Electricity and its high cost, a main concern to anyone who either rents or owns a home. In Anguilla, electricity is distributed by Anglec. Before 1975, electricity was limited to The Valley and five hundred meters past the generator system mainly because electricity consumption was very low at the time. With the added travelers and people arriving to Anguilla, a more advanced electrical grid was put in place which and now supplies the entire island.

In this article we will discuss some of the ways in which you can keep your energy consumption down and still enjoy the use of modern conveniences, like television, cell phones, computers, video games and entertainment centers?

First, check all of your electronics. If the cords are frayed, kinked, or wires showing, then they need to be replaced. With the climate of Anguilla, the only electrical item that would need to be on all the time is the refrigerator to prevent the food from spoiling. Unfortunately Appliances still pull electricity even if they are off so you may want to consider unplugging all items not in use to keep your electric bill down.

Air conditioning can be turned down or set up in a way that you can control it. For example, you can have it go on an hour before you go to bed and off when the room cools down. For your computers and entertainment centers, try not to overload the surge protectors. Not only do they get extremely hot and can cause a fire hazard but also to keep your computer from getting jolted if there is a storm and electricity goes out.

Refrigerators need to be dusted in the back, seals checked, and filled. A Full freezer and refrigerator keeps electricity down as compared to being empty. If you don’t have anything to fill the freezer, put gallon bottles of water so when they freeze, they can help keep the rest of the fridge cold. If it is old, get a new energy efficient one, of course only if you can afford to while reading this. It will save you money and it’s less expensive to run.

Washers and dryers also need to be up to date and modern. Try to wash your clothes in cold water, hang your clothes out to dry, or don’t overdo it when your clothes are in the dryer, take advantage of the island sun. Make sure all the loads are actually full and separate the clothes into light and dark. Though it’s common sense, make sure the dryer vent goes to the outside of the building to keep the heat in the house down. Clean the lint from the lint catcher after every use. Dryers that use gas bottles to help generate the heat also pulls way less energy!

Change your light bulbs! In the areas you use the most, go with an Energy Star light bulb or fixture. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), get rid of halogens as they are extremely hot, and CFLs last longer, approximately ten times longer than other bulbs. Use motion detectors outside instead of having a light on all the time.

Use a timer for your electricity. When you are out, set up a timer to keep off the television, your lights, anything that you don’t need to have on either at night or while you are away.

For people who are interested in more advance methods of controlling their energy consumption ANGLEC has a home monitoring system that you can access to get instant notice about what is happening including the cost, amount used, and estimate monthly billing. Check on their website for a monitor for home display units and ones that can monitor the devices in your home to see which ones are the most energy suckers.

ANGLEC is always introducing new ways to keep electricity consumption down and being an island, electricity is limited and needs to be conserved.

Living on an island does have its perks. However, electricity is a resource which is in limited supply and if you are going to use, then conserve.

Visit Anglec’s website at www.anglec.com for more info.