Most people are now running after alternative energy sources for their energy requirements. The ever increasing energy price has made them think differently.
One challenge that comes up with the use of alternative energy is the efficiency of usage. In order to become more efficient, you might have to be a little bit creative in your energy usage. The need for some creativity is even more exaggerated if you are using solar energy.
The tips discussed below might come handy for you.
1) Unplug the appliances when not in use.
This is one of the basic things you could do to save energy. Each appliance switched on, will add to the usage and will drain your battery, thereby wasting the energy which can be used later. Unplug all the electrical appliances and check the energy meter, charge controller for any electrical load left. Unplugging also reduces the chance for short circuits during floods or spills.
2) Find alternative ways for heating water.
The energy-heat conversion while heating water is so low that most of the energy is spent for heating the pan and the surrounding air. So it takes a lot of time to get boiling and lot of energy is used up during the process. It is always better to use solar water heating technique.
With the help of some lens or magnifying glass, the water can be boiled in a matter of minutes and that too using far little energy than electrical heating. If you don’t have a solar heater, you can use ordinary wood burning stove provided you have the luxury of firewood in your area.
3) Improve the way you refrigerate.
Refrigerator is one thing you want to be turned on all the time irrespective of the amount of power it requires. Even if you have got the most energy efficient refrigerator available in the market, there are some small tricks you can do to increase the efficiency further.
There is very little you can do, but some small things like using refrigerator mass items can save some energy. Techniques like placing water filled bottles in the fridge or freezer can save you some considerable amount of energy.
Water normally will retain cold better than air, so even if you open the fridge every now and then, the presence of frozen water will maintain the cold temperature in the freezer thereby saving the energy spent for cooling the freezer once again.
4) Use low power equipment.
Some appliances use very little energy as compared to others. Cell phones and cameras come under this category. Appliances like laptops use very little energy as compared to desktops, so you should choose low power appliances to save more energy.
Low energy products can cost a little bit more but the initial investment is still worth spending as you can recover the amount within a few months of usage. Another example for low power product is the LED lights, LEDs have higher lifetime and use 80% less energy than the conventional lights. So it is highly recommended to buy these kinds of low power appliances.