Save Electricity – Turn that Geyser Off in summer

Bangalore might have been a garden city in the old days, but nowadays my indoor thermometer reads 31 degrees Centigrade most of the time.  So, I felt guilty when I went to turn on the geyser! Absurd, I thought. Am I a creature of habit?

My estimate shows that hot water shower costs me something like Rs 4 per day. My electrician says that I am charged almost Rs 6 per unit because the geyser power comes from a 3 phase connection. He says that others may be paying a fraction of that if they use only single phase wiring.

I don’t know how many of the 120 Crore Indians take hot water showers. Assuming that 5 Crores of them do, the electricity used could be worth about Rs 10 Crores per day. If we can persuade them not to use their geysers for 150 days/year, the country could save about Rs 1500 per year. More than money, it is saving of a scarce resource for more meaningful uses. Our electrician says that a lot of electricity can be saved even in winter by families minimizing the number of hours geyser are on. Ideally a geyser needs to be on only for 30 mts per person in the family.

The numbers I have quoted above may need some correction. I would welcome suggestions, but the key point is that we can avoid or at least reduce waste of a scarce resource. Besides, the general opinion is that taking a shower using unheated tap water offers you significant health benefits.

Why don’t you get up and switch that geyser off!

Srinivasan Ramani