Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 05, 2017 (SKNIS): An average household in St. Kitts can benefit from significant savings every year by following simple tips such as to never leave a cellular phone or laptop charger plugged into the electrical outlet.
Transmission and Distribution Manager at the St. Kitts Electricity Co. Ltd. (SKELEC), Jomo Williams, shared the advice on Wednesday (May 04) during this week’s edition of the radio and television programme “Working for You.”
The most basic of the tips shared is the most obvious and probably the most repeated which is turn off devices when leaving a room.
“If you are not in a room, turn the light off; if you are not looking at the television, turn it off,” Mr. Williams said, adding that the same holds true for radios and other electronic devices. He also pointed to the common practice of persons falling asleep in bed while watching television. One solution: “use your sleep timer.”
Many devices such as game consoles, TVs, and fans have standby modes. Mr. Williams estimated that about 10 percent of the electricity consumed is done in this mode. “The easiest way [is to] plug all of these equipment into a power strip and just hit the power switch before you leave home,” he advised.
When ironing, Mr. Williams stated that it was best to iron as many clothes as possible in one sitting. This reduces repeated use of the element inside of the hot iron or heater, which consumes a large amount of power to reach the appropriate temperature each time.
The use of oversized transformers in homes was also listed as an energy waster. The SKELEC official noted that some households have higher kVA transformers than what is actually needed to power the devices in the home. He suggested that persons should try to use a transformer that is in line with their power consumption.
Mr. Williams also encouraged consumers to purchase appliances or devices that carry the energy star mark in order to save even more on electricity bills.
