Loadshedding has moved from light switches to lightening our wallets. At roughly R3.50 per kilowatt-hour, and in other cases close to R4, electricity is the most expensive yet essential utility in Mzansi households. We can’t live without it, but it’s also becoming increasingly difficult to afford.
Living off the grid is not accessible to everyone, as it comes with punitive regulatory sanctions and a major up-front expense. But there are ways to save electricity, with ideas ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous-sounding. DA ward councillor in Ekurhuleni, Simon Lapping, said the logic is simple throughout.
“Stop wasting power on habits that deliver no extra value to your household. Behavioural change may be challenging at first, but the rewards pay off quicker than you may think. Stop bleeding your household of cash every month,” he said.
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You read right. Some people iron clothes that they don’t need to. T-shirts and the like.
And, given that an iron typically draws about 1 kWh per hour, that’s roughly R4 every hour at current rates. Ironing for even 30 minutes less a week saves around R100 a year. “It’s the easiest saving people never consider,” Lapping said.
“A hundred Rand a year sounds small, but it adds up.” Reducing ironing time by an hour a week can save about R200 annually. A geyser can consume between 6 and 10 kWh a day in a family home, translating to between R21 and R40 daily. Dropping the temperature to 55–60°C can reduce that by 10 to 20%, often with a realised saving of R300 to R700 a month.
“Most geysers are set far hotter than necessary,” Lapping said. “You are not an egg, don’t boil yourself in the shower. Save the cash.” With disciplined use, skipping one full heating cycle every second day can shave another R200 to R400 off a monthly bill.
Lapping added that heat loss forces the geyser element to cycle more often. Insulating the tank significantly reduces that loss. Over a year, savings can run into several hundred rand, especially in older equipment.
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