ENERGY EFFICIENCY PRACTICES IN URBAN LIVING

- Sanjeev Agrawal

Vice President - Innovations Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd

With the ever-changing climate, many of us are upgrading our lifestyle in order to have a calm and cozy environment in our living space. The basic step of upgrading our lifestyle is to renovate or elevate our living space with the latest trends in furniture, lighting, colour, appliances, and much more. While upgrading your home décor can be heavy on the pocket, it can be done efficiently through smart choices. It is also important to make your living space energy-efficient in order to have an eco-friendly and comfortable home.

Talking about energy-efficient homes, we need to be mindful while picking out home appliances for our living space. Energy-efficient appliances are environment-friendly and cost-effective, making them the go-to choice while renovating our homes. While an ordinary home appliance consumes a lot of energy, there are many appliances which are star labelled by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE - a government initiative) certifying its credibility in the energy efficiency space. This star label helps you in selecting the best energy-efficient appliance suitable for your homes and also reduces a negative impact on the environment. Let's look at a few tips we can undertake to upgrade our living spaces with energy saving appliances.

Save electricity through the new-age water heaters

While water heaters are common appliances across Indian households, they tend to consume the most amount of electricity to heat the water on a regular basis. You can save this energy by installing an energy-efficient water heater which will not only save water for you but its smart technology can help you cut off the electricity bill as well. With advancements in technology and research, there are water heaters available in the market, which come with voice control options using Alexa and Google Assistant offering a hassle-free experience. You can also switch on and off the water heater just by using the voice command. These heaters also use customised bath modes where you can pre-set the timing of your shower and the heater will warm the water as per your preference helping you save energy as well as water. Such water heaters not just save electricity bills or water for you, but also add up to your home décor and elevate your morning/evening routine.

Installing energy efficient ceiling fans

Make a conscious choice of opting for energy-efficient variants in fans, and also one of the most used appliances of every home. A standard period of using fans in a home is approximately between 15-20 hours daily, which consumes around 15% of your home's energy. A ceiling fan which comes with an ActivBLDC technology and has a five star BEE label marked on it is highly recommended. Installing fans which have all these features can help you save more than Rs 7,000 annually in electricity bills as compared to standard induction fan as it only consumes 28W of power. These are some various types of features in the fans that can be operated through a remote control and you can set the speed using your fingertips while sprucing up your living space and increasing your energy savings. A ceiling fan having all these features is a perfect companion for your home as it will not only cool the space but will also be energy as well as cost effective.

LED Bulbs > Traditional Bulbs

Traditional incandescent light bulbs consume an excessive amount of electricity and must be replaced more often than their energy-efficient alternatives. There are multiple variants of bulbs available in the market that are energy-efficient and bulbs like light-emitting diode bulbs (LEDs) use anywhere from 25-80 percent less electricity and last 3 to 25 times longer than traditional bulbs. Ordinary fluorescent bulbs consume a lot of energy which has a direct effect on your pockets. Replace them with LED lights that consume less energy and give you a brighter light than an ordinary light bulb. Also, these LED lights last longer than any fluorescent bulb. There are smart LED bulbs also available in the market, which give you the option of switching colours without changing or installing any new bulb. These bulbs can also be operated using voice-assistants like Alexa. These types of bulbs are Wi-Fi enabled LED bulbs, which can give you up to 16 million colour options in a single bulb.

Upgrade your cooking space with energy-efficient appliances

Moving to one of the most important parts of your home is the kitchen. One can attempt a simple yet energy-efficient way of cooking which would help in saving energy as we tend to use a lot of energy through various appliances while cooking. Upgrading your kitchen space by adding energy saving kitchen appliances like electric kettles, mixer grinders is one of the most simple yet impactful choices to save energy on a regular basis. Buying an energy-efficient model today will save your money later down the line. With a certain energy tariff and usage, your appliance has a guaranteed cost to run over ten years. When you choose a more efficient appliance, you're making savings in advance. In today's time every doctor recommends to have warm water or boiled water in order to have a healthy life. You can opt for an energy-efficient electric kettle to heat water instead of an LPG gas or stove that consumes a lot of energy. It not only helps you get warm water instantly but also make refreshing tea/coffee instantly without using much energy.

Using proper insulation

Proper insulation helps keep your home warm in the winter and cool in the summer without heating or air conditioning systems having to work overtime to regulate the temperature. When building energy-efficient homes, contractors install enough insulation in the walls and floor to keep the home cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Adding insulation prevents air from escaping through window or door openings. This can help reduce the amount of wasted energy. It also prevents the heating system from being overloaded in the winter to keep the space warm. This can help home appliances like air conditioners, use less energy. Insulation can also improve the efficiency of existing HVAC systems. It prevents the outdoor air from clogging the filters with dust. Clogged filters can cause the home appliances to use more energy to operate properly. Adding insulation can even provide more comfort. Insulation can help heat the house evenly, reduce high humidity and drafts. It can also improve air quality by reducing the amount of dust entering the property.

In the future, the development of on-site renewable energy production could lead to zero-emission buildings and highly energy-efficient low carbon eco-cities. New innovative technologies are evolving every day, making cities more energetically sustainable. Let's take a responsible step today to make a conscious effort in building a greener tomorrow.

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