How to save electricity and thus money

Electricity saved is money and environment saved.

Save electricity

How?

1. Unplug along with switching off-TV, chargers, appliances,etc. Plugged in appliances still consume electricity even after switching off, however less it may be.

2. Switch to LED from incandescent or CFL bulbs. Expensive than others, but very less energy consumption and durable. So you will be saving a lot over years. Don't buy for cheap as they may have a cheap chip that will fail over few times of usage. Philips, Eveready, Charleston seem to be the best.  Havells, Wipro, Syska are good.You need to look for the following things while buying LED:

• High Lumens/watt: Higher the lumens, higher the brightness.
• Beam angle: LEDs are best as spotlights, but if you want to illuminate wider areas, check for high beam angle. You can use reflectors or diffusers for wide angle, but then again the brightness may reduce.
• Long duration warranty
• High CRI(colour rendering index)- at least greater than 80, so that you can see colours better under LED(e.g: distinguishing navy blue and black)
• Colour of LED like warm white/daylight etc. This depends on your choice and it will set the mood of the house.
• Finally, brand does make a difference

3. Minimize consumption.

• Switch off lights and fans as you leave the room. 
• Use daylight as much as possible and avoid lights. Go for thin curtains that will let light in. 
• Open windows to let in fresh air. Get mesh for windows so that mosquitoes stay out.
• Minimize consumption at office places too. Switch off all the lights in washrooms whenever there is no need for it and silently (stealthily) switch off lights in lift lobbies.

4. Sell those old appliances that consume lot of electricity and buy new ones based on energy star ratings. e.g: fridge, geyser, AC, etc. This is a little huge step in terms of money, perhaps you can take it slow by replacing one item per year.

For buying AC, following are the best things:

• Inverter - Can adjust cooling as per temperature which varies as per season, area of the room, time of the day
• Split-More energy efficient and distribution and less noise than window ACs. Inverter available only in split ACs.
• Copper condenser-Better heat transfer, durable than aluminium,easier to clean and repair
• High ISEER-Ratio of heat removed to power consumed in active mode and BEE(Bureau of Energy Efficiency) star ratings.

5. Finally, switch to solar power. These days many of the villas are coming with rooftop solar systems. You can also invest in solar powered lamps, etc which you can use. It's a big investment and you may have to save some money, but it would really pay off at the end.

Bijlibachao is a very good site for electricity saving tips.

Let's save electricity and save our money and save our EARTH.
Earth Hour is on March 25th from 8.30 to 9.30 PM.
Earth Day is on 22nd April, but lets make all days in a year Earth days :)

PS: For more info on how Earth's pollution is increasing by electricity production and consumption, check this waitbutwhy blog post. This post is originally about electric cars(Tesla).