- Lower the thermostat on your electric geyser to 55 or 60 degrees and remember to switch it off when you go away for longer periods
- Pool pumps use a lot of electricity. Reduce the time your pool pump runs to 4 to 6 hours in summer and 2 to 3 hours per day in winter
- Ironing also uses a lot of electricity. Agree with whoever does the household ironing which items must be wrinkle-free, which can be just smoothed and folded and which don’t require any ironing at all
- Set the washing machine to use cold water (30 degrees) for all clothing colours
- Avoid using the tumble dryer and rather dry your clothes on the washing line instead
- Switch off lights, television or any other appliances that you aren’t using when you leave a room
- Instead of heating up a space, dress more warmly in winter
- Geysers are typically the biggest electricity guzzlers in a home. Take shorter showers ideally 2 minutes long!
- Use natural light where you can, open the curtains rather than switch on the lights
- Rather cook on the stove, it uses less electricity than an oven
- Check your fridge temperature it only needs to be at 4 degrees if you’re storing raw meat and chicken
Low-Cost Changes
The next step on your journey to living SMART is to make a few small, low cost changes that will see your bills drop even more. We call it SMARTHOMING.