HESSEQUA NEWS - Rising electricity costs and a constrained power grid continue to dominate national conversations about electricity usage.
Now that the outside temperature is getting lower than the inside temperature in your home, heat transfer takes place from the inside to the outside, resulting in the interior of your home becoming uncomfortably cold.
If your solution is to keep your heater continuously on, this will result in high electricity bills during colder months and place more pressure on the grid.
Eskom endorses an array of simple solutions to reduce electricity usage
The one appliance in your home that can consume up to 50% of the household's electricity, is the geyser.
The easiest thing to check is that your geyser temperature is set no higher than 60°C and that older geysers are insulated with a geyser blanket.
Equally important is to insulate the hot water pipes running from the geyser to the taps – at least where they are exposed, which can reduce electricity consumption by the geyser by up to 20%.-
Space heating is another area of focus as it is typically the second-highest user of household electricity.
Whether you opt for wall-mounted, gas, oil, infrared or fan heaters, your home will lose heat as it radiates into the walls and through the roof.
Insulating your ceilings can result in reducing the costs of heating the space by up to 50%, keeping your home cosy throughout the winter months.
Insulation
There are several products on the market that you can use for insulation, from synthetic polymers like polyester and expanded polystyrene, mineral woods like fibre-glass, natural plant materials such as cellulose insulation, and animal fibres like wool or even shredded recycled paper which has been chemically treated.
As with all DIY projects, the issue of health and safety is critical to not only the selection of the products to be used but also the installation process.
Specifically when insulating ceilings, it's important to prevent electric shocks or burns caused by contact with defective electrical cables, exposed terminals or conductors or foil insulation that has become energised by contact with a source of electricity.
Furthermore, insulation containing synthetic mineral fibres (such as rookwood or glasswood) can irritate the skin, eyes and respiratory tract. Before you get started, identify any hazards and implement controls.
If you are uncertain about anything, call in an expert.
"Eskom is currently faced with challenges at its power stations, which has led to the need for load-shedding over the past few months. If consumers can assist us by using electricity smartly, it would help to reduce the need for load shedding, which is a measure used to balance the supply and demand of electricity," says Eskom Spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha.
'We bring you the latest Riversdale, Hessequa news'
