If you live in Jamaica, then you
know how hot it gets. Thus the fan or the air conditioner in your house will be
running continuously driving up your Electricity Bill. Seriously run up your
Electricity Bill.
With few options other than going
to the Beach to cool down, sitting in a plastic Swimming Pool or designing a
Solar and Sound Powered Fan as per my blog article
entitled “Global
Warming and the Quest for Efficient Cooling – From Bladeless Fans to Blade
Runner”, this expense can quickly overwhelm you to the point of having to
choose between paying said Bill or buying Textbooks and clothes for the kids
come September.
So is there any way you can make
your Appliances use less Power, aside from spending on a costly Alternative
Energy Gear from either ATL (Appliance Traders Limited) or JPS Co’s (Jamaica
Power Service Company) ePower Store as described in my blog article
entitled “ATL
goes into Alternative Energy at the same time JPSCo goes into Retail of Energy
Saving Gear - ATL Elite The Gransmaster in a burgeoning Alternative Energy
Field in Jamaica”?
A simple alternative may be to
build your own Alternative Energy Gear from Scratch or modify Appliances to use
less Power. My article will reveal how to do this in a series I’d like to call
DIY Alternative Energy and this article will be the first in the series.
Air Conditioners and fans - Cooling is the thing to save on Power
Usage
The main thing in most houses that
sinks your power Bill is Cooling, contributing to a whopping 65% of your
house’s Electricity Bill as revealed by Dr. Michael Taylor, Climatologist and
Head of the Department of Physics, Pure and Applied Sciences, University of the
West Indies at the Energy Conference 2011 on Monday September 19th 2011AD in my
blog article
entitled “Dr.
Taylor's states Global Warming increasing Jamaica's Energy Bill - Vybz Kartel's
Summertime Soylent Green”.
So that’s the first thing you can
attack. Not lighting, as realistically, they are only turned on at night.
Lighting’s only important if the majority of your electricity usage is based
around Incandescent Bulbs.
Thus talk of replacing Incandescent
Bulbs with Fluorescent or LED (Light Emitting Diode) under the newly rebranded
Cuba-Jamaica Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Project as stated in my blog article
entitled “Minister
Paulwell revives Cuban Light Bulb Program - How to Ban Incandescent Bulbs and
focus on production of LED Bulbs in Jamaica” really benefits the
environment, not your Wallet!
Here are a few Tips to reduce the
need to use a Fan or Air Conditioning Unit in the First Place:
1. Have
the Air Conditioning Units mounted closer to the ground. This allows the room
to cool faster as it’s not cooling the entire room
2. Install
an Intelligent Thermostat that shuts off the Air conditioning Unit once it
reaches the required Temperature such as the Nest Thermostat as described in my
blog article
entitled “Nest
Labs and Honeywell locked in battle over Self-Learning Thermostat - War of the
Worlds over My Science Project that Apple loves”
3. Have
the Air Conditioning Unit Properly serviced so as to make sure it’s not leaking
Coolant Gas and its Filters are clean
4. Painting
the Roof White and installing Black Felt under the Roof is also a good idea, if
it’s your house.
The DIY Refrigerator - Refrigerators that cools when it’s hot
The Refrigerator is the hardest
part though. Here are a few Tips:
1. Anti-sweat
and automatic ice making features of refrigerators are incredibly inefficient,
increasing electricity consumption by 5-10% or 14-20% respectively. Disable
them permanently
2. Before
going away on vacations, empty and clean fridges and leave them open
3. Clean
your Refrigerator regularly and plan for meals to avoid excess wastage.
4. Cool
hot foods before putting them in the fridge.
5. Defrost
freezers regularly as it's less efficient if thick, insulating ice coatings
exist.
6. Do
not leave fridge doors open for extended periods of time. Try to conserve
energy by getting all of the ingredients out at once.
7. Ensure
that there is space at the back, sides and top of fridges to allow excess heat
to escape. Restricting aeration adds 15% to Fridge energy usage
8. Get
a smaller Fridge and use less power overall
9. If
a fridge has a lot of free space, try putting some bottles of water in it to
use the space
10. Keeping a
fridge full is best as it means there is less space to cool. However, don't
overpack as it'll work harder and air circulation can be obstructed.
11. Keeping
foods and liquids covered will reduce moisture which can cause the refrigerator
compressor to work harder.
12. Place
refrigerators in cool places i.e. avoid direct sunlight or other heat sources
e.g. oven or dishwasher
13. Regularly
check that fridge seals are clean and close properly. Test Seal effectiveness
by placing a piece of paper over a seal and closing the door. If the paper
slides easily then seals need to be replaced.
14. Uses a
thermos or insulated Ice Cooler to keep cool drinks outside on hand instead of
opening the Refrigerator all the time
15. When
thawing frozen foods, place it in the fridge section. Cools the rest of the
fridge and reduces electricity consumption.
Here’s a diagram for a Portable
Refrigerator design. I can’t tell you how to make it, as its design requires
the hands of a skilled metalworker.
It parts are obvious though:
1. Inner
Cylinder made of Stainless Steel
2. Outer
Cylinder made of Wood or Steel with 1 cm holes spaced on 1cm apart
3. Sieve
for sifting Sand
4. Ultrafine
Sand
5. Wooden
Dowel
6. Fine
Cloth Mesh
7. Distilled
Water, which you should have tons of from the improved Solar Desalinator with
the Fresnel Lens as described in my blog article
entitled “How
to upgrade your Solar Desalinator to a Solar Cooker and make a Solar Foundry
for Vacuum Pyrolysis”
The construction’s also fairly
straightforward:
1. Have
a metalworker construct the Inner Cylinder made of Stainless Steel
2. Have
the same metalworker construct the Outer Cylinder made of Wood or Steel with 1
cm holes spaced on 1cm apart so that it fits with 2cm spacing
3. Use
the Sieve for sifting Sand and sieve until there are no pebbles and the sand is
very fine
4. Assemble
the Inner Cylinder made of Stainless Steel and the Outer Cylinder made of Wood
or Steel with 1 cm holes spaced on 1cm apart, making sure they fit ok
5. Wrap
the inside of the Inner Cylinder made of Stainless Steel and the Outer Cylinder
made of Wood or Steel with 1 cm holes spaced on 1cm apart with Fine Cloth Mesh
6. Assemble
the Inner Cylinder made of Stainless Steel and the Outer Cylinder made of Wood
or Steel with 1 cm holes spaced on 1cm apart and fill the 2cm spacing with the
sand.
7. Make
sure to use the Wooden Dowel to pack the Ultrafine Sand until its evenly packed
with no air pockets
8. Wet
the Ultrafine Sand in the 2cm spacing with Distilled water, making sure it
fully saturated
9. The
portable Refrigerator is ready and as the Distilled Water evaporates, it cools
the Fridge to a cool 6 Degrees Celcius, perfect for keeping Ice Cream
The Final Word - Keeping Cool is
Best done Outdoors
Even better advice that that
dispensed above is to not stay in the house during the summer months and dress
in light coloured clothing, keeping Cool by keeping properly hydrated as
advised in my blog
article entitled “How
to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Drink Bottled Water as Dehydration
and Salty Foods makes you lose concentration” Keeping cool need not drain
your Electricity Budget. Simple tips to reduce your houses Electricity Bill are
the 2 Guns (2013) you need!
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