Keep Electric Fans Clean And More: 7 Tips Para Maka-Tipid Sa Kuryente

Most of prices of everyday necessities have skyrocketed recently—gasoline, diesel, groceries, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables. A kilogram of carrots in June was only P100, but it almost doubled to P195 per kilo this September. A liter of diesel is around P50-P55 in June, but recently, it has reached up to P68-P75/ liter. 

With all these increasing prices, families are doing our best to fit everything in our budgets. And one thing we can do to do stay within our budget is ‘magtipid’. 

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Price reduction for Meralco

Meralco (Manila Electric Company) announced an additional price reduction last August, even amid recent price increase of other daily necessities.

The first price reduction was in July at P0.7213 per kWh in the electricity rate, bringing down the overall rate for a typical household to P11.1899 per kWh from June’s P11.9112 per kWh.

In August, another reduction of P0.2908 per kWh in the electricity rate was announced, bringing down the overall rate for a typical household to P10.8991 per kWh from P11.1899 per kWh previously.

For residential customers consuming 200 kWh, the adjustment is equivalent to a decrease of around P58 in their total electricity bill.

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Kuryente tipid tips

Here are some helpful kuryente tipid tips to further decrease the electricity bill:

1. Keep your refrigerator full, but do not overload.

One of the appliances that runs 24/7 is the refrigerator, which means it consumes electricity all day. One way to use it efficiently is to avoid overloading it. Keep it at least two-thirds full to let the cool air circulate and properly chill your food. Overfilling the refrigerator hinders the cold airflow, making it less efficient.

2. Don’t store hot food in the fridge.

Another practical tip is to let food cool down before putting it inside the fridge. Otherwise, your refrigerator will have to work harder to bring the temperature down. This can save you up to P20/month.

3. Plan ahead.

Prepare all ingredients before cooking to avoid frequently switching on the electric stove. Thaw frozen food thoroughly before cooking to minimize cooking time.

4. Minimize your oven’s heating time.

Another culprit for a higher electricity bill is the oven. To minimize consumption, you can actually turn off the oven up to 15 minutes (depending on the dish) before the cooking time is completed. The heat in the oven will continue to cook the dish until you take it out. Also keep preheating to a minimum.

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5. Clean fans regularly.

One more practical tip is to clean the electric fans regularly. The dust that accumulates on the motor’s cover, fan blades, motor housings, and grills reduces the air current generated by the fan. This causes it to heat up and consume more energy.

6. Unplug your TV sets.

An oft set-aside tip is to unplug. TV sets that are turned off but still on stand by power stil consumes electricity. A 21-inch TV with stand-by power consumption can add P15-P20 on your monthly electric bill.

7. Check out the Appliance Calculator (App Cal).

This is a smart tool which tracks how much energy your appliances consume every hour, day, week, and month. Backed with all the information on your consumption tested by Meralco Power Lab, you can now conveniently adjust your usage according to your budget. Find it through this website or in your Meralco mobile app.

Check out the Meralco Appliance Calculator here.