What can you do to save electricity at home?

In what way can you reduce your electric bill? You already know that you can save a lot of money if you become energy efficient.

Another advantage of saving electricity at home is that you are reducing emissions. You can help save our planet and the environment.

What can people do to save electricity?

Use energy saving bubbles and appliances to reduce pollution and save energy and your efforts to save electricity at home will reduce your monthly bills and save you money.

However, high levels of electricity consumption all over the world remains a major environmental issue.

Most electricity is produced using products from mining and drilling. We consume electricity generated from coal, natural gas and oil. All of this increases the growth of emissions and harms our Planet, our health and the environment that we live in.

Furthermore, although the use of electricity is cleaner than using fossil fuels , we should keep in mind that it is still harmful to our environment if used in an excessively wasteful manner.

Today the frequency of natural disasters has increased significantly around the globe. This is why every day we must remember and apply easy sustainable living tips which we can follow in our everyday life.

One of the actions we can take is to save electricity at home as this will help to reduce CO2 emissions and reduce pollution.

You can reduce the number of appliances in your kitchen, which consume too much electricity for cooking food and for cooling the premises.

By doing so you will also reduce your utilities bills. For example , approximately 10% of your bill for heating can be saved if you turn down your thermostat by just 1°C.

75% of all the electricity in your house or in your apartment is used by appliances which are plugged in and switched on but which are not in use!

Just walk around your house, check for the plugged in devices, which are not currently in use.

These can be video consoles, TV sets, and computers turned on but on a standby mode.

Image by Tachakanjanapong, via Canva.com

Turn them off to save energy at home and reduce your monthly bills.

Pay attention to the older versions of the appliances, in most cases they consume more electricity compared to newer models. This is what we can do to reduce use of electricity at home, to save the environment and to be more sustainable.

Just remember to unplug all the appliances, which are not in use at your home and this will be your contribution to sustainable living (and safety).

One more tip on what you can do to save electricity at home is to use large electric appliances more efficiently. To save energy at home, load the maximum permitted load into your washing machine.

This way you will reduce the number of cycles the machine will be on. Do not wash just 1 or 2 items in your washing machine as that will waste electricity .

ways to save electricity at home
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Washing your clothes in cold water is another sustainable living tip of what we can do to save electricity at home and reduce our electric bills. Washing clothes in cold water is perfectly OK for some items and you can always turn on warm washing when needed.

But what is the best way to save electricity at home? – Let your clothes and dishes dry naturally!

Just use the energy of the sun for the clothes to dry, and you won’t have to pay for anything at all. If you have no other way out and need to use a dryer – stick to the lower settings to save energy.

When using a dishwasher you can skip using the heated drying cycle. Just stop the appliance and open the door for the air to dry your dishes naturally.

Modern technologies tend to create new devices and new machines which use less energy. If you are going to buy new appliances, check for the energy efficiency to make sure purchase of this appliance will help you save electricity at home.

In addition you can install a thermostat which can be programmed at your home and reduce your heating bills significantly.

Programming the temperature inside your home so it heats up 1 or 2 hours before you arrive home will make your home more sustainable and heated only when you need it. No energy will be wasted and you can save electricity at home and reduce your energy bills.

how to save electricity at home
Image by alexsl, via Canva.com

What else can you do to lower your electric bill? Use shorter showers! Turn on or program timer on your water heating appliance 1 hour before taking a shower.

You can use the same approach with regards to air conditioners and heaters. Program them to turn on only when you need them and you will save electricity.

Another way to save electricity at home is to adjust the use of artificial light. First of all remember to turn off all the lights at your home, which are not in use and in addition, buy higher wattage bulbs to make sure your room is lit enough.

You can purchase 1x 100 watt bulb instead of 4x 60 watts bulbs. Better still, invest in LED lights in preference to incandescent bulbs!

Do not forget that the natural light is the cheapest option – just let the sun in and you will save electricity.

Check the temperature settings inside your fridge. Are you sure you need this level of temperature that the refrigerator is operating at ?

Be sustainable and notch the temperature down. Even a few degrees of temperature change will impact the amount of electricity consumed and hence the energy bills .

During cold seasons you must make sure there are no draughts in your home because drafts and leaking of air in your home may mean that the home is not being heated properly in winter or cooled enough during the hot season.

Use all of the tips of what you can do to save electricity at home and you will not only reduce your energy bills but will contribute to sustainable living, saving our environment and our Planet.

Please share your tips on saving electricity at home and in the comments below tell our readers the best ways to save electricity at home from your point of view.

what can you do to save electricity at home

Food for thought… The Internet in 2022: Help or Hindrance to Social Change?

For our 200th Newsletter, and in the spirit of being a Digital Community Interest Company, we invited our favourite Tellus Blog Author – Eliza – to write about the ever-growing power of the internet and whether it helps or hinders social progress.

The internet reminds me of the economy. It doesn’t really exist unless people play. You can’t see the internet, in the same way you can’t see stocks or shares, but we know they exist because we use the internet to trade, interact, share information and then before we realise it, we’re hooked. Often our livelihoods depend on it. Yet the only thing controlling it is us.

