How to cut your power bill without additional investment

By MUNGAI KIHANYA

The Sunday Nation

Nairobi,

17 August 2008

The electricity bills for the period June to July are here and everyone is crying. They are too high! Mine came to over Sh4,500 up from the previous average of about Sh2,800. From what the people at Kenya Power and Lighting Company said in the media recently, there is no hope that the bills will come down any time soon; at least not this year.

Thus the only way out is to cut down our power consumption. We can achieve this by adopting a systematic approach, starting from simple things like switching off lights and appliances that are not being used. How many times do you leave you TV on while taking a shower? And how often do you leave the bedroom light on while watching the telly in the seating room?

From there, the next step is to reduce the wattage rating of all the bulbs in your house. This can be done at no additional cost when replacing a burnt out bulb. Even if you notice a small difference in the brightness, your eyes will get accustomed to it – eventually.

The 60W bulb is the most popular in Kenyan houses. Changing this to 40W will cut the lighting component of your bill by 33 percent. Since lighting accounts for about 40 percent of the average domestic consumer, the total saving on the bill will be about 13 percent… if it was Sh4,500, it will go down to Sh3,900.

The fluorescent energy saving bulbs are gaining popularity but they are expensive and doubts have been cast on their ability to yield real savings. They cost about Sh1,000 and have a lifetime of about 10,000 hours of continuous use. However, there are some brands going Sh250 but their quality is doubtful – I bought some a few years ago and they lasted only slightly longer than the ordinary type.

Ordinary filament bulbs last about 1,000 hours and cost only Sh35. But they consume about three times the power of the energy savers for the same brightness. For example, a 13W fluorescent is as bright as a 40W ordinary bulb. Cutting your lighting costs by two-thirds will effectively reduce the total bill by about 25 percent.

In 10,000 hours, the 13W bulb will have consumed a total of 130 units of electricity. At today’s rates of about Sh16.50 per unit, the consumption comes to Sh2,145. Add the Sh1,000 purchase price and the total cost is Sh3,145

In the same 10,000 hours, a 40W ordinary bulb will consume 400 units of power worth Sh6,600. In addition 10 bulbs are needed to last that duration. At Sh35 each the total purchase price is Sh350. Thus the total cost of will be Sh6,950.

Clearly, at today’s prices of electricity, the fluorescent bulbs make economic sense. But if the rates go down (and they might if normal rains return next year) then the saving may not be significant enough to justify the addition purchase costs.