Yes its the Covid era and yes I have been home more than before but yes I also managed to bring my electricity bill down
I got my electricity bill for the month of October, 2020 as 73 Rupees. It was lowest since I have been residing in type III quarters in Hyderabad since January 2016. Total units consumed were 37 units. This was the lowest bill and unit consumed than my earlier lowest of 50 units of electricity and 80 Rupees of the bills. It made me immensely happy not only because I was able to save money but primarily for the reason, I was able to cut down my carbon footprint. I was able to bring down my contribution towards burning of coal, for which forests need to be cut, tribals and forest dwellers need to be displaced or relocated. 67 percent of electricity in India comes from burning of coal which is a greenhouse gas and results into global warming and visible pollution. India contribution towards world greenhouse emission is 7 percent and highest being China at 37 percent and USA being 25 percent. One of the recent developments is have solar energy but solar energy requires PV and one of the main components is lithium. We need to cut down our consumption. I stopped using fridge on the eve of World environment day as it used refrigerants which is 12000 more potent greenhouse gas. As a kid we didn't have fridge. Fridge was an aspirational thing for us in the early nineties. One of our relatives in Jamshedpur had fridge. We used to talk about how they opened their fridge and had given us chocolate, ice-cream, sweets and custard as and when it was required or they felt like. In 1993, I saw it with admiration that milk wouldn't be spoilt and how they use to keep their fruits and vegetables for longer time and fresh. How packaged paneer and curd was kept. We used to have chilled water and at times use to put extra ice cubes in the chilled water to have a feel of having served cold water. Food could be stored for longer period and can be eaten even after 24 hours of cooking. Finally in 2000 we got our fridge only to realise that our fridge was used only for keeping water cold and preserving milk. It was also kept for keeping paan, jarda and Gul. Occasionally sweets were kept. Since 2002 I have been living away from the family. In 2014 when I was working at Airport and one of my friends visited me insisted that I must have a fridge as she can't survive without fridge water, I gave in and bought a fridge. It made me lazy too. I was preparing food for two time or at times three. There was lot of food wastage. Whatever went inside didn't came out with the same taste. After knowing the refrigerants used earlier like CFC (Chlorofluro Carbon) was destroying the ozone layer, it hit me instantly whether our luxuries are terrible for environment? Can't we survive without fridge? Which is more important fridge or environment. Fridge is very much required in our fast paced lifestyle. It makes things easier. We need not to cook many times. Again I was thinking that CFCs has been replaced with HFC(Hyderofluro carbon) which though doesn't destroy ozone layer but it is a potent greenhouse gas. It is some 9000-12000 times more potent(bad or terrible) for environment than the Carbon dioxide. This dissuaded me from having AC despite I staying on the top floor. In Hyderabad two months (April and May) were very hot. Peak temperature reached 44 C. At times my brother who was visiting me insisted me to have an AC or Cooler. I resisted it with the fact that AC is electricity guzzler. Though I can pay, it's environmental impact couldn't be ignored. There are some 1.8 billion ACs in the world. Some 35 percent of total electricity consumption goes for AC in Mumbai. I was thinking about the other animals how do they manage with AC. How global warming is leading to melting of polar ices, climate change and extreme weather. As a result I thought not to buy an AC, do away with refrigerator and cut down my electricity consumption. On the eve of World earth day on 22nd march, I unplugged my fridge and haven't used it since then. Now I cook from scratch with the vegetables and groceries bought package free and chemical free directly from farmers and at max one intermediary in between. I was eating fresh cooked food eating less as cooking only that much quantity which will not lead to waste. Earlier I weighed 74 kg and within the span of six months I was weighing 65 kgs.
When I shifted to my present address in Quarters, Hyderabad in 2016, there was severe scarcity of water. Assuming that washing machine saved water we bought one. For it was tricky to use the different modes. Filling the water three times was cumbersome. Keep a track of when to fill water was also tricky. There were instances that I slept off in between and only to realize on waking up that it was constantly beeping. Over the period of time I realized that it consumes much water that conventional hand cleaning, requires good amount of energy to run. It also lead to shortening of the lifespan of the cloth. The cloths which were usually lasting for 2 or two and hf years were now lasting just one year because of the machine wash. Last year in October I stopped using washing machine. I was able to save lot of precious water and the indirect electricity used in bringing that water from various reservoirs as considerable quantity of water is coming from Srisailam dam. I used to soak the cloth in plain water for overnight and used to clean it with mild oil based soap like 555, chasma Gola soap and sunlight. It was gentle on hand, water and clothes too. Moreover washing a bucket of cloths was leading to burning of almost 350-400 calories. It was uplifting my mood and I was having good sleep too. I was having much more space in my bathroom.
I never ironed my cloth except when going for some parade or wearing uniform. It saved me from extra work and electricity. Even after ironing the cloth lose their stiff shape within an hour or two.
I stopped watching TV as half of time they were showing advertisements. One I was paying monthly subscription and on the top of that was forced to watch irritating advertisements of products which I don't even needed. In order to watch a serial I need to watch TV at a particular time for two three years. Even watching the TV for whole day there was no takeaway from the programs. It's been three years I haven't watched TV. I am happier and have plenty of time for self than when I was watching TV.
One bad habit I have acquired couple of year back is to have fan on even during winters while covering the body with blanket. It is a seer wastage of energy. Will change my habit to further bring down my electricity and overall energy consumption. Before the bill of 73 rupees and 37 units I had minimum bill of 80 rupees and 50 units. Though in Telangana the minimum bill is 60, I will strive towards bringing my electricity unit consumption to 30 or even below. This is my bit for environment.
About the author
The author is a dear friend and a passionate environmentalist. Readers can ask questions in comments here or write to him directly at parasharjnu@gmail.com
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