Electricity use

Is your house lit up like a Christmas tree even after you turn off all the lights for the night? All those little red and green LEDs blinking and clocks keeping time are using electricity. Called ’standby power’ the amount of electricity used by appliances left in standby mode is not inconsiderable. Research in Australia found that 11.5% of home energy consumption was used in this way. Not all appliances use the same amount of power when in standby mode, and there is some variation between brands, but in general VCRs (19 watts), fax machines (30 watts) and stereo systems (10 watts) are heavy standby power users. A stereo that uses 11.7 watts of power when in use was found to use 9.5 watts in standby mode! Similarly, left plugged in, a microwave oven uses more power over a year in standby than it does when in use.

While some appliances need to be left on (turning your fridge off each night would not be very healthy or frugal!) there are many appliances in our homes that don’t need to be left on all day, everyday. A little extra effort could save you a lot of money.

In the Home Office

Many computer peripherals do not shut down completely when you turn the computer off. Printers, speakers, modems, external CD-ROMs etc do not need to be on when the computer is off. Putting all these devices on to one switched powerboard allows you to shut everything down with the flick of one switch. Many appliances come with AC power adapters (usually small black boxes). These devices change the 110-volt electricity from the wall socket into the lower voltage required by each appliance. During this conversion much of the unwanted electricity is dispersed as heat. Even if you are not using your laptop, speakers or mobile phone charger, if the adapter is warm to the touch, energy is being used. Therefore turning off the appliance at the switch is the most frugal way of shutting down such equipment.

If turning your computer off completely is not practical there are still steps you can take to minimize wasted electricity. http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/DesktopConservation.html describes how Windows and Linux users can create personal settings for their computer’s standby, suspend and hibernation modes and maximize power conservation.

In the Living Room

Getting up and turning the TV, VCR, DVD player and stereo at the switch rather than with the remote will save you considerable energy.

One of the biggest energy consumers in the living room is heating. Whether you use an air conditioner/ heater unit, hot carpet, fan forced kerosene stove or kotatsu heated table there are steps you can take to keep warm AND frugal.

Air-Conditioner Unit

Clean or change the filters regularly. Running the air conditioner unit with dirty filters uses 5-10% more electricity than if the same unit was cleaned.

Grab a jumper/sweater. Are you guilty of walking around in the wintertime in a t-shirt? By grabbing a jumper/sweater and turning the heating down only 2 degrees you can save as much as 10% of the energy consumed by the air conditioner.

Hot Carpet (Electric Carpet)

If your living room floor is wood or linoleum, placing a mat, towels, rug or newspaper between the floor and the hot carpet will provide insulation and stop heat loss.

When using a hot carpet sitting directly on the carpet (without using a floor cushion or seat) will give you best results.

Fan-Forced Heater

When selecting a heater look for one with a low energy mode (sho-ene or jaku unten). If you don’t have small children or animals that may get burnt, a kerosene-only heater uses no electricity at all, relying instead on radiant energy. As with an air-conditioning unit keeping the thermostat at 22 degrees will help keep running costs down.

Kotatsu (Japanese Low Table with Heat Lamp, Covered by Large Coverlet)

Thick equals warm. Changing the futon coverlet covering your kotatsu (kakebuton) from a 3cm thick one to a 10cm thick one will save you around 20% energy. If you don’t have a 10cm think futon you can double up with two thinner ones. With a thick mat under the kotatsu (shikibuton) and a thick futon on top large enough to stop cold air getting in around the edges you will find that once you use the electric heater to warm the kotatsu you can turn it off and stay warm for quite some time.

Whichever method you use to heat your house you can make a big difference to your heating costs by ensuring that no drafts are getting in and using thick blinds or curtains on the windows. 10% of heat is lost through windows so if you don’t mind how it looks a layer of clear bubble wrap fixed to the inside of the window is a good DIY double glazing trick.

In the Kitchen

The Fridge
One of the biggest users of electricity in the home is the fridge. A few simple steps can reduce the energy consumed in keeping your foodstuffs cool.

