Time to change energy habits in Thiruvananthapuram

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KSEB is all set to launch a door-to-door campaign to instill ‘energy saving’ habits among city folks. A survey of the city’s energy behaviour, too, will be carried out as part of the campaign. The unique demand-side management campaign will be organized in cooperation with the city’s residents’ organizations.

“The plan is two-fold. The survey will map the current consumption behaviour and the door-to-door campaign, explaining ways to conserve energy, will attempt to alter consumption habits,” a top KSEB official said. The Board officials reckon that a consumer could cut down consumption by 20 percent if minor changes are made in consumption behaviour. The savings in power bills, they say, will work out to more than 30 percent of the current bill.

A special team, with officials and field officers, will conduct the survey, identify appliances that worsen power bills and educate consumers. Consumers in the capital will be given tips to bring down consumption by simple tweaking of their appliances.

Here are some: Fitting tubelights with top-quality electronic chalks can increase efficiency by 30 percent; the use of ‘task lights’ (LEDs fitted with reflectors) in study rooms and kitchens can lead to up to 75 percent savings in power; energy use can be brought down by half if faulty fan regulators are replaced; cheap and old fans push up power bills; there should be a 15-cm gap between the refrigerator and the wall. The conversion to LED lights is one of LDF government's professed aims.

“There are people who still don’t know that high watt fans push up power bills or that the sound from an oscillating fan is a sign that its efficiency has been impaired,” the official said. The survey, which will identify such improper usage, will also take steps to replace the existing appliances and check out the energy taken after their replacement.