3 Power Winners for March’s Energy-Saving Contest
The 3 winners for CCK Town Council’s Energy-Saving Contest in March are:
Bukit Gombak resident Andrew Lim, Keat Hong resident Shayden Wong and Keat Hong resident Madurai Kamala Kannan.
These residents not only answered the 3 questions in the quiz* correctly, but they also shared their great power-saving tip and won a $50 NTUC FairPrice voucher each.
To mark Earth Day, which falls on 22 April, we spoke to the three residents on how they stay green.
Harvesting the Power of the Sun
Andrew’s kitchen showing the placement of his solar panel and light (above, circled in red), and a close-up of the solar light in action (above).
66-year-old retiree Andrew has been tapping on solar energy to light up his kitchen for the past year.
He bought a plug-and-play solar panel and light for about $100, and installed them on a West-facing window in his kitchen. Voila, he has since been enjoying ‘free’ light in his kitchen every night.
The 14×12 inch solar panel can store enough energy to power the 100W LED light for 2 to 3 hours. It’s bright enough such that Andrew and his wife do not even need to turn on their kitchen light.
He and his wife also save energy in other ways too, such as lowering the blinds to keep the sun out on hot days so they spend less energy cooling the room down at night.
Besides reducing his energy bill, Andrew urged: “Using energy from renewable sources will help us to reduce our carbon footprint. Even though we may not achieve much as individuals, every small bit of effort adds up.”
Sharing Aircon on WFH Days
Shayden and his parents share the same room when they work or study from home. This way, they need to turn on only 1 air-conditioner to keep everyone cool and comfortable.
Once the room has cooled down sufficiently, they also turn the aircon off and rely on the fan to keep cool and further save energy.
By doing so, the 17-year-old student said his family has seen a 20% reduction in their energy consumption for their 4-room flat in the past year. They brought their power bill from above average of their neighbours to below average and were rewarded with cost savings.
He said: “Saving electricity is very important to us as the Earth’s resources are limited, so we must use them sparingly if we want to conserve them for future generations.”
The World is in Your Hands
Madurai succinctly expresses his idea in a sketch (pictured below) along with his message “the world is in your hands”.
He said: “By saving energy, I’m doing my bit to save the environment and also help to reduce air pollution and prevent climate change.”
The 42-year-old team leader in a chemical firm has been practising as he preaches for the last 4 years.
By eliminating the use of aircon completely, using energy-saving lights, and turning the power of all devices, he has reduced his power bill by 30%.
Now that you have learnt about the residents’ winning green habits, let them inspire you to embark on your own green journey, just in time for Earth Day!
*Correct answers for the quiz are:
Q1: Filament light bulbs look better & use less power than LED bulbs.
A1: B: False
Q2: Use a fan instead of aircon as 1 aircon = __ fans.
A2: B: 11
Q3: Set washing machine to wash clothes in __ water.
A3: B: room temperature