Tips to reduce grid pressure and save money
|Published
Through a few relatively simple steps, consumers can help to keep the lights on and save a substantial amount of money in the process. Photo: Pexels.com
With consistent load shedding, winter tightening its grip on South Africa and energy prices putting many households under pressure, South Africans need to do everything they can to reduce pressure on both the grid and their pockets.
“Price hikes and load shedding have had a significant impact on all of us. Through a few relatively simple and practical changes to the way they use electricity, consumers can help to keep the lights on and save a substantial amount of money in the process,” says Anneli Retief, Head of Dialdirect.
Dialdirect offers the following tips to take pressure off the grid and save money:
- Bright idea:
- Out with the old:
- Low consumption alternatives:
- The habit of saving:
- Smart plugs for smart people:
- Time for timers:
- Long-term planning:
Another important box to check is to make sure that you are adequately prepared to deal with load shedding:
- Alarm systems, garage doors and electric gates generally rely on electricity so make sure that these items all have good back-up batteries.
- Keep a torch or a solar, battery-powered light that is charged beforehand in multiple, easily accessible locations around your home. Be sure to also have plenty of spare batteries.
- Your fridge and freezer supplies should be okay without power overnight if you do not open and close them repeatedly. If you’re worried about certain food items, prepare an ice box for these.
- Make sure that all appliances – especially those that pose a fire risk if left unattended – are switched off when load shedding starts and gradually turned back on once power returns. This not only minimises the pressure on the grid when the power is turned back on, but also minimises the risk of damage to appliances due to power surges, or a fire risk causing a power outage to turn into a catastrophe.
There are also less direct, but equally dangerous consequences of load shedding such as street lights and traffic lights being down at night.
This places a greater burden on motorists driving home through load-shedded areas in the dark.
“Motorists are encouraged to drive cautiously at all times, but especially so in these poorly illuminated areas. Treat all inoperative traffic lights as a four-way stop, and when in doubt, yield to oncoming traffic from the right. Do not assume that all other drivers will stop so exercise extreme vigilance and drive defensively,” Retief concludes.
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