Tips To Optimize Your Appliances For Solar Energy

Benefits Of Solar-Powered Appliances

• Save More Money: If you have appliances running on the national grid, you are familiar with the high electricity bills that you meet every month. A large portion of it arising from the use of home appliances. Innovation has made it easier for you by providing a means to use solar energy to power your home appliances. Solar energy is a sure way to cut down the costs that you spend on electricity bills.
• No Inconvenience From The National Grid Power Outages: As Eskom, South Africa’s main electricity supplier keeps warning South Africans of prospective power outages the future is uncertain. However, by embracing solar energy to power your appliances you will be better placed in cases of power outages. Relying on sun’s free energy is one of the best decisions you will ever make regarding your power consumption. With the appropriate solar energy system, you are able to comfortably run your appliances throughout the year, in and out of season.
• Help Combat Climate Change: The more appliances we connect to the national grid, the higher the demand to burn fossil fuels used in generating the electricity. By using solar energy to power your appliances, you will be helping address climate change by reducing carbon emission into the atmosphere.

Tips To Maximize On Solar Energy For Appliances

Getting the most out of your solar produced energy doesn’t need to break the bank. Check out the below tips that you can implement that don’t necessarily have to break the bank. 

Zero-Cost Saving Tips For Solar Energy Appliances

Optimize Energy When Using Dishwashers:

• Run the dishwasher at full capacity.
• Consider linking the dishwasher to a cold-water supply. Connecting the dishwasher to a hot water tap will mean a double energy consumption because the dishwasher will draw energy for the entire operation.
• Let the dishes drip dry or use a cloth instead of letting the dishwasher transition into the drying cycle which will consume more energy.

Energy Saving Tips When Using The Fridge:

• Open the fridge only when necessary. Keep the door closed as soon as possible once you have placed or removed your items from the fridge.
• Avoid leaving your fridge empty or overly filling it up to so not to overwork it.
• Allow food to cool before placing it into the fridge to minimize the energy requirements to cool it further.

Switch Off Unused Appliances:

• You can either switch off unused appliances or unplug them from the wall. Appliances such as radios, TV’s and Computers can consume over 50% energy when on standby mode. If you switch off the wall socket, you don’t have to unplug the appliance.
• Learn to switch off your computer when not in use. It is a common misconception that turning your computer on and off reduces its lifespan. This only happens if  you switch it on and off thousands of times.

Using Cleaning Appliances:

• Accumulate your laundry before you use the washing machine because the amount of energy when using a single item or full load is the same.
• Lower energy consumption by reducing the level of heat when warming water for washing linen.
• You can skip the pre-wash cycle for clothes that aren’t overly dirty.
• Avoid overloading automatic washing machines as this will reduce the effectiveness of the washing cycle.
• Utilize the features on the washing machine to maximize the cleaning experience like soaking the clothes to remove stains in just one washing cycle.
• Clean the tumble dryer to increase its effectiveness.

Ironing Clothes:

• Switch on the iron only when you are ready to iron.
• Avoid ironing clothes that don’t need ironing.
• Using boiled or distilled water for steam irons can both clean and remove creases in an energy-efficient way.
• Switch off your iron when ironing your last few pieces as the iron is will hold it’s heat and has enough energy to see you through your last bit ironing.

Heating Food:

• Keep the oven door closed until the food is ready. Avoid frequently opening and closing the oven door as this causes heat loss.
• Use the right amount of food for the size of your oven. Burdening the oven reduces it’s efficiency.

Low-Budget Cost Saving Tips

In addition to the zero-cost energy saving tips when using appliances. You can improve your experience with a budget friendly expenditure.

Use A Water-Efficient Dishwasher Model:

• If you are buying a dishwasher or replacing your old one, by going for a water-efficient dishwasher and you could cut the water spend by 50%. This means less energy will be spent to heat up the water.
• If drip-drying and using clothes to dry dishes is not effective for you, you can buy dishwashers with no-heat air-drying features to save on energy usage while still achieving the same effect.

Replace fridge seals:

• As soon you detect defective seals on your fridge, replace them immediately to maintain the cooling effect and minimize energy spend.

Insulated cookers:

• Insulated cookers help cooking pots to retain the initial heat and can minimize on energy consumptions required to cook food. You can cook some foods like rice on the stove and as they boil transfer them to the insulated cooker to complete the cooking with the heat retained.

Invest In Energy-Efficient Washing Machines:

• Instead of top loaders that use a lot of water and energy, you can invest in front-loading washing machines that are energy efficient.
• An automatic dryer can also help as it will turn off the dryer once clothes dry up instead of waiting for the timer countdown.

Larger Investment Options

If you are investing to save, you can consider the below options. 

Acquire Modern Energy Efficient Appliances:

• The initial costs of acquiring such appliances might be higher but the benefits are lasting and can save you a big deal.
• Be sure to check the label because being modern or a recent release does not guarantee lower energy consumption. Check for labels like Energy Star ratings when buying appliances.
• Consider a door in door fridge which allows you to easily access frequently used items like condiments, juices and milk without having to open the full fridge door. Instaview fridges are also becoming popular as this allows you to see what is in the fridge without having to open the door. 

Get Effective Cookers:

• Go for cookers that take heat up quickly as they can help you efficiently use energy and minimize associated dangers like burns.
• High-temperature cooking will help you get the job done quickly saving your solar energy.
• Gas and induction stoves are also worth considering. 

Next Move

As you make decision on the source of power for your appliances remember you are making a long term decision and you should therefore involve professionals and established companies to install solar systems for you as you join other South Africans successfully moving on to green energy.

Where else can you save?