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And God said, Let there be light and there was light, but the Electricity Board said He would have to wait till Thursday to be connected. -ANONYMOUS SAVING ELECTRICITY IS SAVING MONEY
A Quarterly Newsletter Issue N 17 Fall 2009

Human Impact on the Environment

In todays modern world, life is

nothing without electrical energy. Electrical energy is the one source of energy demanded the most by the modern society. Electricity is used in many things; to use appliances like PCs, washing machines, refrigerators, it is used in lighting and also powers ACs and fans. The wide range for usage of electrical energy accounts for the high demands for it. However, with the growing population, the consumptions of electrical energy is increasing and it is exhausting. We are facing an energy crisis. Electricity consumption faces a demand supply gap which has led to a dramatic increase in costs of electricity.

Electrical Energy

There are many ways we can minimize our electricity bills. The 5irst step is to ensure that we pay the lowest price per Kilowatt and the second being to use as few kilowatts as possible. In this project we have explored different ways to reduce electricity consumption at home which would lead to saving money. A simple 3 step action plan can help us excecute a power diet and slim down our fat bills. Step 1: To look at the most recent bill for the kilowatt intake. Step 2: Set a goal for lowering the kilowatt consumption. Step 3:Identify power guzzlers and appliances that are particularly energy intensive and 5ind alternate options. The illustrated Power Pyramid is a ready reckoner to identify appliances which are energy intensive.

Based on the above information and some online research for energy saving ideas, I identi5ied 10 ways which could help me save electricity and money at home. 1. Open curtains during the day and let sunlight in. Avoid usage of lights. 2. Switch off electric water heater or preferable switch to solar heating. 3. Microwaves cook 3 times faster and uses 70% less than a standard oven 4. Cooking in pressure cookers or with lid on consumes lesser energy and is also faster 5. Overloaded washing machines use more electricity 6. Drying clothes outdoors whenever possible is a better alternative to using a dryer 7. Turning off computer screens, unplugging appliances not in use will save from energy leaks 8. Using fans for cooling and AC with timer is a better alternative 9. Use bath towels at least twice before washing 10. Take 3 min showers instead of long baths.
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Going down to 300 KwH.........

The below data is the KwH electricity consumption from August 2012 to current date from a sample household . The various tips indicated above have been used to try and bring down the electricity consumption over the months. Using the data table below, we can determine the time taken for the reduction of electricity consumption to 300 KwH. This can be done using the concept of the slope-intercept form.
Month August ( 0 ) September ( 1 ) October ( 2 ) November ( 3 ) December ( 4 ) January ( 5 ) February ( 6 ) March ( 7 ) April ( 8 ) KwH 2005 2552 1988 2028 1929 1565 2659 1800 1945

The slope can be calculated by taking 2 coordinates which sit on the tted line. In this case, coordinates (0,2005) and (4,1929). The slope is equal to the rise divided by the run of the trend-line. Slope = 2005 - 1929 = -19 ! 0-4

The equation setup now is y = -19x + b To get the vertical intercept, the values of any one of the picked coordinates can be substituted in the equation. Using (0,2005)(x,y) 2005=-19(0) +b 2005 = 0 + b b= 2005
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Using the equation, the number of months can be predicted. The dependent variable (y) is the KwH. The control variable (x) is the number of months taken to reduce the consumption. y = -19x + 2005 300 = -19x + 2005 300 - 2005 = -19x -1705 = -19x x = -1705 -19x x = 90 x= 90 months 90 months = 7.5 years Unless certain serious initiatives are undertaken to reduce electricity consumption , it may take as long as 7.5 years for this household to reduce the Kwh consumption to a reasonable value.