‍By Vaishnavi

All this began recently when I got vexed with my parents blaming me for the increase in our power bill. I went home during lockdown with the hope of spending time with them but faced arguments over my bad habits which led to an increase in our power bill. I didn’t care much initially and thought of it as a silly reason to argue over. Eventually, it went to the extent where my colleagues would hear the plight of my parents during our daily virtual meetings.

I have never considered this to be a problem because it is not a very insubstantial amount of money as a percentage of what I earn. The power bill was equivalent to buying a KFC bucket. The only reason I looked at this was because of my parents who have been observing my way of living since the last few months. To prove to them that I am not inconsiderate of how much I am contributing to the monthly bill, I have taken up this exercise and to my surprise, they were right. The consumption did overshoot drastically during my period of stay from August to November.

The blue lines correspond to energy bills last year. The orange lines correspond to energy bills after I moved in this year.

So I have decided to write down their complaints.

• Operating fan regulator speed at 3 rather than 5
• Not leaving devices on stand-by.
• Switch off the geyser after use
• Not using the air-conditioner when it’s already comfortable outside

Some of the above were doable whereas some were not. I tried keeping the fan regulator on 3 for a couple of days to see if I was comfortable. I tried to implement the suggestions for other points as well.

Following were my observations during this test period.

• I realized that I wasn’t feeling as comfortable when the fan speed was at 3. I would sweat frequently and felt uncomfortable the entire time while working. Eventually, after a day or two, I increased the speed to 4 and observed myself. I could immediately feel the difference and decided to leave it at this.
• I made sure that I would take those extra few steps to go to the TV switch and run a final check to make sure all the devices were switched off every night.
• The one thing I still forget is to switch off the geyser after taking a bath. This made me realize that the switch located in the balcony of my house was not accessible enough to put this habit to practice. Here is a floor plan of my house with the location of the geyser switch and the bathroom.

I am going to relocate the switch inside the bathroom so that it is more accessible and I won't forget.

• Not running the AC has been a little difficult to follow. I realized that I was mostly feeling uncomfortable due to the thick blanket and not necessarily the temperature. Changing to a good cotton blanket helped me sleep better without the air-conditioner.

Over the last month, I have been trying to cut down on my electricity usage by being mindful of my behaviour. Although it was uncomfortable in the beginning, now I am fully adjusted and it has become my new norm.

I realized that more than energy-efficient appliances, lighting and gadgets, it is the behavioural change that contributes a lot to how much energy my family consumes.

As my dad keeps saying: “the body is very efficient in adjusting itself to the outside environment. You should give it time to adjust.”

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