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Refrigerator / Freezer

Adjust thermostat of refrigerator / freezer to the recommended setting. Overcooling your refrigerator / freezer wastes electricity.

Do not place hot food directly into refrigerator / freezer. Allow them to cool first before putting it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cover liquids and wrap foods stored in the refrigerator. Uncovered foods release moisture that makes the compressor work harder. This will eventually increases electricity consumption.

Refrigerator should be 2/3 full and freezer should be 3/4 full. Do not overload as it will block cold air from circulating freely.

Decide what you want before open the refrigerator / freezer door. Frequent opening will cause coldness to reduce (almost 1/3 of the cold air will be lost at every opening). This will cause higher electricity consumption to cool the refrigerator / freezer every time it is opened.

Make sure the door shuts tightly. Test it by closing the door over a piece of paper so it is half in and half out of the refrigerator / freezer. If you can pull the paper out easily, the hinge may need adjustment or may need to replace the magnet seal.

Refrigerator / freezer must be placed away from heat sources such as direct sunlight, cookers and the oven.

Make sure there is enough space around the refrigerator / freezer (5 centimeters or as specified by the manufacturer). This will allow heat to escape from the compressor and condensing coil.

Maintaining your refrigerator / freezer is important. Regularly clean the condensing coil. Defrost based on manufacturer’s recommendation.

Washing Machine

Wash clothes in cold (normal) water. Some washing machines might come with water heater function. This is not necessary as our water is warm enough for the wash to be effective.

Use sunlight to dry our clothes compared to clothes dryer. A clothes dryer’s power consumption is around 898 kWh per year (most efficient) - 950 kWh per year (least efficient) for 416 loads a year (based on US Energuide rating). This will cost you around RM 195.76 – RM 207.10 a year based on lowest tariff. You can do that easily and for free by using sunlight. Putting clothes in a dryer will break the fabric down and fade them more quickly than sunlight exposure as well. [Lowest Electricity Tariff: RM 0.218/kWh]

Ironing

Start with items which need lower temperatures and avoid heating and re-heating the iron.

Cooking

Electric kettles use lesser energy compared to gas stove and induction cooker in boiling water.

Usage of smaller pot with larger fire is inefficient for a gas stove. It causes more heat loss from the gas stove. Therefore, cooking with right sized utensils is vital to optimise heat energy utilisation.

Kettles with flat heating element have slightly lower heating efficiency and the purchasing cost is few times higher than a coil based kettle. If you are boiling large amount of water daily, it is advisable that you use a coil based kettle as the efficiency is almost similar and it can be purchased for a much cheaper price. In addition to that, large capacity coil based kettle and longer coil based kettle have slightly better heating efficiency in boiling water compared to shorter coil based kettle.

Making a hot beverage to drink does not need water with 100°C. You can keep hot water in a thermal flask to enable quick access to hot water when you need it. This is a long forgotten practice by many of us. Remember, using kettles with flat heating element to boil 1 cup or 2 cups of water wastes energy and repeating this few times a day simply will cost you more in your electricity bill.

Short coil based kettle sample		Long coil based kettle sample
Large capacity coil based kettle sample		Thermal flask sample
Metal kettle with flat heating element sample		Polymer (plastic) kettle with flat heating element sample

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