Saving electricity is perhaps one of the best ways to reduce one’s carbon footprint. Specially in a country like ours, where although a fairly large percentage of residences still do not have electricity, many areas still suffer from long power-cuts and ‘load-shedding’. In summer, when shortage becomes acute, residential areas suffer from power-cuts lasting 6 – 10 hours during the day or night. This problem can be solved to quite an extent if we start using electricity with discretion—remember as far as ‘going green’ is concerned, less is more, as it is in this case.
You can start with the simplest thing, which is to switch off the lights, fans and all possible electrical appliances when they’re not in use. If your mobile is charged, don’t keep the battery charger switched on or plugged into the socket. If you can, reduce your use of electrical appliances—reduce television time and supplement it with reading time or use the time to indulge in an outdoor activity. Don’t keep the refrigerator door open for long unnecessarily and make sure the refrigerator, when closed, seals properly to let the energy from escaping. Also, make sure the food is cooled down before you put it inside the refrigerator—this way less energy will be used by the device. Make sure you get your electrical appliances serviced regularly, so their functioning speed remains optimum. If you’re designing or constructing your house or office space then try and make maximum use of sunlight to avoid using artificial light during the day. For already constructed buildings, modify a bit or optimize the use of daylight over artificial light as far as possible. When the weather allows it, keep the ventilation outlets and windows open to optimize temperature and air circulation. Tube lights use consume less electricity and illuminate the space better, CFL bulbs are good too in comparison to regular incandescent ones. If you’re a big fan of decorative lights in the living room or fairy lights in your bedroom then restrict the use to a bare minimum, like only for special occasions. Invest in energy savers; make sure you buy energy efficient appliances while making new purchases. Switch off your computer screen if you’re not going to be using the machine for 20 – 30 minutes; switch it off for longer inactive periods, specially at night when you’re not going to be using it for a good eight plus hours. Use the power saver mode on your computers. When you go away on a trip, make sure you unplug all electrical appliances since they consume more energy when on stand-by. Don’t put objects in front of heating or cooling vents. Try switching to solar or hydro energy if possible.
So, save electricity, save energy because doing so can ensure that things become better down the supply chain. Be the change and encourage and inspire others around you to follow your example.
