On National Energy Conservation Day, Dec 14, we are sharing a few tips on how to conserve energy.

In the first place, is there a need to save energy?

Yes! We don’t want to end up paying high energy bills.

But is there anything more than money that makes saving energy a priority? Definitely yes!!

Most of us keep using electricity from the grids for our homes or offices. The energy generated from these grids isn’t usually environmentally friendly. In fact, nearly 70% of the energy generated in India is from coal which leads to pollution. That does mean we are adding up to the pollution, even if you don’t work in a factory!

For every 100 units we consume, we emit about 82 kg of CO2 emissions! Isn’t that bad?

And it’s not just the pollution we create while generating energy.

It is also about the stress we as a society create on our grids, leading to an energy crisis. In fact, we were just moments away from a serious energy crisis due to the sudden spike in energy demand in the summer of 2022. The DISCOMs and relevant organisations had to import a lot more coal than usual to keep the generation going. And why coal? Because hydropower is not very feasible in summer, especially when you have an ongoing heatwave. Putting up solar plants instantly isn’t feasible as it is capital intensive and land issues pertain.

After reading this if you still think that the climate change-induced heat waves and pollution created while generating don’t matter much, here’s more food for thought for you:

There are various scientific reports stating that the extreme climate weather is going to stay here, in fact, increase, if we don’t stop polluting. And as temperatures rise, the demand for energy increases. But with limited options to supply energy, electricity prices are bound to rise. 

So if the temperatures rise, the cooling demand for such infra is bound to rise, limiting the energy supply a lot more.

So, as responsible people, are there any simple steps we can implement so that we personally don’t put any pressure on the energy supply and reduce our bills too?

Yes, we can. One of the reasons we celebrate this day as per BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) is to observe and implement a few methods through which we can conserve energy.

If you are an avid air-conditioning user, here’s something for you:

If you’ve got a rooftop and some money lying around, you can implement solar panels through which you can have lower bills and in a few cases, you might even end up earning money. More about this is explained here.

You can also help reduce the grid pressure by spending less energy during peak times (usually between 11 am-2 pm and 5 pm-8 pm) like avoiding washing clothes or running any motors/ AC. In fact, a few buildings are charged more than usual rates if you end up using energy during peak times as explained here.

If you are running any commercial space, do check out our website. The product could be of some benefit to you.

Apart from these, you can also follow simple steps like switching off the rice cooker and TV when not required and keeping the phone/laptop charger on only when in use. If you find this a little lazy to do, there are in fact few countries like Japan and Australia which have mandated it so that there is no unnecessary pressure on the grid for energy supply.