Allan Hirsch - Go Green Tips

It is estimated that in the UK 900 million pounds is wasted everywhere by people leaving cell phones plugged in, TV’s on standby, laptops on standby etc. Although it is not a lot of electricity, it certainly adds up. The first message to get across is: it stops at the socket, unplug anything if you are not going to be using it.

Look at your cooking service, anything that heats uses a lot of electricity. You have various tops of cooking tops, spiral plate which uses and wastes the most electricity, solid plates and ceran are better but it is important to use the right size pot on the right size plate. Nothing to do with energy saving but a good tip to save a solid plate is when you use a solid plate top, turn it onto low heat because it has got a coating on it from the factory, which needs to be drawn into a plate and the best way to do this is leave it on a low heat for about 15 minutes until it is absorbed. This will prevent the plate from rusting.

Also a good idea, particularly if one lives on the coast, is to occasionally put any oil which does not contain salt on a warm plate and leave it until it stops smoking and then switch it off, not on. One can also get polish for cleaning a solid plate if it starts looking a bit shabby, but a critical thing is to take the pot off the plate when one is finished cooking because condensation does take place between the top and plate and this will cause the plate to rust over a period of time.

Ceran tops are nice and presentable, the only thing one needs to be careful with, is to not boil over anything that contains a lot of sugar because it can pit the ceran top.

Gas cooking is becoming very popular and there is an enormous saving on electricity. However gas is not priceless, it can be expensive although it is practical and easy and clean to cook with, The best method is induction hobs. Induction hobs work with magnetism and one must have a pot with a magnetic base when cooking on an induction hob. Stainless steel pots are necessary in most cases.

A fan oven will use less electricity and cooks like a standard oven, many South Africans like big ovens. Obviously if one has a big oven, the whole oven has to be heated before the food starts to cook, which does waste a little bit of time and electricity. If one wants to be really efficient, an oven with triple glass in the front so the heat is not lost through the front of the door. Most ovens today are well insulated and if it has tripled glassed, it is normally rated “A”

Moving on to washing machines, the improvements in washing machines has been tremendous over the years. Consumers should look for a washing machine with a bigger capacity, they might use slightly more water, but less electricity because with a bigger capacity washing machine, one would do less loads of washing. Most of the new A rated washing machines are very efficient, they use little water, less electricity and they are a lot quieter. When it comes to A ratings, the first A is normally electricity consumption, the second A is water consumption and the third A is noise. A+ means the machine is 10% better than the European standard so if you get a machine that it A++ it is extremely efficient. Something  new from LG is the direct drive, which means the motor fits directly onto the drum and the motor is not at the bottom of the machine with a belt that runs up, causing friction and using electricity. The machine works a lot more efficiently because of the direct drive. There is a lot less noise and the machine does not jump around as much, which is certainly an advantage. Samsung have introduced a bubble wash or eco machine which works on 15 degrees water but is as efficient as washing in water at 45 degrees. It has got a little bubble generator that generates bubbles that go through the clothing and cleans it very efficiently. Another new invention is a steam generator in a washing machine which there is a little housing where the water goes in, steam is generated it’s pumped through the washing machine and obviously through the clothing, it does not damage the clothing but works very efficiently. It can also be used to refresh clothing that smells like smoke or clothing that has been hanging in the cupboard for a while. If the spin cycle of a washing is strong and gets rid of as much excess water as possible, this will also increase energy efficiency as it reduces the drying time.

Tumble dryers do use a lot of electricity as they heat to dry but if it is related to a good washing machine it can be energy efficient. AEG have got an A+ tumble dryer which also works on a steam generator. It is extremely efficient and if you want to save electricity this is the machine to look at. Consumers will find that energy efficient products, in most cases, do cost more than a  standard product, however the electrical and water saving over a period of time will make up for this additional cost. Also the technology in these new machines gives one better, cleaner washes so it really is worth the investment.

Dishwashers can also carry an AAA rating. Dishwashers now use as little as 6 litres of water, which is phenomenal. Plus dishwashers can also have a steam generator in it to remove that really dirty stuff that sticks to pots and pans. One thing I have battled to understand is why South African’s don’t buy more dishwasher’s because of the efficiency of the product, their kitchen is cleaner, the dishes are more hygienically cleaned and it really is the one luxury product that everyone should have if they can afford it and if they can afford it, they should buy an energy efficient one.

Looking for R600 gas when it comes to refrigeration is very important. The tests done on a 220L fridge comparing R600 gas to a similar fridge which does not use R600 gas showed a saving of R220.00 per year. Refrigerators and freezers  consume a lot of electricity because they do work 24/7 so it is important to find one that is efficient. Linear compressors which use less electricity is a consideration, fridges with LED lights in them is something one should look at. A normal globe creates heat which means a fridge has got to run for a longer period of time to absorb the heat. The insulation on fridges and freezers, if it is very thin chances are the insulation is not very good, if the insulation, particularly on the freezer is one and a half to two times thicket than that of the fridge, you will find it is energy efficient and will hold is temperature a lot longer. In combi fridges, with a top and bottom freezer, consumers should look for a product where the drawers in the freezers are closed so the cold air does not fall out every time one opens the freezer door. Likewise with a chest freezer, make sure the drawers are closed, better yet the cold stays in a chest freezer and obviously can’t fall out. With a chest freezer it is difficult to find things inside it and they are perhaps not the best product cosmetically, but they have a lot of storage space and if it does work off of R600 gas, it will be very efficient.

Kettles obviously use a lot of heat so one should only put the right amount of water needed in the kettle, you can find a kettle with double insulation on it so it holds its heat and one does not have to reheat it continuously. There are also kettles that boil one cup at a time. There is a little pouch that the water goes into. Another kettle which is becoming quite popular is instant boil that one presses a button and one cup of water comes out. Just a thought, when filling a kettle if one is right handed, they would normally hold the kettle in the right hand to fill it up with water and open the tap with the left hand. The left hand tap is normally hot water and when one does that, hot water starts to come out your geyser although it does not feel hot when one opens the tap because of the distance the water has to travel. Cold water immediately goes into the geyser, your thermostat then register the drop in temperature and your geyser then starts to heat up. So rather fill your kettle with cold water, use the right amount and consumers will save a sufficient amount of electricity there.

When it comes to geysers, solar panelling, reverse cycle is the way to go, turning your thermostat down is also another option if the consumer is on a budget and cannot afford to install the latter. A lot of people switch their geysers off when they are not at home, I have had mixed results on this. Some say they save, others say they don’t really save because when they switch it back on, it’s starts heating up straight away but if you do a combination of turning your thermostat down and switching your geyser off when you are away, there will be a saving.

Even irons have energy saving features. The iron will switch off if it is in a upright position for a period of time. Steam generated irons also work efficiently. Another thing to look out for is a nice ceramic base on an iron so it slides over the clothes a lot quicker and the ceramic base holds its heat a lot longer so ironing is quicker and smoother

When it comes to heaters, gas heaters obviously do save electricity and are very efficient. Bar heaters are a waste of electricity and should be dumped in my opinion. Ceramic heaters are very efficient so if consumers are going to use a fan heater, they should go for ceramic. There are numerous ways to heat, if one wants to stay warm at night, use an electric blanket not a heater, if you would like to heat your home, reverse cycle air-conditioning is the most efficient. Look at oil heaters, rather than fan heaters, because the element will heat the oil and the oil will radiate the heat out and it is only when the oil cools down that the element in the heater will come on again.