Why this ELECTRICITY?

Consume lavishly, enjoy until bill will receive OR consume it effectively, enjoy both bill and life comfort.

By Eng. Navodana Kankanamge

Although electricity tariff has been modified recently; still generation cost of electricity is higher than the selling price in Sri Lanka. Only way to reduce the electricity bill is improving the efficiency and the effectiveness of electricity usage. It is obvious that Electrical Engineers in the country may lead for this discussion. Following facts may helpful to somebody who heartily interest to reduce the electricity consumption without lose life comfortable.

Refrigerators 

Refrigerators play an essential role in modern life. They provide steady cooling and among other things allow us to easily preserve goods. It is estimated that almost 50% of the domestic energy consumption is responsible by the refrigerator. There are 4 million domestic consumers in the country and it is estimated more than 60% among them are using a refrigerator. Energy consumption of a refrigerator affect following factors.
When choosing a location with the needed clearances for placing the refrigerator, you need to consider the temperatures in the area. If the temperatures are too warm, the refrigerator will run more often and waste more energy. Air circulation helps keep the temperature around the refrigerator. Don’t place the refrigerator right up against the wall; the warm air from the refrigerator compressor has nowhere to escape. Normally refrigerator maintains an interior temperature at 400 F in the refrigerator and 00 F in the freezer for safe food storage. If the distance is not adequate from the wall, the warm air is trapped around the unit, which will make it run more often while trying to keep the internal temperature correct. The best possible practice is placing a louver type tall window to the wall, where refrigerator going to be placed to allow to circulation of natural ventilation to cool down it.
Compressor running duration increases with number and duration of door openings since the cold air inside comes out from the bottom of it and replaces with hot air from outside. If you difficult to control door openings, plastic air curtain can be used, which can trap cold air successfully since door opens. It is very cheaper and simple improvement to reduce the energy consumption.
Foods in freezer put about half an hour inside to refrigerator section before use. It will help to reduce compressor load. If it is leaking cool air from the door, magnetic rubber beading needs to clean or replace. When foods left uncovered inside the refrigerator, it will leach this moisture into the air and the compressor of refrigerator will have to work twice as hard to remove it. Using empty bottles, containers, or even store bought water jugs can help keep space full and it helps keep things cold.
Sources/References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refrigerator, http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/would-a-fridge-curtain-save-electricity-or-should-you-just-unplug.html

Electric cookers 

An induction cooker transfers electrical energy by induction from a coil of wire into a metal pot. It is more energy-efficient than other electric cookers. It allows excellent temperature control also. Water heaters, kettles, hot plates and rice cookers could be easily replaced with a programmable induction cooker. An induction coil mounted inside the cooker passes a large alternating current. The changing magnetic field induces an electrical current (eddy current) in the pot. The eddy current, flowing through the electrical resistance inside the pot, produces heat.
Sours: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induction_cooking

Automation possibilities

It is frequent that forgetting switch off electrical equipment when they don’t need. Outdoor lights works during day time, fan and lights work whether no body inside the room are common examples. Modern technology shall easily utilize to automate them if you wish.
Programmable timer relays, proximity sensors along with relay modules, water level sensor with programmable relay modules are freely available and even they easily purchase online and ship to the place you wish from web sites like ebay. You may try them yourself as a trial since they are not much expensive at all from following links.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/DIN-RAIL-DIGITAL-PROGRAMMABLE-220VAC-16A-TIMER-SWITCH-350680023473?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item51a62881b1
http://www.ebay.com/itm/IR-Infrared-Save-Energy-Motion-Sensor-Automatic-Light-Switch-/370689906940?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564ed718fc
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PIR-switch-Human-infrared-sensor-Sensor-switch-Microwave-radar-sensor-switch-/400439037871?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5d3c06cfaf

Lighting

It is clear that incandescent lamps are highly in-efficient. Light Emitting Diode (LED) the latest technology for the lighting and LED bulbs are even more energy-efficient and more durable than Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs. Even though LED requires less wattage than CFL for the same amount of light, using CFL bulbs are still worth with considering capital investment and the quality of the light.  For a comprehensive, study the data given in Table_01.
For sensitive lighting requirement such as industrial application, T5 fluorescent tube lamps driven by electronic ballasts are ideal. T5 lamps are both electrically and physically incompatible with T8 and T12 fluorescent lamps. T5 fluorescent is the first linear lamp type to be served only by electronic ballasts. It is smaller than T8 and T12 lamps, and efficacy is very near to LED lamps.
References: http://www.bulbamerica.com/wattage-lumens-brightness.html, http://news.cnet.com/8301-11128_3-20087668-54/side-by-side-led-cfl-and-incandescent-bulbs/

Televisions

LED television more energy efficient, provides a brighter display and provides better contrast than a LCD television. LED TV uses light-emitting diodes for backlighting versus CCFLs used by LCD TVs. It has thinner panel, and lesser heat dissipation. The display of an LED TV is also a LCD one, hence technically it would be cold "LED-backlit LCD television"
Reference: http://www.geeky-gadgets.com/the-difference-between-lcd-and-led-tvs/

Water pumps

Submersible type pumps are more efficient than suction type pumps. Motor specification varies with the application. Head, pumping capacity, pumping diameter and output power are the key factors needs to examine. Two water level sensors along with programmable relay switch could be used to automate the motor to avoid tank overflows and tank becomes empty.

Electricity shall use for mandatory requirements during system peak

It is oblivious that generation cost of electricity is higher during the system peak around 6.30pm to 9.30pm since thermal power plants are dispatching to meet the demand. More electricity consumption in peak results more generation cost for the utility. Finally it is reflected to the electricity tariff. Since control electricity during peak is not affecting the consumer’s electricity bill directly, it may favorable for the tariff increments.