Electricity in an apartment

Power and back up:

In every apartment power supply is a vital issue that has to be taken care of in order for residents to live a life of comfort. Since power cuts can become a recurrent problem in every apartment society, an apartment society should ensure that they are essentially equipped with power backup plans in order to keep their residents at ease.

Power back up machineries is a must for an apartment. Now, there are many power backup machineries available – some of which require big spaces and some which fits in smaller spaces as well. Generators are the usual choice an apartment opts for. However, there are other options to explore.

How to go for a power back up plan?

(a) Choose an appropriate backup plan:

Generators: The fixed generator is one of the most common and efficient power back up options installed in an apartment society. Your AC loads, electrical appliances and lights – everything can  work through a generator.

You need to choose the generator based on the size of the flat. If the apartment has 3 bedrooms, a 5000 watt generator would be a perfect power backup option. Also an apartment can have a diesel generator which is a cheaper option as the fuel cost would be less.

Solar generators: Apart from just the fuel generators, you can also have solar generator, which runs on solar energy and is renewable and non-polluting.

Inverters: If you need a temporary power backup option, you can have an inverter by which machineries like refrigerator, electrical fans and lights can be run. The standby inverter will keep batteries fully charged when utility power is on, then immediately take over some of your circuits with hardly a flicker if the utility fails.

(b) Check your budget:

Getting a generator is quite an expensive task as the price range of an ideal generator starts from Rs. 30,000/- depending on the amount of energy it can hold. Hence, you should always choose the price range before going for a power back up.

Getting an inverter is a perfect plan if you are looking at an economical option. An inverter can be run on a rechargeable battery without the use of any fuel.

(c) Installation of a power backup:

While installing a generator or an inverter, you should be careful, considering the connection of the main electrical appliances and lighting. One should also consider the type of climate in the region while fixing the appliance.

In case if the climate is cold, steps should be taken in order to prevent the pipes from freezing. For hot climate, cover the appliance with sheets or shutters. Ensure that you install a user-friendly machine, which will allow you to easily switch the generator to the inverter.

(d) Maintenance of power backup:

With a generator comes high maintenance as the machine needs regular servicing and surplus amount of fuel to run. In addition, the installation costs of a generator can be very unreasonable. For an inverter, one need not spend a lot, as it requires very less maintenance and works on a battery. All one needs to do is to regularly oil the terminals and give sufficient breaks to prevent them from overheating.

How to save electricity?

To save electricity has become a matter which has assumed importance in the last few months. Saving electricity not only saves your money but also reduce carbon footprints and saves environment. In your home apartment, you may experiment new ways or methods to bring down utility bill to save money and energy.

Electricity is what we want most and what we waste most. If you have the rudimentary knowledge about electronic appliances and their usage, then you would be able to save electricity to a certain extent.

You should be aware of appliances and devices that consume electricity more than the other common alliances. Appliances using heating elements are the most intense users of electricity and hence their usage should be minimized.

For common area lighting (both indoor and outdoor), choose energy efficient lights wherever possible. Following tips helps to bring down utility bill and save money as well as contribute to the environment:

1. Replace traditional bulbs: One CFL replaces up to 10 traditional bulbs. They consume about one-fourth of the energy and can last for five to seven years. Replace traditional bulbs such as incandescent bulbs and tubes with energy star CFL bulbs. It will directly or indirectly lead to the reduction of carbon footprints and bring down community utility bill as well.
2.  Natural Lighting: Natural lighting in common areas helps avoid using light fixtures and lamps. Design your cupboards and other furniture in a way that as much natural light comes in buildings as possible. It will save energy and your money.
3. Switching to LED lighting: it can save electricity and leading to reduction in consumption of coal through which electricity is generated. Findings point out that a building’s carbon footprint from lighting can be reduced by 60 to 70 per cent by switching to LED lightings.
4. Solar Energy: Today solar water heater and solar lights are buzz words and using solar lights in common areas helps to bring down community electricity bill. Use photovoltaic (solar) energy systems on community buildings to save electricity.
5. Soundproofing: Soundproofing not only helps to prevent the unwanted noise from neighbours, but also helps to keep both air conditioning and heat within the walls of the home with heavy insulation.
6. Pool pumps and heating: Pool pumps and heating are big energy users and it is important to ensure that they are not running longer than necessary. Reducing the swimming pool filter pump, operating time can save significant amounts of electricity. The pool’s filter should be cleaned as recommended by the manufacturer to obtain maximum efficiency. Using a smaller, higher efficiency pump and reducing the pump operating time can save significant amounts of electricity.
7. Motion Sensor Lighting: The motion sensor lighting is an easy way to cut down community electricity costs. The motion sensor light switch can save around 10 hours per month of lighting and these are easy for you to install. You can save around 15% in your monthly electricity bill by replacing ordinary lighting with motion sensor lighting.
8. Light color: Light colour plays vital role in cutting down or bringing down utility bill of your apartment complex. Light color reflects lights and dark colors absorb light. So, you can use light wall color in common areas to reflect lights and can limit number of artificial lighting used to illuminate the area.
9. Separate switches: In large building or apartments, a single switch controls a dozens of lights. However, it often leads to consumption of energy in some area unnecessarily. Rewiring these lights into smaller groups of lights on independent switches helps to use lights only where it is required. Separate switching directly or indirectly helps to bring down energy consumption and cut community electricity costs.

Safety measures:

There are other safety measures that you have to keep in mind while trying to save electricity in an apartment:

The generators should be kept at a closed area out of reach of the children. There are few maintenance related stuff that are to be taken care of for the smooth functioning of the generator – like service the generator twice yearly, fix anything loose, stuck, or fraying, check the distilled water in the battery and check the fuel.

It should be kept in mind that a generator should not be subjected to moisture or water. You should keep it in a dry space and covered against dust, mud, grime, etc. Additionally, you should always keep spare parts like plugs, filters, etc.

Safety measure should be taken care of in case of electrical wires. Electrical wires can lose their insulation as they age, creating a serious safety hazard. Many house fires result from old, damaged wires.

Always keep an eye onto signs of aging wires. The signs include flickering light bulbs, frequent power outages and unusual sounds or odors emanating from the electrical system. If any of these problems occur, get an inspection done by an electrician. Inspection should be carried out every 10 years.

Also, you need to keep it in mind that an electrical system has the capacity to supply only a certain amount of electricity. If the circuit is overloaded, then the fuse will blow or the circuit breaker will shut down the power to that area. Before putting any appliance on a circuit, check the amount of watts it needs. Before adding additional appliances, check if the circuit can provide enough power.