How to Use Home Appliances Efficiently

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Household appliances are meant to make humans’ lives easier by optimizing their everyday routine jobs and thus making their time management more efficient. But does it mean that the financial efficiency has to suffer? Home appliances do make a huge ‘contribution’ to the size of your monthly energy bills. Their level of energy consumption depends on several factors – some of them are inherent energy-suckers, while others are notable for low performance and require to be plugged in and running for longer, which might lead to even bigger expenses. The volume of energy consumed by an average family in America accounts for about two-thirds of the amount of money paid in bills. However, there are ways to use the electrical appliances more efficiently and succeed in cutting costs this way.

The most high-energy appliances are refrigerators and clothes dryers. It’s true that the first ones are indispensable, but it’s also quite common to own several of them. So if you happen to have a non-stocked fridge, it would be much better to unplug it until you actually have products to fill it up with. As for dryers, can anyone honestly say they have never ever turned one on for a single T-shirt? Of course, everyone has. Acquiring a clothes rack, on the other hand, would be a one-time purchase which could potentially save hundreds of energy dollars in the future. And you can also keep your dryer for the emergency cases – when these occur, dry only full loads and don’t overdry the items.

Another good example of irrational use of domestic appliances is a great share of laundry being done with hot water. Most of the energy consumed by a washing machine is intended for heating the water. Yet there are plenty of occasions to wash clothes in cold water thus adding additional resources to your pocket. Similar to dryers, neither washing machines nor dishwashers should be used for a single item – run them only when they are full.

When it comes to cooking there are also simple tips not to make the prime cost of your dinner higher than in a restaurant.  Surprisingly, a microwave oven is a great energy-cutter, so it’s advisable to use it to reheat small portions. It’s not recommended to exploit the cooktop fully – try to use the smallest burner whenever possible.

In addition, there is a common misperception concerning the standby mode. The conventional myth suggests that electrical appliances use only small amount of electricity while they aren’t on. However, the fact is those appliances can be a real energy drain as the volume of electricity they manage to use up while on standby is not insignificant. The range of those varies from communication devices like answering machines or cell and cordless phones to video devices, such as plasma TVs, cable boxes, satellite dishes, VCRs and others. In addition, there are miscellaneous beauty products – electric razors, flatirons etc., which can add up huge sums to the monthly bills. It’s hard to believe that audio systems, which are only used for an hour or two per day by the owners, draw more than 90% of their energy while they are ‘off’.  So do not neglect changing a few daily habits for the sake of your pocket and switch your electric appliances completely when they are not in use. It’s a great idea to plug in all of your devices which have a digital display or a standby mode into one or several power strips and turn the power off using one button.

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As for the choice of the appliances, it’s up to you whether you buy new ones or prefer to save some money up and opt for used ones. Their quality is what matters so choose wisely and see this website’s selection of household goods.