Power (less) lifestyle: How to keep electric bills low

COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS are surprised to learn that my family of five pays less than P2,000 a month for electricity.

I myself am amazed to hear that they’re shelling out amounts ranging from P14,000 to P30,000 a month for the same basic service. No wonder I’m jokingly accused of using a “jumper” to keep my energy bill down.

As in other households serviced by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), my family’s energy bill has risen sharply over the past months for two reasons—the surge in power rates and the use of more appliances to keep the heat and humidity bearable.

Because of the particularly hot summer, my family’s power consumption jumped 74 percent from 94 kilowatt hours (kWh) a month in the first half of January to 164 kWh in mid-June. My bill more than doubled from a mere P623.05 to P1,669.50.

I also foot the energy bill of the household in the floor below us—where my widowed mother lived until she died and where I stayed until I got married—so I paid a total of P3,400 last month, up from P1,520 in January.

We built a second floor for me and my family in our “ancestral” home in Muntinlupa a decade ago so I, the youngest son, could be with our mother when medical emergencies arose. My sister (who pays for our cable service) and two house helpers stay in the first floor, where clothes are ironed and where the motor for the water pump is connected.

The two-story house racked up 171 kWh in June from 107 kWh at the start of the year.

Still, the amount I’m paying for the service of Meralco is about a fourth or even an eighth of what my colleagues and friends are shelling out.

Electric fans only

My family keeps its monthly power bill relatively small through these simple measures:

Use electric fans instead of air-conditioners.

This is one of the most effective ways of keeping power consumption down.

The last time the air-conditioner in our ancestral house was used was in May, when an aunt from Pittsburgh in the United States stayed with us for a few days after she attended a son’s wedding in Catanduanes and campaigned for a nephew’s successful congressional run.

When the mercury rose to the mid-30s (staying at 32 degrees Celsius even at night until Typhoon “Basyang” slammed into Metro Manila), we were using one electric fan for each family member.

Two electric fans conked out in May because of constant and prolonged use. Instead of stowing them, I had them repaired.

Use skylights

I had part of the ceiling in the dining area of the house opened, and a portion of the GI sheet above it cut. The opening in the roof was covered with a translucent sheet to allow natural light in. This has made switching on the fluorescent lamp even on cloudy days unnecessary.

We also use a skylight in the kitchen. I’m in the process of installing one in the bathroom.

Use roof insulation; high ceilings help, too.

The house’s second story uses roof insulation that keeps the temperature inside much lower. Its high ceilings and many windows (more than a dozen) allow easy air circulation and thus reduce the heat.

Walls of green

Maintain greenery.

The lot where the house stands is quite big by today’s standards—229 square meters. There are open areas on three sides where trees, plants and vines thrive.

In the backyard, we have mango (pahutan), coconut, bignay and igot trees. The latter two produce berries.

The east and north sides are planted with malunggay, Chinese bamboo, sampaguita, Fortune plant, orchids, miracle fruit, palmyra, bougainvillea and other plants.

The walls of green provide shade, help ease the heat, produce oxygen and absorb carbon dioxide. As a bonus, watering and tending the plants are great means of relaxation.

That our two-story house on a hill is taller than the bungalows of our neighbors also contributes to our lower energy consumption. It receives a fairly good amount of fresh air.

Wear light clothes, bathe before sleeping.

Wearing white mesh sando and boxer shorts at home is de rigueur for me. It is also not uncommon for me to shed my sando and go barefoot at home.

Taking a shower just before hitting the sack also helps cool the body. One of my three kids takes a bath four times a day during the hot summer days.

Refs and computers

Use one-door refrigerators.

Our energy bill dropped significantly after we replaced a huge two-door refrigerator with a single-door and smaller version.

Slay power vampires.

We make it a point to pull the plug when TV sets or computers are not in use. We don’t leave them on standby mode. We also turn off the lights in unoccupied rooms.

Discouraging Internet gaming or social networking for kids.

I’m fortunate that my kids—aged 4, 7 and 11—are not hooked on the Internet. My wife regularly buys books, magazines and comics for them.

Drawing, coloring, basketball on the porch, playing house (bahay-bahayan) or with mini cooking sets and matchbox cars keep them busy.

They also like watching TV programs on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, Nat Geo, Discovery, History and Science channels, and shows like “Glee.”

We were hooked on “Plants versus Zombies” on our Netbook for months. I was able to reach 95 flags on “Survival: endless.” But the novelty of the game has worn off.

For word processing, checking out e-mails and reading foreign news, I use a PC.

Household chores

Cook with liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).

This is cheaper than using an electric stove. We used a rice-husk-fed stove two years ago to save on cooking fuel until we ran out of husks, which are not readily available in the city.

Wash and iron clothes once a week.

This is a real power-saver. And we don’t usually iron clothing for use at home.

Hang laundry to dry.

We live in a tropical country, so using the spinner of the washing machine is not necessary.

Store rainwater.

I had a downspout reconfigured so it empties into a huge plastic drum for storing rainwater. I have three drums for such a purpose.

We depend on a pump to draw water from a deep well, so we save on electricity by using rainwater for the laundry, watering plants and washing our subcompact car. (Maynilad has yet to activate the water network it recently installed in our neighborhood.)

The rainwater collection system at home served us well when Typhoon “Basyang” caused a Luzon-wide blackout.

Proper lighting

Use CFL and LED bulbs.

We use CFL bulbs, which consume less energy and last longer than incandescent ones. But CFLs contain mercury, and their disposal poses a problem.

Two weeks ago, I bought two table lamps with LED bulbs on sale at P450 each. LED bulbs, according to the manufacturer, have a life span of 100,000 hours. (Compare that with a CFL’s 10,000 hours and an incandescent bulb’s 1,095 hours.)

We also use an LED crank flashlight that doesn’t use batteries. Winding charges the flashlight.

Living in a house just beside a street lamppost also has its benefits. For one, we don’t have to switch on the porch light at night.

Over the past years, my family has adopted these measures without the benefit of an energy audit. I am considering an audit so I can methodically monitor our energy consumption.

In these times of rising utility costs and global warming, adopting these measures makes more than economic sense. It is also a lifestyle choice. –Juan V. Sarmiento Jr, Philippine Daily Inquirer