ENERGY SAVING ADVICES - RESIDENTIAL SECTOR
- Purchase equipment with automatic low power mode or energy saving mode.
- Plug the main device and peripheral devices to switchable multi-socket power bars or intelligent power bars for reducing standby power.
Air-conditioners
- Choose energy efficient air conditioners. Air conditioners with "Grade 1" energy label are the most energy efficient, and can save up to 40% of annual electricity consumption compared with "Grade 3" air conditioners.
- Set and maintain air-conditioned room temperature between 24℃ and 26℃ or above in summer.
- For split type air-conditioners, check frequently all pipeworks and equipment to identify any damage and leaks, especially the insulation materials, around joints and coils. Rectify the leaking gasket/sealant where necessary.
- Use fans in conjunction with window type air conditioner to spread the cooled air more effectively to enhance the cooling effect instead of lowering the temperature of air-conditioners.
- Adjustable air vanes should preferably be used in supply air grilles to provide flexibility in ventilation direction.
- Adopt natural ventilation or ventilation fans for areas not require air-conditioning.
- Keep the windows and doors closed when the air-conditioner is turned on and use curtains or blinds to shade against sunlight.
Refrigeration Equipment
- Choose energy efficient refrigerators. Refrigerators with "Grade 1" energy label are the most energy efficient.
- Don't put the refrigerator near a heat source - an oven or direct sunlight from a window.
- Keep fridge at the right temperature and defrost regularly to keep it working efficiently.
- Leave enough space between refrigerators and the walls for better heat rejection.
- Allow hot or warm food to cool down before putting it into the refrigerator.
Kitchen and Cooking Equipment
- Use efficient appliances like microwave ovens or toaster ovens for cooking and baking in small quantities.
- Avoid using the keep-warm function of electric pots since it consumes lots of energy. Transfer the surplus hot water to a thermal pot.
- Using pressure cookers can save around two-thirds of cooking time, and hence save energy.
- Use cooking utensils that conduct heat well. Foods cook faster with pots and pans lid covered, and hence save energy.
- Use electric pots with automatic switch-off feature for boiling water.
- Defrost frozen foods in the air before cooking.
- Shorten the preheating time of ovens as far as possible.
- Adjust the stove flame to fit the bottom of the cooking pan.
- Cook several dishes in one session when using the oven, or cook dishes requiring higher temperature first.
- Always cover pans with lids to keep the heat inside to save energy.
- Use the timer wisely to avoid over-cooking and energy wastage. Let the residual heat finish the job.
Laundry Equipment
- Choose energy efficient washing machines. Washing machines with "Grade 1" energy label are the most energy efficient.
- Choose a washing machine that meets the household needs.
- Fully load the machine – A half load of clothes uses about the same amount of energy as a full load.
- Spin dry wet clothes in the washing machine at high-speed spin cycle before using a tumble dryer.
- Use a low-temperature wash cycle to reduce water heat needs.
- Hang-dry washed clothes in sunlight at outdoors instead of using tumble dryers.
Computing Equipment
- Use intelligent adaptor to automatically switch off peripheral devices, such as monitor and printer, for reducing standby power.
- Unplug equipment chargers and adapters when they are not in use.
- Switching off the screen can save even more energy consumption than just letting the screen savers run.
- Reduce the brightness level of the screen to the lowest level of acceptable comfort.
- Use the power management feature to preset the computer to "sleep" mode when it is idle and set the wait time to "sleep" mode to be lowest.
- Affix energy saving reminder.
Miscellaneous Equipment
- Use appliances with timer control or automatic power-off function. Do not leave them in standby mode for a long period.
- Use appliances of appropriate capacity and features best suited for your need.
- Choose dehumidifiers that have automatic dehumidifying mode.
- Keep the windows and doors closed when the dehumidifier or heating appliance is ON.
- Remove battery charger from power socket after charging completed.
- Minimize energy consumption of a mobile phone by switching off functions that are temporarily not in use, such as vibration, GPS, Bluetooth, etc., and dimming the screen or adopting auto brightness control mode.
