Get geyser wise and save electricity

This month the focus at 1st for Women is on geysers. We have increased consequential loss cover on geyser claims to R20 000 for all new Buildings Insurance policyholders, an increase that will apply to existing policyholders from the date of their annual policy review. And because we know that when your geyser isn't bursting or overflowing it is consuming more than a third of your electricity, we asked Eskom for some advice on how you can run a more energy efficient geyser and save on your electricity bill.

Electricity tariff increases have hit South African consumers hard. For the savvy consumer, however, there are a number of things that you can do to reduce the amount of electricity that you consume. A good place to start is with your geyser, which accounts for, on average, 39% of your electricity bill. Follow Eskom's advice and you can reduce this consumption by 43% (biggest savers listed first):

• Install aerated shower heads
• Fix all leaking hot water taps. These can waste up to 18 litres of water a day!
• Insulate your geyser with a geyser blanket and insulate pipes 3 metres before and 3 metres after your geyser
• Take a shower instead of a bath. Showering uses a lot less water and therefore less electricity
• Turn your geyser's thermostat down to 60%
• If you are only going to use a small amount of water use cold water and do not let the hot water tap run unnecessarily by using a plug when washing

Switching your geyser off in the morning and back on again at night will not save electricity but it will reduce the load on Eskom's power grid and help reduce power outages, especially during peak periods.

Make an effort to run an energy efficient geyser and, who knows, your electricity bill might actually go down this winter!

Source: Eskom