So we just got our latest Meralco billing and the amount went up by 60% to Php14k from March to April. It’s the first time the bill went past ten grand in my entire life while living here in Metro Manila.
Okay, our power consumption also went up to 1,004kWh for the month but that’s only 28% more. The huge increase is a combination of a rate hike and consumption hike.
I was thinking of ways to reduce power consumption of gadgets and appliances at home so I thought of the 10 Ways to Save on Electricity:
- Cut down on aircon and replace them with electric fans. To help lower room temperature, open doors and windows during the day for better air circulation.
- Un-plug gadgets and appliances when not in use. Don’t just turn them off — you could save a few more watts here and there.
- If you have multiple TV sets at home, just use one at a time — preferably, the one in the living room.
- Skip the microwave and use the gas range to heat or re-heat food. Same can be done with the rice cooker and coffee maker.
- Give the desktop PC a rest. Use the laptop at home. Or, you can hook it up top an external monitor if you really need the screen real estate.
- Charge your gadgets (laptop, cellphone, mp3 players, etc.) in the car using one of those AC/DC adaptors.
- If you can afford it, invest on solar chargers. The big ones might be expensive but the portable ones can do the job as well.
- Some of your household appliances and gadgets have eco-mode to reduce power consumption; these includes monitors, LCD TVs, refs, etc.
- Invest in CCFLs for home lighting. They’re more efficient.
- Open your doors and windows. Use natural light during the day; it’s the best way to save on power.
Better yet, work outside. Make Starbucks your temporary office for the meantime.
Others would go as far as buying a generator set and run on diesel. I haven’t really computed the exact numbers by estimate is around 2.5 to 3 kilowatt hour per liter of fuel.
If diesel price is Php35/liter, then it can operate a 1kilowatt microwave oven for 3 hours. That gives us Php11.67 per kilowatt. Just a little cheaper than April’s effective power rate of Php13.25 (Meralco). Of course, that does not include cost of acquisition of the gen set. Then there’s that Power Saver Max I blogged about before.
You guys have additional tips/suggestions?
Nakakaloko talaga yang electric bill. In my case, we normally pay between 1,100+ to 1,200+ pesos a month. However, beginning the bills I got from February until recently parang rollercoaster ride! Case in point: February my bill was 938.20 pesos, March bill naging 2,280.10 (napamura ako nito ng husto), then last month I paid only 130.45 pesos. For this month, I will be paying 1,633.15 pesos.
Thinking of rather than upgrading to a unit with higher specs it would be more wiser to go for those with low performance parts with even lower power consumption like those Intel desktop boards with Atoms/Dual Core Atoms especially as a replacement for my pc being used as a 24/7 torrent/DVR system/media center. Playback will be a hastle though with the absence of an Ion chipset (can’t seem to find those Zotac mobos with Ion.
Same goes for those netcafes that doesn’t rely on gaming (imagine 300~450watts vs 30~90watts per unit)
Suggestion ko nga, para makatipid sa kuryente, gumamit na lang ng solar panel/collector. Ang kaso pinagbabawal yata dito sa Pilipinas. Affordable ang solar panel/collector, dahil libre ang kuryenteng ginegenerate nito. Been trying to push the local government to allow people to install solar panel/collector, kaso ayaw e.
for suggestions… just turn off the darn thing when not in use. :(
yeah… our previous months was only 3k then suddenly it was way way way up… to 12k… I was checking what are the changes that we did… I don’t think adding an 1 use of AC will increase your elec. bill for 300%.. ggrrr…
yeah… our previous months was only 3k then suddenly it was way way way up… to 12k… I was checking what are the changes that we did… I don’t think adding an 1 use of AC will increase your elec. bill for 300%.. ggrrr…
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If you cant live with out aircons. Inverter aircons offer a lot of savings because of the new hardware and process of cooling the area. These should be chosen when purchasing a new unit. In the end Natural cooling will save you more.
aircon ang malakas sa kuryente talaga.
ours almost went double too.
My Meralco bill hasn’t been under 10k unless I am abroad. This month it hit the over 20k mark. I run way too many computers.
What I want is a way to go solar. I would love to see an article on the options for consumer solar power in the Philippines. Besides the tiny and small setup I see for sale at ROX, I can’t find anything that isn’t intended for industrial use (and even that is really poor and overpriced).
Please do such an article Yuga?
One way to have your brewed coffee and save electricity – use a French press. Just grind your beans (or use pre-ground, meh), add hot water, steep for five minutes, and you’re good to go. :)
wow ang laki ng tipid 18%. ok yun.
“Others would go as far as buying a generator set and run on diesel. I haven’t really computed the exact numbers by estimate is around 2.5 to 3 kilowatt hour per liter of fuel.”
We might save on household cost in the short term but in my opinion, this is not beneficial to Mother Earth in the long run, since in totality, we are actually increasing households’ carbon footprint. Running individual generator sets also run against the idea of “economies of scale”
Will the rates remain the same with our next bill? Ours also increased by 50%…
Ah, so you’re one of those people who spend hours in a coffee shop, occupying a table for 4 oblivious to other people in need of seats, without a care if the establishment looses money so you can save on your e-bills.
Well, I have a suggestion, which I hope everyone will appreciate. I suggest people to switch from incandescent/florescent tube, to energy saving light bulbs, LED bulbs better. First and foremost, they save a lot of electricity, hence lower electricity bill. Although it may be expensive, but in the long run you save more, as they are long lasting, and durable. Secondly, I suggest people to but solar chargers, for their laptops, and cellphones. This are just some of the tips, I know which I could share with you. Not only do you save electricity, and money, you are also becoming an eco citizen, as it lessens our dependence on fossil fuel, which in turn contribute to global warming.
Ahaha. I have yet to start working on that power saver myth blog entry. With all the technical jargon simplified and whatnot. Gah!
Anyway, although these power savers work on really controlled conditions, I advise the average consumer to stay away from them.
They tell you that the products have been tested by Meralco, but how many actually tell you that they have passed Meralco’s stringent testing procedure and have the papers to back their claim? NONE. NADA. ZERO.
Mine almost doubled….
Based on March to April rates, it’s around 18%.
how much was the raise in cost of power? i calculated it at like 12-13%