How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

A couple of days ago, I hosted a family chama in my house. Some of my aunties had not been to my house before. You know how we ladies are, we love gossiping and pointing at things with our mouths when we think no one is watching. My house has an open kitchen and because of that, they could see what I was doing in the kitchen and basically see everything I have in the kitchen. I, like most Kenyans, is a poor person living like a rich person, this is where we observe a moment of silence, for me. Thank you.

One of my aunts called me to the balcony, she wanted to know what was going on my life and why I was wasting away my life,
‘’Auntie, what do you mean?’’
‘’Are you dating a sugardaddy?”
Who calls them sugardaddy anymore? We have cool names like blessers.
“No, I am not dating an old man.’’
‘’Have you joined illuminati? Do you plan on giving away your poor parents, and brothers before you sacrifice all of us?’’
‘’Auntie, where is this coming from?’’
‘’Enhe, you are going to stand there and play pretend?’’
Before I knew it, she had called her sisters to my bedroom, wrapped me in lesos and covered my dreadlocks, a pastor had appeared from nowhere and they were praying for me. They were chanting in what they call tongues, pushing me this way and shaking my head that way. They smeared anointing oil on my head and chanted prayers that could have chased the colonials away. They prayed for two hours before they finally declared me free from evil spirits.

All the prayers were because I have a silver 535L Side by Side Refrigerator, a 23L microwave oven, a water dispenser with a storage compartment, a 65’ smart TV connected to a sound bar, a ‘small’ washing machine AND no man to show! In a glance, the appliances look like they consume more energy than my rent but the opposite couldn’t be truer.

All my appliances have the energy regulatory certificate, 5 stars, which is something most Kenyan consumers are not aware of. Most people will go for big brands with big descriptions and even bigger sizes. They end up using more energy than they should use because of overlooking the small details that matter.

I have a kettle which I use to boil water with, before cooking. Coffee, kettle to the switch, Ugali, tea and anything in between, kettle to the switch. At the end of the day, I end up saving more and reducing my cooking time significantly.

The lighting in my house is usually dimmed during the day and at night, I use energy saving bulbs which is a great way of saving energy. I know what bulbs to use that could save me a penny or two. Buying bulbs is one of the less thought of things, people do not put in a lot of thought when purchasing bulbs, studies show that people will buy the brightest bulb on the shelf.