While I certainly love working from home as I get to work while wearing my comfy pyjamas and staying in bed, I certainly hate how my electricity bill has skyrocketed. 

Last time, I used to show off how low my bill was but now I dread the day my electricity bill arrives in the mail. I try my best not to look at it until I’ve brewed myself a cup of calming chamomile tea to help with the overwhelming sense of worry and fear that comes after looking at it. 

So, after my recent electricity bill, I have decided that I need to find ways to save electricity so that I won’t get anxiety attacks every month when the bill arrives. Here are a few energy saving tips that I found after the deep dive into the net:

1. Say no to florescent lights – opt for LED 

LED lights are your wallets BFF when it comes to saving money on electricity. They are up to 80% more efficient than other lights. 

With LED lights, only 5% of the energy is lost as heat while 95% is converted into light unlike florescent lights which do the opposite. Also, if one florescent light uses 84 watts, one LED bulb uses only 36 watts. How amazing is that?

2. Use natural light

Most of the time here in Malaysia, we get a good amount of sunlight during the day so what’s the point of switching on the lights during the day. So, draw your curtains and enjoy some natural light. 

Use rooms in your house with a lot of natural light during the day to work and so on so that there will be no need for any lights until the sun sets. 

3. Unplug!

I was today years old when I found out that your phone and laptop chargers still conduct electricity when left plugged into a turned-on socket. So, your laptop might be fully charged but the charger is still conducting electricity, all that unused electricity, wasted! 

You might not know what other appliances actually do the same thing, so it is best just to turn off and unplug all appliances that are not being used. 

4. Control yourself when it comes to air-conditioning 

Although it is completely understandable why you would want to turn on the aircon at night here in Malaysia’s tropical weather, it could be one of the reasons why your bill is so high.  

Instead of leaving the aircon on throughout the night, meaning 8 hours a day and 240 hours a month, try using the timer or sleep mode. You could also try and set the temperature to 25 °C and above to avoid overworking it as that can create a power drain. 

5. Keep indoor plants

Plants keep the air in your room fresh and cool on a hot day as give out water during the transpiration process. At least you won’t have to turn on the aircon during the day too! If you’re wondering what kind of plants are easy to maintain, here’s an article you can refer to.

6. Full load washes only

Just because your favourite outfit is in the laundry basket doesn’t mean that you have to get it washed immediately. If you want to save more money to buy another nice outfit then skip the two small loads for one big load.