But, as life resume in phases, the positive environment changes we saw are hardly expected to sustain. While many of the things require larger policy things; there are a few things we all can do. Particularly, saving water and energy in our day to day routines is one of the simplest tasks we can undertake even in the current circumstances. It currently seems impossible to imagine a life without the two but it might soon be our reality if we don’t mend our ways.
Top 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Save Water and Energy–
Replace light bulbs
In an age where everything from your mobile phone to kitchen and home appliances is getting smarter by the day, you need to grow smarter too. You can start by switching to more eco-friendly and energy saving light bulb options in the market. By any chance, if you are still on the incandescent bulbs you might like to know, almost 90 percenttheir energy gets wasted as it turns into heat. For you, that means wasted money from an inefficient device. If you don’t want to go ahead with smart lights or smart switches yet, buy at least a more effective LED bulb. It won’t only help you save some energy but will also help you save some extra bucks on your electricity bills. Furthermore, although it goes without saying unless you are a 5-year old; in all our moms’ words, “Switch off the lights when you get out of the room.”
Take Shorter Showers
But, I love it! Come on. It is so relaxing to enjoy a long shower after a tiring day and…blah blah. We have all been there. But, the whole point of conservation is to take what is a necessity and cut out a little on the unnecessary and wasteful. If we all start thinking of our luxuries, it would be impossible to save water and energy. Taking short shower happens to be one of the simplest things that we all can do and save gallons of water every week.
Run Washers at Full Capacity
Many families in India tend to prefer washing clothes more frequently almost every other day or in a bunch of lots on the weekend. However, experts suggest that employing partially loaded washers repeatedly actually wastes much of your home’s electricity. They advise running electric appliances including washing machines and dishwashers at full capacity to utilise their peak efficiency. Moreover, this practice not only helps you save electricity but water too. Moreover, the Porcelanosa blog notes that you can save between 8% and 12% electricity and 42 to 62 litres of water per wash by using the washing machine when it is full and simultaneously using the fast or ECO programmes.Additionally, even if you may have to wash certain clothes and dishes in hot water, rinse them in cold-water to save energy.
Each drop counts
If you move a bit from the regular habits, you will realise there is so much of water we waste almost every single day. The half-filled bottles going down your drain, leaking faucets asking for repair and not to forget, God’s own rain that can be harvested. If you have ever lived through the seasonal water crisis, you know how capable we can be in preserving water. For instance, during summers when water supply comes after at least a couple of days, we would end up filling all our buckets and conscious of every water drop that we used. But, as soon the water supplies resume to normal, extra gallons of water wasted everyday were back into the drain. We aren’t asking to suddenly go a 360 degree but you can start small, for example by emptying those bottles in your plants if nothing more.
Be smart around heating and cooling
When it comes to heating and cooling food, depending on the weather, nature offers us many opportunities to save energy. For instance, you can keep your prepared food in the sunlight to allow it to get warm naturally without oven on sunny days. Moreover, it is also advisable to take out prepared flour or other food stuff from refrigerator an hour before your meals. As it allows the food to return to the normal room temperature, it consequently takes up lesser heat on the oven later. Also, keep your fridge full as more warm air enters the interior if it is too empty. Also be mindful of the fridgetemperatures and don’t forget to readjust as per the seasons. Start slow but go steady and consistent. These were some of our top tips to preserve water and energy in the current times. We have tried to include habit changes that you can easily keep even post the pandemic. If you have got some innovative and easy tips too, share on social media using #SaveEnergyAndWater and do tag us using @TechThirsty.
