This is a guest post about the benefits of solar panels in the household, plus more tips to help you reduce your electricity bill.
Image Source: http://www.4herhome.com/
We live in the digital age where almost everything necessary in our lives are powered by electricity. As a result, our utility bill continues to rise every month, more so during these summer months in the Philippines. The most efficient and effective way for us to reduce our monthly electricity bill for every household is to install solar panels, especially since we live in a tropical country located very close to the equator. Solar panel price in the Philippines from distributors have become quite appealing and affordable in the last few years and more households are turning to renewable energy in order to cut down on their monthly costs. Aside from installing solar panels, here are a few things you can do to reduce your monthly utility costs:
Ventilation
During the summer months, it’s actually a really good idea to open all the windows and let the air in. Even if the temperature is in the high 30s, the wind will dissipate the hot air inside your house. Letting the air in will also make sure you skip using the air conditioner. Allow your household to promote better airflow inside your home instead of surrendering to using the air conditioner. Turn on the fan and let the air circulate in your house. You can also opt to turn on the vent to further allow the air to circulate. During the evenings, set your AC on a timer so it shuts off after a few hours. The cold air in the room will remain since there is no direct heat from the sun during the evenings.
Power
Reducing your power consumption is simple. Avoid using appliances in the background. If you’re not using it, then turn it off and remove it from its socket. Yes, it can be taxing to have to plug and unplug appliances, but what is a little bit of effort compared to the savings that you can get as a result? Plug your appliances in a power strip so you can turn off and unplug just the power strip if you find yourself being bothered with unplugging every single appliance. Bathe with cool water in the summer instead of using the water heater. Laziness can often lead to a lot of wastage, so think smart and think with efficiency. Wash your clothes in cold water instead of warm washing them. Line dry your clothes instead of running the dryer. Wash your dishes by hand instead of using the dishwasher.
Upgrade
Take time to consider that in today’s developing world, advancements in technology promote energy efficiency that greatly benefits society and the environment. Upgrading your appliances to efficient energy savers will further reduce your household costs. Switch to LED lighting for the house. Upgrade your fridge, and keep it well maintained by regular defrosting instead of having two or three old ones that you barely have time to maintain. You can even consider painting your roof white. Studies show that in sunny climates, buildings with white roofs are more easily cooled than those with darker roofs.
Image Source: www.michael-held.com
Solar panel prices in the Philippines have come to an affordable rate and there are many households today that have started to turn to renewable energy to both lower their electricity bill and to contribute to the green movement today. You and your family can surely reduce your monthly electricity bill by developing a conscious, healthy habit of reducing consumption in your daily activities.
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About the blogger
Pam De Guzman, a.k.a the kid from the North, is a frustrated writer, event organizer, business owner and an aspiring director and writer of a personal/fashion/movie/book/travel blog. She’ll be writing about pretty much anything under the sun.
Ayi is a stay-at-home mom of two. When her kids are in their best state, she keeps up with chores, work, and ensuring that her sanity is intact. Join her as she navigates through this rollercoaster ride called motherhood.
Grabe ang electric bill this summer! I wish we can install solar panels to somehow lessen the charges, but I don’t think they allow it in condo units kahit a small panel lang on the balcony.
this is so timely esp now that our aircon’s always on! tnx!
I wonder if installing solar panels is feasible for us…
Curious about the solar panels. I think we should really use the sun’s super power to our advantage.
We’re thinking of installing solar panels at home…
My husband would often tell me that solar panel could greatly help in lowering our electric bill. they have installed a number of solar panels already and even went up to a mountain community to install. Kaso may kamahalan talaga sya.
I wish we could have solar panel too kaso lang we’re living in a condo unit eh. This post is informative. We do practice at home na kapag hindi ginagamit and appliance, we turn it off and unplug it from the socket. We just got lucky na last month nagrefund sa amin ang meralco. So we only paid around 300-400 Php. We were expecting our electric bill to be 3-4k because of we’re always using aircon. Kawawa kasi si LO. Hihi. Im looking forward for summer to be over para hindi na ganun ka-init. Grabe kasi talaga ngayon temperature and grabe rin ang pagtaas ng presyo ng meralco. Haaay.
We can consider this in case we move in to the townhouse na. At present, tv and fan lang ang sobrang nakoconsume namin.
I’m really looking into having solar panels installed by the time we are able to have our house built. It’s really much more beneficial!
Thanks for the tips! We’ve already switched to LED lights since our electrill bill is off the roof but we really can’t stay away from AC. 🙁
I want to install solar panels too once we have our own place. It not only saves money but also the environment 🙂
I had a mini heart attack myself when I saw our electricity bill for this month. Almost tripled because of this heat. Will try the tips you mentioned, interested in renewable energy so might look into solar panels.
Very good tips. All of us can benefit from these right now. Our electric bill now is crazy!
Sure find this helpful. Our electric bill has skyrocketed this summer. >_<
I think the government should invest on more solar panels so we can solve the power shortage especially in far-flung areas in the country. Hopefully, these will soon be made more affordable so households can also install them.
The solar panel is a great idea. A couple of our neighbors have some installed. Even my former boss has solar panels at home. Especially during this summer, sobrang init. I feel like I’m in the mid east again (worse here because of humidity). If it was just me, I’m ok with the fan but my son’s been needing the AC more and more.
My electric bill has gone down despite it being the summer because the TV isn’t being used much. I have wondered though about solar panels. Would this be possible for condo dwellers though?
Ventilation is important. Not just on summer but also during rainy season. This can lead to less use of electric fan or the air condition.
Hi Guys! I just wanted to say thank for your comments. I am glad you guys like the article. Cheers!