Already feeling the strain on your bank balance? Here are some essential water and electricity-saving tips to help you tide through.
Being the region’s city with the highest quality of life comes at a price.
In the next two years, Singaporeans can expect a hike in their utility bills. This is, of course, something most of us would have known by now after Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat’s Budget 2017 speech and a few controversial opinions.
Prices of water will increase by at least 30 per cent, while prices of electricity are expected to go up anywhere between 2.1 and 4.3 per cent by 2019—a cost that will be indirectly incurred from a newly-imposed carbon tax on power stations and large direct emitters.
According to estimates by the National Climate Change Secretariat, that brings up to an $18 increase per month for water usage, and $1.70 to $3.30 increase per month in electricity usage (for a median household living in a four-room flat).
Although subsidies will be provided to help the lower and middle income households manage costlier expenses, the hike in water and electricity prices reflects the greater trend of a rising cost of living in Singapore, which is inevitable as we collectively strive for higher standards of living.
Already feeling the strain on your bank balance? Here are some essential water and electricity-saving tips to help you tide through the imminent rise in expenditure.
1. Time your showers with Spotify
A little tweak in your daily habits can go a long way for your bank, considering how the government is charging higher rates for households that use more than 40 cubic m (40,000 litres) of water per month.
According to PUB, on average, a Singaporean household uses 153 litres per person and the highest proportion, at about 30 percent, is used for baths; for each minute shaved off, nine litres of water can be saved. Therefore, taking shorter showers can really make all the difference in easing your financial burden.
One way to get into the groove is to time your showers to a song of your choice on Spotify for an amusing yet challenging way to conserve water. We recommend Katy Perry’s latest single ‘Chained To The Rhythm’ that falls a minute under five.
Or, up the difficulty and halve your shower time with Elvis Presley’s ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ that’s just two-minute long.
2. If it’s yellow, let it mellow
There’s no more eloquent way to put it, but if it’s yellow, let it mellow; and if it’s brown, flush it down.
In a home with older toilets, flushing can use up to 18 litres per day, landing it in fourth place for the highest proportion of water usage.
If you have a dual-flush system in place, then, employing the half-flush can help to save another three litres of water.
3. Tinker Tailor Toilet Tank
Alternatively, if you do not have a dual-flush system, you can drop a “brick” in the toilet tank.
Dating back to wartime rationing, bricks were added into the toilet tank to decrease water usage with each flush of the toilet. It worked because the added weight will displace water, and decrease the amount that flushes out.
To employ this method, simply fill a narrow plastic bottle—make sure it won’t interfere with the gears within the toilet tank—with some pebbles before filling the rest of it with water. This will keep the bottle from shifting around.
Then, remove the lid of the toilet tank and place the bottle in a spot that will guarantee minimal interference.
However, if you have a modern toilet with a low flush, eschew this method. Lowering the water level too far can break the seal against the sewage system it connects to and fill the bathroom with an undesirable smell.
4. Switch The Lights Off—But Not Always
That’s right, the most energy-efficient ways to save electricity don’t always include switching the lights off. But, that’s not the case in every situation and it all boils down to the type of bulbs that you have installed at home. Below are some general rules of thumb provided by the U.S. Department of Energy.
Incandescent/Halogen Bulbs: Being the least efficient bulbs, you should turn them off whenever they are not in use to maximise your savings.
Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) Bulbs: Leave the lights on if you will be out of a room for 15 minutes or less, and turn them off if you will be out of the room for 15 minutes of more.
It’s not that CFLs consume more energy to start up, but moreso the fact that they wear out faster if they’re switched on and off too frequently—the actual cost savings come from having to switch out the light bulb less.
LED Bulbs: The operating life of LEDs isn’t affected by being turned on and off. Which brings us to our next point…
5. When In Doubt, Choose LED
Editorial credit: Goodcat / Shutterstock.com
Not only can LED bulbs last longer, they also consume less electricity than CFL and incandescent bulbs. To put it into perspective, LEDs can last an average of 25,000 hours, three times more than CFLs that can last 8,000 hours. Incandescents don’t go over 1,000 hours.
You can do your own math, so the next time you’re out purchasing a new bulb, choose LED. The price of replacing your CFLs and incandescent bulbs over the course of 25,000 hours is less cost-effective in the long haul.
6. Go On An Unplugging Spree
An average Singaporean family living in a five-room flat spends about S$75.48 per month on electricity. If you find that your electricity bills do not justify your energy usage, maybe it’s time to start unplugging electrical appliances from the wall when they are not in use.
Did you know that your TV can consume up to 48.5 watts of power even when turned off? And your desktop, even on sleeping or hibernating mode, can consume up to 21 watts of power. Other energy-sucking electrical appliances that should be unplugged include laptops, microwaves, DVD players and VCRS, and stereo systems.
Anywhere between five to 10% of your residential electricity is being sapped by these devices that are plugged in 24 hours a day. So, by unplugging them, you can save up to S$7.50 a month, or $90 per year.
