For all those who thinks, environment is precious and we should do something to save it. But, the situations are such, we are helpless to give our values to it. Here are some points which you should apply at your home. Very simple and effective points. Many of these you might know, but still I would like to share this article which came in “The Times of India”, a daily newspaper – Delhi Edition on 21st July’2009, Page3.
· Change all your GLS bulbs to CFLs. A CFL consumes 25 watts for the same lumen output as a regular bulb of 100 watts.
· Adopt solar thermal/water heating systems. A geyser has a connected load of 2KWs. The sun's energy comes for free and works nearly as well.
· Make sure you change the tubelight ballasts to electronic ones. The regular ballasts blacken walls above the tubelight and wastes energy through heat.
· Be careful while using a fan with AC, because if you live on the top floor of a building, the fan tends to push hot air down and increase the load on AC.
· Whitewash your roof or use a 'high albedo' finish such as broken china tiles which reflect the heat from the sun. It’ll keep indoors cool.
· Segregate your waste at source. Use the organic waste as 'Khad' in potted plants or in the lawn. Just mix it with the upper layer of soil and watch it disappear.
· Setting your AC at 20 degrees and then sleeping with a quilt does not make you cool. An AC, set at 26 degrees, used in tandem with a ceiling fan is effective enough.
· Car pool is in. It is not cool to have a car so that you can get stuck in a traffic jam alone. Get stuck with friends, it'll help pass time and save energy and lead to less frustration and road rage,
· Don't leave the tap running while shaving, brushing or washing utensils. As it is, the borewells that you've dug are illegal and depleting water table.
· Change all your regular tubelights to T5s or T8s. (Don’t change tubelights to CFLs as the luminous efficacy of a CFL is less than that of a tubelight).
· You may find wearing black cool but painting your house in a dark colour increases the heat gain through the walls, so put light colours on external walls.
· Instead of letting the water that condenses below the AC trickle down the wall of your house, collect it in a bucket or a pan and use it to water plants in your balcony.
· Try not to install ACs on the west/south west wall of your house. Not that it’s bad vastu or anything, it just adds to the energy that the AC consumes due to increased heat. KEEP YOUR AIR-CONDITIONER'S FILTER CLEAN TO IMPROVE ITS EFFICIENCY
· Keep mesh on windows clean to improve natural air circulation from the outside
A Small task for you à This Diwali, take some time to clean the CFLs and T5 tubelights in your house. The dust that gathers on your lights reduces their output drastically and they produce dull light
