Go for energy saving appliances to save cost

NAIROBI: The push for green buildings will contribute little to environmental sustainability if efforts are not made to use energy efficient appliances in the home.

Construction of larger homes in the country leads to installation of more electrical appliances, pushing up the amount of energy needed to light up, heat up or cool such homes.

Improvements to the design of home appliances such as kettles, water heaters and lighting components offer new opportunities for energy saving within the home.

According to UN Habitat’s Urban Energy Unit, using energy saving appliances to light up a building reduces overall power bills by 20 per cent.

Of course, use of natural light through windows, skylights, and light tubes, which capture daylight and pipe it into dark corners of your home is another effective option to consider and can reduce your need for other forms of lighting.

However, this may not always be possible, especially in some apartments where other tall buildings hinder the entry of natural light.

In such cases, using energy saving appliances is key to a well-lit home.

For example, the old incandescent lamps emit 95 per cent heat and five per cent light, which is a total waste of energy.

To test this out, touch an incandescent light bulb five minutes after switching it on and you might burn your finger in the process due to the immense amount of heat produced.

In large offices, power saving can be accomplished by installing light sensors that control the amount of light needed at any given time. “Compared to conventional lighting, compact fluorescent lamps emit the same amount of visible light but save up to 88 per cent of electric power needed for lighting and also have an eight to 15 times longer lifetime,” states UN Habitat’s Urban Energy report.

Current air conditioning systems save as much as 50 per cent of power compared to models manufactured 20 or 30 years ago.

Current solar water heating technology also saves on power.

While the cost of some of these power saving appliances may be higher than older pieces of equipment, experts reckon that the payback time may be shorter, thus giving the consumer a longer-term investment through energy saving.

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