It is no news that the electricity tariff in Nigeria has skyrocketed and everyone is just looking for ways to cushion the effect by cutting costs. This is even more severe for those who already have a pre-paid meter installed in their homes but the good part is if you have a pre-paid meter you can regulate how much you get to pay for electricity bills. It is advisable that if you do not have a pre-paid meter you should get one.
The new tariff increase is over 100%, meaning everyone would start paying twice what they previously paid. One thing that is certain is the fact that you would be paying more because of the increased tariff, however, what this article aims to achieve is to help you reduce your electricity usage and in turn reduce your electricity bills.
Use energy-efficient bulbs At Home
Energy-saving bulbs are typically more expensive than non-energy-efficient to purchase but they are the best bet for you if you want to cut cost and pay less for electricity bills. Non-energy-efficient bulbs consume more energy, for example, the average wattage of an ordinary bulb is around 60 to 200. However, energy-saving bulbs are as low as 7 to 11 watts.
So replacing your bulbs is a good place to start. An additional tip is to be more cautious of how long you leave your bulb on for. Some people leave their lights on both day and night, turn your lights off during the day and at night turn off lights you are not using currently like kitchen, bathroom and toilet lights.
Stop All Background power consumption
A number of people do not know that when they just turn off an electrical appliance or device, it does not cut off the power supply. The device still consumes residue energy called vampire or stand by power. To avoid this, cut off power to a device by turning off the socket and the device’s power switch.
Limit your fan and Air conditioner’s runtime
The energy-consuming capacity of an air conditioner (AC) is well known. Keep it running for a day, and it would make a telling impact on your bills. The ceiling fan as well is a high passive consumer, it runs both day and night and as such significantly impacts your power bills. You can cut costs by regulating how long your fan and ac runs for. Always put them off when you’re not using them or when you’re stepping out and also, never leave the AC on throughout the entire day. This can save you hundreds of naira on the electricity bills.
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Check your refrigerator
Well if you can afford to let go of your big refrigerator and go for a smaller one then by all means do. This is because refrigerators consume the most power at home. The average watt consumption of a refrigerator is 1200 watts per day (depending on the model), which means they consume one of, if not the highest power at home.
Move the refrigerator to an area with adequate air circulation, as it helps it become more power-efficient. Your fridge should also be at least 2 inches away from the wall and not stand directly exposed to sunlight.
Another thing you should do is not stuff up your refrigerator. This reduces the overall efficiency of the unit because of the lesser space available for air circulation. It also means that the unit would draw more power to meet the demand. Ensure you defrost the fridge regularly too.
In conclusion, there are a number of things that could make an electricity bill go up. The tips in this article would help you but you also need to study your home on your own and find out which appliance takes up more power so as to streamline the ones you can do without and the ones you cannot cut off. Start trimming down consumption by replacing the device with a more energy-efficient model, or reducing its use.
