Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Energy Saving/Earth Saving for the "I want to save the earth but I want to live comfortably!" -minimal cost required!

Like many people, I seriously frown at the idea of not using the Air Con especially when the weather is this warm! I KNOW the seriousness of global warming but it isn't striking much an impact on me to make great changes in my life. And yes, turning off the air-con is seriously a great change because the weather is tooooo warm and humid! And it's worst when you are lying on your bed and the heat is like OMG-ly intolerable! Get what I mean?

The problem is, no need to tell me what global warming have done to our Earth. I know about the polar ice caps and how much it is going to affect the polar bears (*inuka's relatives*) and the animals in the food chain/cycle. And how Ozone layer is affected. The increase in temperature, the possibility of flooding due to melting ice caps. I KNOW I KNOW all that! But, you know, I feel for it. But seriously, to make that much changes in my life now is like still quite impossible. But I want to care!

So I went to find some ways to make SMALL changes in life that will make GREAT changes!
For the first, the most energy consuming appliance in your house is yes, the Air-Con! But I cannot live without it! You know, there are times the weather turn so bad in the middle of night that the fan blows WARM AIR! Terrible or not!

AIR-CONDITION:
I went to check out the best sleeping temperature and yes, it shows that temperature from 15.6Deg C to 22Deg C is the best for sleeping. So, I want to have the temperature right just for sleeping because I can be quite irritating. I need the perfect condition to sleep. We used to turn the air condition(AC) to the lowest! But now, we turn it to 22 DegC. And yes, I do sleep well and there isn't much difference anyway. For any 1 deg you turn up, you are saving on energy and that means on your electricity bill also!
See, you save Earth, you save your pocket! So, just turn it higher a little! Everyone make a little difference it makes up to be alot also! I mean, this entry is for the "I want to save the earth but I want to live comfortably!".

And you have turned the AC higher already but want to do more! WHY NOT if it doesn't affects you right! =D Set an AC TIMER! I do that at times! Set it to auto off like an hour before you should wake up! *psst! you cannot sleep more than 6hour!* When your body feels the changes in temperature, you wake up! No need noisy alarm clock! =D This works totally!

AND CLOSE ALL WINDOWS AND DOORS when you on your AC! The AC uses more energy when it is trying to maintain the temperature set on your remote. So with the windows and doors open, the AC is using ENERGY TRYING to maintain the temperature! And please do not think that having many people sharing an AC is saving money! NO. More people = more people generated heat = more energy needed to maintain cool temperature. =D This is the same for drawing your curtains!

If you don't have an AC, you can keep yourself cooler by wearing sleeveless, showering just before you head to bed or using a Chillow Pillow/pillow with really good feathers! I am using this "Forget-what-feather-but-most-probably-goose" pillow with dried silkworm shit and it's really cooling as compared to those cotton ones!

Lighting:
Every household have lights/lamps! We need it and cannot live without it! I do on the light in the day too! Because my room is like in the corner and there are HDB blocking all the sunlight into my room! So what can we do?

And at night, with all the night owls around, lights are turned on till like 3am! Remember how your parents always nag at you to turn on the lights when you are watching television or using the computer? That myth is busted! It doesn't affect your eyesight! Just make sure that you can read from the computer clearly and it isn't too glaring! But to save our parents from nagging, I leave them on at night.

First, we all know about the energy saving lightbulbs. That is, if you have the energy to get them(*personally, I am very lazy*) or if you have money to get them. They don't come cheap right?
But they save alot on electricity bills! Brand-new CFL's last 10 times longer than old-style bulbs, and they generate a lot less heat -- which means lower cooling bills. Since the heat generated is low, your AC won't work that hard! =D There are a few other alternatives suggested such as installing motion sensor and light sensor. Which I think is so cool! But money is needed to install them. So if you are really interested in it, I reccommend this!

I don't install those CFL lightbulbs actually. Guily! Lazy and stingy! Two characteristics of the Earth murder! But I do contribute to the SAVE EARTH approach! I OFF THE lights when not in use! And even for a few minutes! No matter how long it is, it makes a difference! Another myth to bust! Parents/Friends always say that turning on and off the light uses more energy. NO! Lights do not use extra electricity to start up! Afterall, I am the "I want to save earth but I want to live comfortably!" person! =D


Refrigerator:

This is the second largest energy consumer in your house! But we need it. We need it to keep our chocolates from melting, we need it to make our ice, we need it to keep our food and the list goes on!

First, if your fridge is born before 2001, get it replaced. =D It's harming everyone! But you know, I wouldn't! =0( Fridge are too expensive and I am a pretty short-sighted person too! So, I introduce you to other efforts to minimize pollutants/money spending! =D Economy no good, must save!

Set your fridge temperature is one way you can save up! 2.2Deg C to 4.4Deg C is the temperature for the fridge while the freezer should be between -17Deg C to -10Deg C. And do not place hot food in the fridge! Same theory as the AC! Heat = more energy needed to maintain the cool temperature set! Imagine your hot food being like 40++Deg C or higher and the temperature of your fridge at average is 3.3Deg C. How hard will your fridge need to work man! $$! Let the food cool for an hour or two before placing in the fridge. SAVE UP ALOT ON MONEY too!

And if you are lazy and don't want to wait for that 1-2hrs! Place the hot food in the container (*air tight or food gets contaminated!*) and soak them in cold water for lik 10-15mins! And another tip, when you want to defrost food from the freezer, place them in the fridge to defrost! =D Why? It helps to keep the fridge cooling with the help of the defrosting food! =D MR ELECTRICITY is so smart! Why didn't I think of that?!

=D
Tips credited to : http://michaelbluejay.com/electricity =D Lazy me went to google about saving electricity to be a better citizen and human since we are all sharing Earth!

Others:

There are other things to do to save earth too. Like the 3Rs! Do we still practise it? I DO! Honestly! Why would I make the effort? Because I am a stingy freak! The 3Rs help me save alot of money! What are the 3Rs? I am super sure you know the answer to this! If not, please bang your head 3 times! Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!

Maybe I do not practise REDUCE as much as the other 2 Rs. I know I know, cut down on buying products with too much packaging! You know how expensive things become with the increase in stupid/redundant packaging?! I mean, sufficient packaging is enough. To keep the product save from damage is enough!

There are times I buy nice packaging stuffs. Especially those in metal boxes or tins! I love those! But I keep the metal cans/tins to keep my stuffs! =D REUSE/RECYCLE! =D
Newspapers are used for cleaning and use to prevent my tables from being dirty when I eat. =D
And you know old clothes? DONATE THEM and if you know, those clothes cannot be worn anymore, cut them and use them as rags! Or even clothes for your little babies/SOFT TOYS. =D


Awww! Typing so much makes my hands ache! This is it for today! Have fun being CAPTAIN PLANET! =D
~Ellepedia~ at 6:43 AM