SEDA Malaysia: Energy Saving Tips and Purchasing Guide

Source: greenbiz.com

Assalamualaikum to my loyal blog readers; thank you for having the concern and conscience to save energy and use energy efficiently as that is what brings you here, congratulations! Have you had any changes in the amount of electricity bills so far due to the adjustment you made to your life? I hope that all of you are benefiting from the steps and measurements provided on my blog. Alhamdulillah, my very own housemates at my apartment are also taking part in using electrical energy efficiently because more and more people are concerned with unnecessary pocket money being wasted on a daily basis. The tips here are provided by SEDA Malaysia, the implementer of the Feed-in Tariff program for the development of renewable energy effort in Malaysia.

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Today I would like to elaborate on energy saving tips that you can apply at your house and the purchasing guides that follows. Remember that purchasing and maintaining the condition of electrical appliances at your house play equal roles in helping you save up your monthly bills. Perhaps while you are reading this, look around your house for the signs of energy wastage and try to control it.

Refrigerator and freezer:

Source: homeappliances.wordpress.com

Both equipments are used throughout the year and they are considered the most expensive items to run in the kitchen. Therefore they have the most energy saving potential. The reduced energy bill for a new energy efficient refrigerator or freezer would usually compensate the cost of replacement of an old and inefficient one.

You should be informed that an upright freezer uses more energy compared to a chest freezer. On average the electricity bill for a chest freezer will be about RM 10 per month compared to RM 14 per month for an upright freezer. When leaving for a holiday, be sure to empty and clean the refrigerator so that you can switch it off and leave the door open. For those who have kids at home, inform them that they should not open the refrigerator frequently and leave the door open for a long time. If the temperature of the freezer or refrigerator is correctly adjusted, a saving of 60kWh per year equivalent to RM 13 per year can be obtained.

Kettle:

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Electric kettle is cost-saving equipment as it uses less electricity compared to boiling water in a traditional kettle on an electric hotplate. This is because, the heating element in an electric kettle is placed directly in the water to be boiled so heat loss is avoided. You can also use gas stove to boil water because gas is cheaper and more energy efficient. You must choose appropriate electric kettle size for your household because the bigger the size, the longer the time takes to boil water. You must check and clean the heating element regularly so that you can reduce energy consumption in the long run.

Oven and microwave oven:

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The traditional oven is a heavy energy consumer so it has to be utilized in the best possible way. Alternatively you should consider a microwave oven if it can fulfill your cooking requirements. It is definitely efficient, simple to operate and saves energy. Microwave oven saves up to 75% of energy for cooking compared to a conventional electric oven because of its lower power demand and quicker cooking time. They are also useful for heating or re-heating food quickly and can save up to 10-25%.

You need to thaw frozen food before cooking as this will save energy and can ensure that your food is cooked evenly. You must plan your meals and cook several dishes at one go because you can save up to 60% of electricity if you are using electric stove. 

Cooker hoods:

Source: www.ebay.co.uk

Cooker hoods do not cost much to run but they will extract heated air out of the house quickly. Turn them off as soon as the job is done and choose energy efficient cooker hoods. Efficient cooker hood that uses high performance motor will save more energy and lasts longer.

Water heater:

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There are two types of electric water heaters namely instant water heaters and storage water heaters. Instant water heaters heat water as it is used while a storage type of heaters store heated water for later use and tend to waste energy. You must choose instant water heater because it consumes less energy and switch off the heater after use. It could be better if you can opt for solar storage water heaters that do not consume electrical energy at all.

Encourage your family members to have quick showers instead of baths because less hot water is used. 

Washing machine:

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

A washing machine is a must-have electrical appliance to alleviate house chores. Selecting the right size and appropriate features will definitely help to save your money. Top loading automatic washing machine consumes less energy than the front loading automatic machine. Make sure that you wash your clothes at full load as it can help save water and energy at the same time. Use optimum temperature setting and avoid hot washing cycle if possible.

Iron:         

Source: newsroom.electrolux.com

An electric iron can be an “energy guzzler” if it is not used optimally as it has a demand load of 1000 Watts. You should be aware that a steam iron consumes more energy than dry iron. A lighter iron will heat up quicker and use less energy while a heavy iron takes longer time to heat up. To save up electricity, please iron low temperature fabrics first to reduce the warm-up time and switch the iron off before finishing the last garment. Iron large batches of clothing at the same time to avoid wasting energy in reheating.

Source: www.seda.gov.my

SEDA Malaysia aims to disseminate as many information regarding energy efficiency and sustainable energy effort in Malaysia. Most of you realize that you can generate side income if you are registered under the Feed-in Tariff program and this is done by producing your own electricity at home. Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff system requires the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad and NUR Distribution Sdn. Bhd. (NUR) with this year's addition of Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd (SESB) to buy from renewable energy producers the electricity produced by them. FiT rates are set by SEDA Malaysia with approval from KeTTHA to pay for the renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration. By having access to the grid and setting a favorable price per unit of renewable energy, the FiT mechanism also ensures that renewable energy becomes a viable and sound long-term investment for companies, industries and individuals. This can happen very easily if consumers are registered under SEDA Malaysia as one of the producers of renewable energy through solar panels, small hydro power, biomass and biogas at their homes or private lands.

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The Cabinet has also agreed for the surcharge on consumers’ electricity bills that has been gazetted and collected from consumers. The 1% surcharge is needed to achieve the target capacity of renewable energy in the long run. As of 2013, 1% surcharge was imposed on all electricity customers and domestic electricity consumers are obliged to contribute to the surcharge only if their monthly electricity consumption exceeds 300 kWh or RM 77 a month. This money is channelled into the Renewable Energy Fund and administered by SEDA Malaysia to pay the premium Feed-in Tariff rate to those producers who generate electricity from renewable resources at homes or in industrial companies. However, as of January 2014, this surcharge increases by 0.6% to be 1.6 % for current electricity users. This increase will also affect the consumers in Sabah and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan as they are charged with 1.6% of their electricity bills for the first time. Please refer to www.seda.gov.my for more news and information about this tariff. Thank you for reading this blog post and I will see you soon insyaallah. Take care and God bless.