulbs

Apparently 5% of a household budget goes to lighting. The three lighting options are Halogen incandescents , Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), and Light emitting diodes (LEDs). Although they are more expensive than the original incandescent bulbs, they use much less energy and last longer.

Halogen incandescents are the least efficient of the three, while CFLS use 1/3 the energy taken to power halogen incandescents.

LEDS are by far the most efficient of the three. they use 25%–30% of the energy and last 8 to 25 times longer than halogen incandescents (see here for more info). They can be used both in doors and outdoors and although the most expensive of the three, in the long run they make up for it.

7. Make use of the sun

Use natural light. In my parent’s house, the kitchen light is always on . . ALWAYS. This drives me insane. During the day it’s not needed. That is what the sun is for! Only start turning on lights once the sun is going down. . or when necessary.

I think people just get in the habit of turning lights on and having it extra bright. Get out of that habit! In the summer you don’t really need artificial light until at least 6 or 7 pm. In the winter it can be much earlier.

8. Less shower time.

This has to be the most difficult one – shorter showers. Shortening the length of your shower by a couple of minutes is a great way to save electricity. Not gona like, I struggle with this one!

9. Switch electricity provider

Why not switch to a more energy efficient supplier? Me and Eoghan have just switched to a provider which is 100% green. All electricity comes from Offshore wind farms.

It’s nice to know that the energy we are using is not coming from a source that is polluting the planet, but rather, a clean renewable source.

Conclusion

I hope these tips inspired you to make some changes. And if there’s one tip i really push you to consider, it’s to switch to a green energy provider. If the option is there to use cleaner energy, why not do it? You can rest more easy knowing the electricity you use is coming from a sustainable source.

I’d love to hear of any other tips you may have to save a bit of electricity. Please leave your tips in the comments below!

Thank you for reading my “Simple tips to use less Electricity”