Reduce your carbon footprint – and your electricity bill

Mariyam Wafa, 25, lives in a two bedroom flat. By changing the light bulbs in her sitting room to energy saving bulbs, she claims her electricity bill dropped by Rf200.

In most homes lighting accounts for 10 to 15% of electricity bills. Simply changing to energy saving light bulbs can save up to 80% of the energy of normal bulbs.

“We can’t give an exact figure for how much you can save as no studies have been done in Maldives, and different brands and lights differ,” says Ahmed Rauf, engineer of STELCO.

However he says it’s always better to buy trusted brands ‘to avoid getting a 10 watt bulb instead of the 5 watt one as mentioned, because we have come across such cases.”

At a time when Maldivians are paying high prices for the electricity they consume, unlike before when STELCO was largely subsidized by the state, it makes sense to look into ways to reduce household electricity consumption. The Maldives has also pledged to become the first carbon neutral country, and suddenly the issue of one’s own carbon foot print comes into play.

Renewable energy: long term benefits

Vice president Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan has been using solar water heaters since 2003.

“We haven’t used any electricity for heating water in the last six years – the heated water from the solar heaters is enough for the usage of a couple,” says Dr Waheed.

The solar-heated water is used for washing, cooking and showering.

“On top of that, there has not been any need for maintenance work also.”

Dr Waheed envisages a future where the vice president’s residence is completely powered by renewable energy.

Ibrahim Ali works in his family-run business Renewable Energy Maldives (REM), and says solar panels can be used with or without electricity from the grid.

“You could either opt to use [just] solar panels by saving energy to a battery for use during the night time, or switch to normal electricity during night and use solar panels during the days only,” he explains.

One house that uses a grid-connected solar system is Maafanu Sunny lodge.

“We have cut about 50% off our electricity bill since the installation,” says a resident of the house.

“We are using it on one floor of the building and it caters for the electricity needs of our family of six.”

The system is programmed to automatically switch off at night and use normal electricity during the night time.

Ibrahim acknowledges that it is expensive to install solar panels. But he reasons if you take into consideration the 15 year lifespan of the panels and the cost of electricity, “it is worth it.”

“Switching to solar air conditioners is very possible in Male. For a three room apartment it costs around Rf23,000 to install,” he says, explaining that this would typically cut energy consumption by between 30% to 70%.

He takes the case of Happy Mart: “Their electricity bill hovered around Rf5000 before they made the switch. These days the maximum figure on their bill is Rf 2000.”

Though some houses and businesses are opting for solar powered air-conditioners, the demand for solar among residents in Male’ remains low.

“We have installed them in uninhabited islands and resorts,” he says.

He says the price of the panels remains a problem, largely because of the 20% import duty President Mohamed Nasheed has promised to waive but has yet to do.

Reducing the bill

Rauf from STELCO says simply changing a few habits and making an informed choice when buying electrical equipment can reduce a person’s electric bill.

“A room should be properly insulated and have curtains on windows if air-conditioning is used.”

He also says maintaining an optimal temperature throughout instead of minimizing it once you come in from outdoors will consume less energy.

“People oversee the fact that ceiling fans also waste a lot of energy if left on when nobody’s in the room.”

Appliances on standby mode are other culprits: “Computers and other things could be turned off at night time.”

Rauf recommends buying fridges with the right capacity, as “a 400 litre fridge is enough for a family of six.”

“Make sure you don’t put any hot items in it.”

Changing to a steam iron and making sure that its less than 1200 watts, and ironing clothes in one go are other ways to make sure less energy is consumed.

“A little more attention to all this minimizes the consumption of electricity.”