Location, Location, Location
In many Japanese kitchens you don’t have a lot of choice where to place the fridge. If you do, however, aim for a cool place. According to the Centre for Environmental Information Science running your fridge where the surrounding air is 30 degrees uses 80% more electricity than the same appliance run in a 15 degree environment. Leaving adequate space around the fridge (at least 10cm on all sides) helps air circulate and aids efficient cooling. If your fridge is not too heavy to move, vacuuming the coils at the back will also help it run better. But be careful you don’t knock or damage the coils as refrigerator gas is poisonous.

Optimum Capacity
An over-full fridge uses a lot of energy. It is also not wise to let your fridge get too empty though as it takes more energy to cool air than foodstuffs. This is particularly true in the freezer. If you don’t keep a lot of things in the freezer fill some containers with water or keep your freezer packs in there to reduce energy costs. Placing hot foods straight from stove to freezer is another energy waster. Try to leave dishes to cool to room temperature before freezing.

And opening the door to the fridge and THEN thinking about what you want to eat is an energy black hole. It can take up to eight minutes for the fridge to return to its set temperature after the door has been opened.

Rice Cooker
Do you cook rice for the day all at once? It can actually be more frugal to cook rice twice than to keep it warm all day. For example, if you cook 4 cups of rice in the morning and keep it warm till dinner time you use more energy than you would have cooking two cups in the morning and another two for dinner. Some rice cookers have a low energy switch. Be careful though: in many cases this is not an energy efficient option as the same amount of energy is used- just over a longer period of time. This switch is designed to minimize the amount of energy used at one time so as not to overload the ampage breaker.

Hot Water Pot
In most cases a very energy inefficient appliance. If you need hot water on demand throughout the day (or have just got too used to having one to do without!) unplugging the pot before you go to bed saves you keeping all that water hot when noone will be using it. The hot water in the pot when you turn it off can be recycled into your hot water bottle.

If you need any more incentive to become energy efficient around the house check out the Kansai Electric Power Company’s fun eco-check page: www.kepco.co.jp/sho-ene/ec/ec.html. All you need is a copy of your last electricity bill and in a couple of minutes you can see how many yen you could be saving by taking a few small steps to conserve energy.

References

• http://enduse.lbl.gov/info/40295-abstract.html
• http://www.energyconservationinfo.org/almanac.htm#Refrigeration
• http://extratv.warnerbros.com/dailynews/consumer/04_01/04_04b.html
• http://www.uow.edu.au/arts/sts/sbeder/columns/probe22.html
• http://standby.lbl.gov/data.html
• http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/energysa.html
• http://www.rmfdevelopment.com/DesktopConservation.html (Ed’s note: link no longer valid)
• http://www.ceis.or.jp/ecolife/eco1.html
• http://www.kepco.co.jp/sho-ene/ec/ec.html?kwh0=2222 (Ed’s note: link no longer valid)
• http://www.zds-osaka.or.jp/kaden/kufu/kufu.htm

© 2004 H. Fukase.

The Eco-Watt Electricity Use Measurement Device
Price: Y2,940

This is so cool! The Eco-Watt is a simple device that lets you know how much electricity you use with your appliances. Simply plug Eco-Watt into your outlet and plug your appliance into the Eco-Watt.

The EcoWatt will display how many kilowatt hours (KWh) of electricity your item uses, and will display the cost of that electricity. (Energy costs are set at Y25 per 1KWh, and the unit is designed for indoor use with items under 1200Watts.) The EcoWatt is available from a variety of vendors, but I found it here.

The Multi-Function, Water-Saver Shower Head
Cost: Usually Y5,980 – Availble at Rakuten.com for Y2,480

Savings: Approximately Y21,600/year in water and gas costs. This shower head works by stopping the water, and then releasing it again, thus improving water pressure — something that residents
of top-floor condominiums will appreciate, too. Adjustable height and 360-degree rotation are also two additional features.

