We have been waiting for summer so long that often forget, that once the temperatures go up it also comes with the higher energy bill. Now in the beginning of summer, let’s talk about saving up on your energy bill with smart use of appliances.
As we fix both older and new appliances we know that, sometimes ,for our clients upgrading to brand energy saving models is not quite affordable.
We always take our clients’ interest at heart! Lets see some tips and tricks that will help you to cut down on your energy bill while using older appliance models.
In 2013, the Government of Ontario and the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has introduced the “time-of-use” (TOU) electricity rates. Smart meters were installed in homes across the province, recording electricity usage at different times during the day.
The concept behind the plan was to encourage residents to use off peak times for household use and appliances, as part of it whenever possible to reduce the load on the energy network. Which also comes with savings for average user:
The summer energy rates are assigned as follows for weekdays May 1 to October 31st:
- Off peak: 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
- Mid peak: 7 to 11 a.m. & 5 to 7 p.m.
- Peak: 11a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Weekends are considered to be offpeak hours
According to the Ontario Energy Board, the average household uses 2/3 of their electricity during off-peak hours with the remainder split between mid-peak and off-peak. This results in an average rate of 11 cents/kWh
Average monthly energy usage per household appliance
| Appliance | Avg.
monthly kWh | Avg. monthly cost based on Avg. TOU price |
| Dryer | 100 | $10.76 |
| Washer | 5 | $0.54 |
| Dishwasher | 13 | $1.40 |
| Microwave oven | 5 | $0.54 |
| Stove (Oven) | 500 | $53.79 |
| Fridge | 75 | $8.07 |
| Food Freezer | 21 | $2.26 |
The information is provided by Toronto Hydro
The above figure are for guidelines only and may vary from your actual household use, depending on your lifestyle and the number of residents, but you can easily see how the energy usage compares between appliances.
Let’s look how you can save on your electricity bill by using your appliances smart:
- Refrigerator. Although you have to run it 24/7 7 days a week and can not avoid the peak hours, the trick is to keep it filled with food. This way it keeps the temperature better. Also make sure that the door seal is tight. Target temperature setting for the main fridge chamber should be 4- 5 degrees and freezer chamber temperature is minus 15 to minus 18 degrees Celsius.
- Stove. Thaw frozen food in your fridge, or on the counter and keep lids on your pots to reduce cooking time. Cook ahead during off peak time and warm your food up before dinner. Luckily hot weather calls for more salads, and barbeque once in a while?
- Dryer. Dryer seems to be the biggest culprit when it comes to energy saving. It also does not help that in summer with the hot weather outside people tend to change clothes and linens more often. Try to combine 2 washloads into 1 and set the time for off peak time. Do not dry the load completely, fold it while it is still wet a bit. Some people even hang clothes to dry (but the negative with that is unpredictable sudden weather changes that may leave your clothes entirely wet, and the fact is that after this you most likely need to use iron( i.e. more energy) to iron the laundry.
- Washer. Wash in cold water cycle, luckily there is a lot of great laundry detergents that are designed for just that!
- Dishwasher. Run it when it is full and use the economy cycle on your dishwasher.
And also we would like to mention that heat puts extra stress on your appliances in summer season – so inspect them regularly and contact us if you see any signs of malfunction.
As you see, it takes only to adjust a bit your habits to save on your monthly energy bill using appliances. At i-Fix Appliance we care for our clients and the environment. Give us a call if you see that your appliance is not functioning well in this hot weather.
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