After a long rainy season summer has set it and it is getting very hot. The phenomenon of high temperature continues to rage on since global warming has taken effect resulting in very hot weather. There has been a spike in electricity use due to the hot weather increasing concerns about blackouts across the nation. The government and private sector are seeking various proposals and measures to reduce electricity consumption.

This summer a culture of scrimping on power has been spreading amidst growing concerns of a black out. Simply thinking ‘I don’t make much of a difference’ can result in the collective participation of the September 15^th 2011 blackout that took place.

The Tongil Group has taken the lead in reducing energy usage starting from June when air conditioners begin to be turned on.

In accordance with the energy saving policies laid out by the government, building temperatures are set to 26 degrees and entrances are not permitted to be left open when the air conditioning is running. Also, air conditioner use is sometimes suspended. Efforts are being made to dim lights in the office when everyone has gone for lunch, and setting computers to power saving mode when not in use to prevent the unnecessary waste of electricity.

Also, using fans are effective in staying cool and boosting energy efficiency for an efficient and cool summer.

You can have a safe and cool summer by taking small steps to reduce electricity consumption, and have a summer free of worry of black outs.

The Tongil Group has compiled a list of energy saving methods that can be used at home or in the office.

1. Use a surge protector

Use a surge protector and label what each socket is for using tags, that way you can determine what needs to remain on and what needs to be turned off reducing the consumption of electricity.

2. Regularly clean lighting equipment

If you frequently clean fluorescent lights, standing lamps and other light bulbs you can reduce the loss of electricity the dust has by 10%.

3. Use a refrigerator curtain

Trap the cold air that escapes when opening the refrigerator! It has an energy saving effect of more than 30%

4. Affix contact paper to the windows

By making use of various types of contact paper you can improve your home’s interior and reduce heating and cooling costs by 60~70%.

5. Clean out the vacuum cleaner!

Vacuums runs at heightened output when there is lots of dust that has collected in the vacuum, so remove the dust and set the vacuum to low when using it to reduce electricity consumption.

6. Clean out the air conditioner filter every two weeks!

Once impurities pile up, performance weakens and results in a loss of power. Therefore by regularly cleaning the filter you can reduce the loss of power.

7. Use a screen saver on your computer!

You can reduce power consumption that occurs when not using the computer by 1.5 times.

8. Create an inventory of items in the refrigerator

If you have an inventory of items in the refrigerator you can reduce the time it takes to open the refrigerator to search for a food item.

9. Use the stove on low

If each of the 13 million households in Korea reduce stove settings by 10% 13.8 billion won can be saved each year.

10. Do not keep the rice cooker set to ‘warm’! Just for cooking is OK!