Sanpatsuki Hair Cutter
Cost: MSRP Y15,000 Rakuten Price: Y8,379

Frugal Japan list members apparently love to cut their own and their family members’ hair. This “Flowbee” like clipper and vacuum-sucker hair cutter might be a helpful tool. The product advertises easy cleanup and three potential haircuts: short boys’/mens’ cuts, bozu (the skinhead cut popular among Japanese high school baseball players), and short girls’/womens’ bob haircuts. Personally, I get a professional to do the job for me, but for the adventurous at heart, this may be something to try!

I recently gained a new addition to my resource collection in Japanese: the monthly Ohanashi Salad newsletter from my organic coop featured a special “EcoLife” section in September, and I thought I’d share some of their unique ideas for trash reduction, efficient energy usage and recycling that I gleaned. Here are a few highlights:

Efficient Energy Use

“Reducing the amount of ’stuff’ in my house has made cleaning easier and improved air flow. We no longer need to use the air conditioner.”

“One night a week, I have a romantic ‘candle night.’ We use candles for reading/dining, and don’t use electricity.” (Editor’s Note: Be mindful of the potential for fires!)

Cooking

“I food process leftover vegetables (excluding onions) into a paste, and freeze it. The paste can be added to soups or sauces to give it extra flavor.”

“When making ‘nimono’ (simmered dishes) or other similar dishes, I take the pot off the stove when the the dish is about 2/3 cooked, and then wrap it in a bath towel. The lingering heat cooks the rest of the food, saving on gas expenses and preventing overcooking.”

Reuse/Recycling

“Coffee grounds and tea leaves can be mixed in with potting soil for extra nutrients.”

“I rip up old telephone books into sections two or three pages thick. I use these for wiping up leftover oil in frying pans. They are also useful for wiping my hands, lining refrigerator drawers, or wrapping vegetables.”

One last tip from the Ohanashi Salad newsletter:

Make Time

“I realized that, when I’m in a hurry, my activities produce a lot of waste and use up a lot of electricity. For example: if I’m running late for work, I’ll often drop by the convenience store to grab
breakfast, or use a taxi to get to work instead of the train. In short: my philosophy for an ecological lifestyle is to make sure I have plenty of time to get where I’m going, and to do what I need to do.”

Some of the above tips may be old news to you, others may be useful. The resourcefulness of Japanese folks of a certain age never ceases to surprise me. I did find this final piece of advice from a 30-year-old housewife quite revealing:

“The most important thing to me is NOT trying to have a more convenient lifestyle. In other words, not getting too used to too much convenience.”

Let’s take a look at the costs and savings of Japan’s popular toilet extras.

First, there is the ‘Otohime’ — a noisemaker installed in public restrooms in Japan that emits a flushing noise to mask human bathroom sounds. Previously, many Japanese women would flush twice — once before going, and once after. The Otohime, however, is estimated to save as much as 20 litres of water each trip to the bathroom. An article on Web-Japan.org estimates that “In an office building with 400 female workers, installing sound makers can save over 10 million liters of water in one year, assuming that each woman goes to the bathroom five times daily — and that, without a sound maker, all of them would flush twice). This translates into a reduction in the water bill of 7.74 million yen.” That sounds frugal to me! For the record, you can buy these for home use: both my parents’ and brother’s homes in the US have one, bought for between 8,000 yen (off brand) to 16,800 yen (Toto brand).

Next: the heated toilet seat! Obviously, this product is more of a luxury than a necessary expense. Low-priced “washlet” seats range from around Y30,000 to Y60,000 and above, plus installation costs. Then there are the running costs to consider. Toto’s latest energy-saving model (the slim Apricot N series) costs around Y210/month to operate, as opposed to Y690/month for former models. Newer models also use 50 percent less water for “cleaning functions”. Unlike the Otohime, which was designed as a way to save money, the heated toilet seats are clearly more expensive than the traditional plastic variety. However, as the costs of operating that luxury are probably going down, you can feel a little better about buying one!

© 2004 Wendy J. Imura.