As customers contend with the increasing cost of energy bill, they may often ask what their alternatives are.
But before you even consider costly renewable energy systems, you should first adopt a conservation approach.
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The average Jamaican household (that spends on average $12,000 per month on electricity bill) can spend $2 million on alternative energy.
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Coming off the grid isn’t merely about divorcing the company that supplies your power and charges you on a monthly basis. It’s more than that; it’s about cheaper means of supplying and using power.
“If you are not one to maximise the energy saving opportunities, producing power on your own, and getting off the Jamaica Public Service (JPS) grid won’t save you money,” said Nathan Parkins, design technician at Alternative Power Sources.
Renewable energy systems are designed to match your current consumption, that is the more you consume, the bigger and more costly your system will have to be.
“If you don’t conserve, you could very well end up spending $5 million on a system when you could have had one for $3 million,” he said.
Some energy savings opportunities are free.
Turning off lights that aren’t in use may sound like the usual energy savings lecture, but if you aren’t flicking the switch, you are increasing wastage.
Lights on during the daylight hours, are obviously wasteful.
Then there are some suggestions that would require you to spend a little extra cash.
Equipment that trap heat and in turn pass it on to you, without electricity, are an option.
Opt for solar water heater over electric water heater, Parkins advised.
“We pay so much to use the electricity to get hot water, yet we have the sun,” he said. “I can safely say solar water heater can shave 15 per cent off your light bill.”
Checks by the Sunday Finance found that the National Housing Trust (NHT) offers loans to for solar water heaters to existing mortgagers with a maximum funding of $250,000.
But, if you have already got a loan from the NHT, you would have to wait 10 years before you can access the maximum $1.5 million funding for solar panels.
Nonetheless, there are some less pricey options, which are common to most households.
People with up-to-date energy style appliances will use less power than those without.
So, if you are not too sentimental, you could think about doing away with your 30 year old refrigerator and cash in on a newer model.
Gas stoves get the energy savings nod of approval rather than an electric stove.
Overtime, old appliances lose efficiency and consume more power.
You could even place a timer on your refrigerator that shuts it off after a number of hours.
The average fridge runs 11 hours per day.
In addition, you should repair loose magnetic rubbers of the refrigerator door, it allows the cool air to leave, using up more power.
Don’t keep your fridge too close to the wall, the heat coil at the back needs enough room for sufficient circulation.
As for lighting, there’s LED. Though this is more expensive to buy than fluorescent bulbs, switching could reduce your power usage by 50 per cent.
But, Parkins said this is most necessary for businesses that need the use of light for longer periods.
Do you think the time has come to getting power on your own? Well, Parkins crunched the numbers for the Sunday Finance.
According to him, a household user who spends on average of $4,500 per month wouldn’t spend roughly half a million dollars on alternative energy.
As for the average Jamaican household that he said spends on average $12,000 per month, they can get an alternative system for $2 million.
What’s more, you don’t have to completely abandon the JPS, you could opt to make a particular room solar.
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