They say humans were toolmakers and developed language which evolved us beyond other species. We carved spears, built the wheel and discovered fire. So, what now? Have we simply replaced spears for iPhones, sign language for Emojis and fire for WiFi? (Okay, maybe not quite but you get my drift.)

Despite the internet not being as real as the trees outside our windows, the push of the wind or our loved ones’ touch, we arguably engage with it more. Why?

Let’s break it down.

Community or control?

In 2021, whistle-blower Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee exposed how the ‘the social network’s algorithm amplified misinformation.’ Algorithms decide what you see on your newsfeed to keep you scrolling. It can also lull you into the trappings of your own echo chamber.

Here’s my best shot at a light-hearted example with low-level knowledge: if you enjoyed watching videos of unlikely but oh-so-cute friendships between dogs and cats, then it’s likely these would crop up on your newsfeed again and again.

Good thing, right?

What if you engage with videos sprouting harmless but traditionalist views… which overtime becomes subtle-racism, then morphs onto toxic fascism and eventually lands you in a dark corner of the internet conversing in downright hate-speech? Harmful right?

Haugen testified: “In some cases, this dangerous online talk has led to actual violence that harms and even kills people.”

If you’re on your phone for hours a week, that can become your understanding of the world.

According to the New Scientist, content is more likely to be engaged if we respond with anxiety or anger, rather than what makes us happy.
So that, combined with algorithmic echo-chambers, creates a group-think mentality, illusion and division.

Could this be a good thing?

On the flip side, you have “community”. Facebook, Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram which can connect you – find your tribe, water your interests and make you feel more connected to the human experience… uploaded!
So long as we don’t identify with groups, it could be a good thing.
But one to keep an eye on.

Community or control
Image by misticboy, via Canva.com

Democracy or surveillance?

It’s no longer “the golden olden days” of national personalities on the radio, select news rags and a few dominant news channels (that have subtle political alignments and corporate sponsorships!).

It’s still a path. But now we can collect news from a wide range of channels, independent news outlets and social-media friends. We have access to the world wide web of information… so does that make it democratic by default?

It’s raised our consciousness on social issues and disparities. Examples include the #MeToo movement which saw women and survivors speak out against sexual misconduct and #BlackLivesMatter which saw an exposing video go viral and consequently inspired a social progression. Podcasts, TikTok and YouTube have been major contributors to counter-culture perspectives.

It hits the marks for reduced inequalities, gender equality, and therefore decent work and economic growth (indicators featured in the Sustainable Development Goals).
However…

In the Netflix documentary – The Social Dilemma – former tech experts from companies such as Google and Twitter provided testimonies about how data was used. It revealed that every second you spend looking at something online, the technology is learning more about you, so it can essentially sell “you” for companies to advertise to. The general takeaway being: if the product is free, it’s because you’re the product.

Tristan Harries, a former Google employee described mobile phones as “slot machines that command attention and endlessly distract”.

Sure, your newsfeed may have yummy recipes or the newest car model you like, but when they have that information on you, they’re able to use it in other ways.

  • Investigations have examined whether consulting firms were used in the Brexit referendum to persuade the politically indifferent demographic to vote Brexit by manipulating information on their newsfeeds.
  • According to Reuters, “Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, was closed down in 2018 following a scandal over mining of Facebook Inc User data.”

It has since been speculated that this same data mining has been used for other major events.

Democracy or surveillance
Image by Bet_Noire, via Canva.com

Neighbours or narcissists?

Internet content is VAST – from Petitions to Porn and all stops in between!

As you’re reading this article from WhatCanYouDo, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re a humanitarian person with a mission to help. You may be into the world of petitions, fund-raising, social causes – and I’ll go out on a limb and say – possibly even adopting a meat-free Monday routine!

The internet is great for reaching a large audience to bring attention to things that need action. We can use the internet as a tool to be friendly neighbours, and even activists. We’re able to put our names and voices to resistance. This democratic sharing is like “neighbourhood watch in the cloud”.

You, reading this now, is a clear example of that.

But just like neighbours, sometimes humans can develop the “grass is greener” attitude. Ego cleverly wraps itself around our phones and into our minds. Social media alone has seen cyber-bullying, privacy leaks and increased anxiety in young people.

Could this be due to social media “Influencers”? “Cancel Culture”? When “likes” and “follows” quantify how interesting you are: could this be the age of narcissism?

When it comes to our wellbeing (an SDG indicator), it’s important to remain healthy and happy. Circling back to those trees I mentioned at the beginning, it’s crucial to engage with our real surroundings. If you care for the world and people, start with yourself.

Observe your relationship with the internet: see it as a tool to help. But if we become the tool to advance profit, data collection and ego, it’s time to digitally detox!

What do you think? What’s been your experience with the internet? Get involved in the discussion!

Eliza
July 2022

Do you agree? Tell us what you think – email: tellus@whatcanyoudo.earth or via our “Social Media Channels” (Top Right of our landing page)
“tellus” is a Latin word meaning “Earth” eg Tellus Mater the ancient Roman Earth Mother Goddess