Top 9 Simple and Effective Ways to Save Electricity

Utilize air conditioning and coolers in cooling mode, avoid setting the room temperature too low. The temperature difference between the room and outside should only be between 3 - 5 degrees Celsius. Maintain the temperature around 24 - 25 degrees Celsius. Every 10 degrees higher saves you 10% of energy. Regularly clean the air conditioner and turn it off if you leave the room or are away from home for more than 1 hour. Seal all doors tightly, avoiding any gaps causing heat loss. Regularly clean the air filter.

Choose an air conditioner or cooler suitable for the room's capacity. Opt for an air conditioner with electronic automatic control to save about 30% energy. When in use, set the temperature above 20 degrees Celsius, as every 10 degrees higher can save an additional 10% energy. Regularly cleaning the filter will help save 5 - 7% of energy!

This measure also significantly contributes to energy efficiency. For example, placing the water pump in the right position will help your pool fill up faster. Use light-colored paint for your house to save more electricity. Install a ceiling fan, as when it operates, it will blow air down to the floor, and the air from beneath will spread around, hitting the walls and radiating throughout the room, providing a cooler and more efficient environment compared to a stand fan.

Furthermore, many people believe that keeping electrical devices in standby mode saves more energy, but in reality, this still consumes electrical energy and can account for up to 10% of your total electricity consumption. For this reason, if you don't need to use a device for an extended period, it's better to turn it off completely to save energy.

Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Use energy-efficient bulb types such as Compact, Tube, U-shaped bulbs for more effective energy savings. In places where only illumination is needed, such as hallways, bathrooms, and gardens, you can use LED lights instead of fluorescent or Compact bulbs. Replace T10 fluorescent bulbs with T8, T5 fluorescent bulbs.

Use light fixtures with good reflectivity suitable for the purpose and location of use. Use electronic ballasts instead of iron ballasts. Turn off lights when leaving the room. Replace bulbs regularly every 10-12 months or when the bulb shows signs of flickering, replace it immediately to ensure its efficient fuel burning capability and savings.

Choose a fan with an appropriate power and use it at medium speed because high power means strong electricity consumption. For small rooms or when you only need a fan for relatively small spaces, just choose a fan with moderate power to effectively cool the usage area. Use the fan at medium speed; avoid turning it to the highest wind level as it will make the fan operate at full power and consume more electrical energy. Additionally, in hot dry weather, turning the fan to the highest wind level can cause the skin to lose moisture and create a stuffy feeling.

Many people have the habit of letting the fan run when going out or forgetting to turn it off, resulting in wasting a considerable amount of electrical energy. Remember to turn off the fan when not in use to save electricity and ensure safety from the risk of fire or fan damage. Pulling the fan's power cord out of the socket when the fan is not in operation is also a small tip to save electricity. Even when the fan is not working, the power cord still supplies electricity to the fan. Therefore, you should pull the power cord to make sure the fan has completely stopped working.

Before ironing clothes, you should classify different types of clothes with different materials and similarities because each type of fabric will require different heat levels. Place small items like face towels and ties in a separate group. By focusing on and categorizing fabric types, you arrange thinner fabrics to iron first to take advantage of the ironing board's retained heat, consuming less electrical energy than having to reheat the ironing board if you iron each item individually. Limit the use of the iron during peak hours, as peak hours are when large power-consuming devices operate simultaneously, such as water heaters, air conditioners, etc. During this time, electricity is at a high and unstable level. Choose early morning or late evening to iron clothes as electricity flows steadily, helping you save energy for low power consumption.

Do not iron in air-conditioned or windy rooms because in air-conditioned rooms or places with wind, the ironing board has to emit a large amount of heat to maintain the necessary temperature, causing higher than normal electricity consumption. Before ironing clothes, clean the metal surface of the ironing board. This helps the ironing board work more efficiently because regular cleaning helps maintain the best heat transfer capability, allowing clothes to be ironed quickly. Before ironing clothes, you should categorize clothes carefully, grouping fabrics with the same or similar materials to iron at the same time. After you unplug, with residual heat, you can iron thin clothes like silk, satin, handkerchiefs, etc.

Turn off the computer if you don't intend to use it for 15 minutes or more is the simplest way to save energy. Choose the power-saving mode (Screen Saver) on the computer to protect the machine and significantly reduce energy consumption during periods when you don't need to use it. If you only need to use audio from the computer (listen to music, learn English), turn off the screen if possible. When using a laptop, using energy from the machine's battery will save more energy than using direct electricity. Avoid continuous charging to extend battery life. Adjust the screen brightness to an appropriate level. Choose the power-saving mode (screen saver) on the computer to save energy and protect the computer.

New-generation computers all have power-saving modes installed. The following settings will help the computer operate efficiently in power-saving mode. For Vista operating system: Go to Control Panel/System and Maintenance/Power Options, choose Power Saver mode and Change Plan Settings. Next, move the mouse to the Change section of the advanced setting function, select the idle time for the hard disk/Turn off. Finish by clicking OK and then select Save Changes to complete the process. For Windows XP: Apply similar adjustment steps in the Control Panel/Power Options section. These settings reduce the power consumption of each component on the computer, without causing any inconvenience during the use of each function.

Some washing machines now have temperature adjustment modes suitable for different washing programs to achieve high efficiency. However, if not absolutely necessary, you can minimize this action. Increasing the water temperature in hot water washing also means increasing electricity consumption during the washing machine operation. Not choosing the appropriate temperature, are you worried it will affect the ability to clean clothes in the washing machine? Don't worry too much; classify clothes to select clothes suitable for each suitable temperature. Gather all blankets, pillows, bedspreads... the items that must be washed with hot water, then you can set the hot water mode in the initial washing cycle and set the remaining cycles to normal water mode to save more electricity for the washing machine.

Usually, the washing machine will automatically estimate the amount of clothes to choose the appropriate washing program. However, this action will not bring about efficient energy consumption. To save electricity and water for the washing machine better, you should manually choose the appropriate washing program to save energy for the washing machine. For example, with a small amount of clothes, you should choose a gentle washing cycle, low water level. Like that, depending on the amount of clothes to be washed to choose the appropriate parameters. Most washing machine products today have 3 basic water levels for you to choose from: high water level, medium water level, low water level. To achieve energy-saving efficiency for the washing machine, choose the most suitable water level. If the amount of clothes is small, you can choose a low water level, this not only helps save water but also makes the washing cycle faster, indirectly saving electricity consumption.

Avoid placing the refrigerator near heat sources such as gas stoves, electric rice cookers, microwaves, and sunlight. Also, the refrigerator should not be placed close to the wall because it needs space to dissipate heat, helping the refrigerator work more efficiently. This is particularly important because the cooling cable system behind the refrigerator needs cool air to cool down; otherwise, the refrigerator consumes a lot of electricity and quickly deteriorates. Depending on the weather outside, you can adjust the refrigerator's temperature accordingly. You should not set the temperature too high because it is very energy-consuming. In cold weather, you can adjust the cold level to 3 and increase it to 4 on hot days to save electricity for the refrigerator effectively.

Furthermore, you can also flexibly adjust the temperature for each frozen compartment, chilled compartment, and vegetable compartment. The suitable temperature for storing food in the frozen compartment is about -18 degrees Celsius, and about 2 - 4 degrees Celsius to keep food and vegetables fresh in the chilled compartment. Cold air will escape when the refrigerator door is open, and then the compressor will work more, causing you to spend more electricity to cool it down from the beginning. Therefore, you should not open the refrigerator for too long and remember to close the refrigerator door carefully so that the door seal on the top of the refrigerator fits tightly into the body.