Energy Savings Tips

Laundry Appliances

Avoid washing partial loads. Wait until you meet machine capacity.

Pre-soak dirty clothes, probably the night before. Avoid having to run the washing machine twice.

Wash heavy and light weight laundry separately. Heavy laundry requires different setting.

Electric clothes drier uses large amount of energy to dry clothes. Practice using the old-fashioned clothes line. Clothes get a fresh sunshine smell in fine weather.

Iron clothes during off-peak hours (before 9 a.m. and after 9 p.m.). This helps lessen the demand for electricity during peak hours.

Do all the ironing at one time, say once or twice a week.

Dampen clothes moderately. Excessive moistened clothes take longer to iron.

Turn off flat iron shortly before ironing the last piece. It will stay hot just enough to finish the job.

Aircon

If you leave the room for a long time, turn off your air conditioner. It uses less current to bring the temperature down again when you return, than if you left it running.

Turn off unused lights and other appliances that give off heat. Lighting alone accounts for as much as one half of the load of their air conditioning unit. Use low wattage but efficient lamps.

Change incandescent to fluorescent. An incandescent bulb is much better a heater than a light source. Almost 80% of the electricity used to light it up is converted into heat.

Use a small electric fan to spread cooled air around your room. This prevents the cooled air from "layering" and settling to the floor.

Choose an air conditioning unit with high "Energy Efficiency Ratio" (EER). High EER has a more efficient motor than the one with lower EER, and consumes less electricity.

Refrigerators and Freezers

Defrost refs and freezers regularly. More than ¼-inch ice build up of frost puts up an extra load on the compressor motor.

Check refrigerator if it is not losing its cool because of a leaking gasket. Test the gasket by closing the door on a peso bill. If the bill slips out when you pull on it, either the gasket needs a replacement or the door needs adjusting.

Frequent opening and closing of refs contributes to frost or ice build-up and causes compressor motor to work overtime. As much as possible, keep door closed.

Taken from The Philippine Star

Cash In on Your Skills Now

Do you have a unique skill or interest? You don't have to wait until you graduate from college to use your skills. You may be able to use them now in your own home-based business.

Do you have a green thumb? Set up your own plant sitting service. Make a deal with neighbors to water their plants while they're gone on vacation. If you're good with animals, you could also watch their pets.

Are you known for your neatness? Housecleaning isn't the most glamorous job, but it's something a lot of people could use help with. Offer your services to working mothers and elderly people.

What do you enjoy doing? You might be able to start your own business!

Are you a good typist? Many students are willing to pay someone to type their papers for them. Post fliers on the bulletin boards of high schools and colleges.

Do you know how to cook? A lot of working wives would love to come home and have dinner waiting for them. Learn to master one or two good meals and offer to prepare them for families in your neighborhood. Are you good with children? Let parents in your neighborhood know that you are available for baby-sitting.

Do you like yard work? Probably many of your neighbors could use help with lawn mowing, tree or bush trimming, weeding and so on.

Do you have experience raising animals? Many people would rather buy their pets from someone they know than a pet store. Finches, gerbils and guppies are examples of pets that breed well in captivity.

Are you athletic? You may be able to coach or teach your favorite sport. Or you could offer your services as a golf caddie or umpire.

Are you good at car care? Put a sign up for your own car wash and wax service.

Do you know how to sew? Offer your services to people who either do not have the time or skill to sew on buttons, hem skirts and pants and so on. Put up notices on bulletin boards advertising your service.

Whatever you decide to do, do your homework first. Make sure the service you're offering is something people in your area need and want. Ask a fair price. Make sure you have enough time to handle any business you may get. Check government regulations and requirements.

Done right, your own business can be quite rewarding. You'll earn extra cash now and build job skills that will last you a lifetime.

- By Becky Sweat

Taken from Youth 90 magazine