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#FinancialLiteracy: Small changes that make a big difference in your Electricity Bill

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Investorslounge.com: Electricity tariffs have been on the rise this year and there might possible be another hike due. With incredibly hot weather in most parts of the country, Pakistanis are in for a difficult time. But we’ve heard enough about the challenges, let’s focus on solutions - on the household-level. We’ve put together a list of small changes, which is neither exhaustive nor should be taken for advice to be blindly followed. The purpose is to get you started on your research in how to make smart changes in your house that can potentially bring down your Electricity Bill. Let’s get started:

Load and Timing Changes:

  • The peak hour billing on an electricity meter is higher than slab rate billing in Pakistan (Generally true if you use less than 300 units/month). For the same number of units consumed peak-hour bills can be 50-60% higher than the slab-billing rates. The criteria for getting peak-hour billing and slab-rate billing are based on the sanctioned electricity load of your house. For every house with a sanctioned load of 5 kW or higher, the more expensive peak-hour rate will be applied. The sanctioned load can be found on your bill (an example from a K-Electric bill is given here with a 3-kW sanctioned load):

 

 

 

Most medium-sized households in Pakistan with an average of 2 ACs have a lower than 4-5 kW sanctioned load, and it should be reflected in your bills. A petition can, therefore, be filed with the utility company to reduce your sanctioned load to take advantage of the cheaper slab-rate billing. For K-Electric, you can visit their Integrated Business Centre (IBC)/ Customer Care and ask them for a Load Reduction Form. Documents needed might include lease document, ownership details and CNIC. They will schedule a survey of your house to reduce/revise the sanctioned load if it is less than 5 kW. The survey team visits all rooms to take a count of all appliances. To minimize chances of rejection you may get some legal help or at least discuss with an expert (Just like you would do for a Visa).

 

Note: Even though some connections have a sanctioned load greater than 5kW, their billing might be done according to slab rates which could end up being more expensive than peak mechanism billing. You’re only better off with slab-based billing if your monthly billing is less than 300 units. If your monthly consumption is more than 300 units, visit the IBC and ask them to convert your billing to on-peak off-peak mechanism.

 

  • In case you are billed with peak-hour rates, avoid using the higher electric loads (ACs, Clothing Iron, Microwaves, Electric Ovens and Water Pumps) between the hours of 6.00 P.M. to 10.30 P.M.


Air Conditioners:

  • When possible, use fans and natural ventilation in your houses to cool down spaces. 
  • Choose variants of inverter ACs that have the capability to run majority of its major component on Direct Current (DC) which include compressor, fan motor, indoor and outdoor motors, expansion valve etc.
  • If installing a new air-conditioner, make sure to choose a room that has least number of walls with direct sun exposure. Use insulation material in the roofs of rooms that are constructed in the upper portion of the house.  
  • Size your AC appropriately, if undersized for room dimensions, a 1-ton AC can possibly use more energy than a 1.5-ton AC. 
  • Keep your AC setting at 26-28 degrees (Generally considered energy-efficient)
  • Use appropriate modes: 
  • Dry Mode: Probably the most important mode. The humidity can cause you to feel temperatures higher than they actually are as the sweat does not evaporate in high moisture environment. Running your AC on Dry Mode at 26C can bring you instant comfort in humid cities, like Karachi.
  • Eco Mode: Most modern air-conditioners come with an Eco mode on their settings that make sure that the air-conditioners are saving power.
  •  Clean your AC filters every two weeks. Clean your outer unit (while protecting the electronics) every month to avoid any dust from settling in and letting the heat escape. 

Energy monitoring

  • Consider investing in an affordable energy monitoring device that allows you to track energy consumption and any abnormal behavior of appliances (most common ones are inefficient motors of water pumps and ceiling fans that consume up to 2x power compared to efficienct products). One of the companies that sells energy monitors is Wattie.io. There will definitely be others so do your research on them.
  • In some cases, it makes sense to buy a new motor or fan with a breakeven of less than 6 months in electricity bill savings.

Lighting:

  • Switch to LED bulbs and lighting in your house. 
  • The amount of light provided by a fixture is measured in ‘Lumens’, using brands with significant R&D behind their development (such as Philips, Osaka, Xiaomi) can provide you more lumens for every watt of power consumed.

Fans:

  • Turn fans off when leaving the room. Fans cool you down by evaporating sweat off your body, and without anyone present in the room, the fans will not have their desired effect. 
  • Over time, our fans start to use more and more power. Consider changing your fans if they are over 5-6 years old. 

Refrigerators:

  • Make sure to leave plenty of space around refrigerators to keep the wind flowing around them. 
  • Do not put refrigerators in heated spaces such as kitchens. 
  • Most small electronic markets sell old computer fans that can be installed as extra ventilation/exhaust in the back of the refrigerator to carry heat out effectively. 
  • If your freezer does not have an auto-defrost, it will accumulate ice that can hurt the efficacy of the freezer. Clean the ice regularly, at least once a month in humid cities like Karachi. 

Water Pumps:

  • Water pumps are electricity intensive appliances, and most water pumps in Pakistani households use inefficient motors, and while they may be expensive to replace with the more efficient motors, one can ensure that the motors are not running even when the underground or overhead tank is full. Save yourself electricity and water.

Architecture:

  • Heated walls and roofs are the biggest enemy to your electricity bill when you use an AC to cool the house. In a new construction or otherwise, the easiest hack to keep in mind is to ensure that you have bright colored walls and rooftops. If there are any unused and cemented rooftops in your house, paint the floor of the roof white with paint or limestone (choona).
     

Car AC Fuel Saving:

  • Before getting in the car, open and shut your driver door a couple of time to vacuum the hot air out of the parked car.
  • Open all your windows to let the hot air flow out of the parked car and only turn the AC on when you are cruising at higher speeds. (This is not advice to drive fast)
  • Run the AC at the lowest fan setting first to allow the cooler air from outside to be sucked in and then turn it up higher as needed. 

 

Important Note: This article may very well have some errors, please do not follow blindly. Discuss with experts, do your own research.

Contributors: Investors Lounge would like to thank Osama Bin Rizwan (Student at San Diego University and Energy Expert), Talha Khan (Co-founder of an EV startup in Singapore), Adeel Ahmed (Former Commercial Lead at Nizam Energy) and Ahsan Moin (Works as a Cloud Analyst and is a customer who successfully went through with the process of load revision).

Customer Tariff: To get an idea of KE Customer Tariffs visit link: http://bitly.ws/s6Xs

Download Attachment :

Gainer by %

Sym Curr. Chg. %Chg.
TSPL9.62111.6 %
ANSM9.74111.44 %
KOHP9.75111.43 %
WAVES9.470.8910.37 %
ASC14.811.3510.03 %
JATM32.732.9810.02 %
PPVC17.781.6210.02 %
SEL14.711.3410.02 %
SGPL13.181.210.02 %
DMC52.774.810.01 %

Loser by %

Sym Curr. Chg. %Chg.
SANSM63.79-7.09-10 %
BAFS317.8-35.31-10 %
ALNRS88.87-9.52-9.68 %
TICL574.02-49.83-7.99 %
MQTM44.21-3.82-7.95 %
TPLL49-4-7.55 %
PIM17.68-1.39-7.29 %
BHAT946.54-74.02-7.25 %
GUSM11.8-0.76-6.05 %
CPPL110.36-7.1-6.04 %

Disclosure: I/We have no positions in any stock mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions in the next 72 hours.


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