Energy saving tips on tap

Energy saving tips on tap
By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter GULF NES Published: August 10, 2008, 00:02

Dubai: Using water and electricity too abundantly is not in anyone's best interest in this time of energy conservation so Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has launched a campaign to help residents use less of the UAE's resources.

The campaign, Now That You Know, Don't Let it Go, focuses on the behaviour of consumers when it comes to wasting water and electricity.

For example to meet residents' daily demand of electricity requires 7,000 workers, 1,219 kilometres of overhead lines and 2,129 kilometres of underground cables.

There are 43 desalinating units and 769km of pipeline to get water to your house where it might be wasted and used to wash sand off your driveway or used more carefully with water saving faucets.

The campaign is a sequel to the Your Decision campaign that marked the introduction of a slab-based tariff system.

The new campaign, which will be implemented at government departments, private companies and shopping malls, aims to educate the public on avoiding wasting water and power to help save the environment and natural resources.

Watering your garden before 8am or after 6pm and avoiding doing so on windy days, and in several short sessions rather than one long one, is the best way to keep your lawn healthy.

Dewa also advises people to only water when the lawn needs it.

Overwatering promotes shallow root growth making your lawn less hardy. To determine if your lawn needs to be watered, simply walk across the grass. If you leave footprints, it's time to water.

Amal Koshak, manager of investors services at Dewa's Customer Relations Department, said the campaign will contribute in educating consumers on the need for the prudent use of water and electricity through highlighting best practices in the areas of saving natural resources.

The campaign also aims to highlight the huge effort and cost behind delivering water and electricity to consumers, including the maintenance and management of water and electricity lines and networks across the expanding emirate.

For instance, washing machines can use as much as 110 to 130 litres of water per cycle and dishwashers up to 35 litres per cycle. Yet a full dishwasher is more water-efficient than washing the same load by hand.

"This campaign is an integral part of the Your Decision campaign which targets all segments of society, including individuals and organisations.

"The new initiative provides practical yet simple tips to reduce water and electricity consumption and thus preserve the environment and natural resources of the emirate.

"We want to enhance consumer awareness on a very critical environmental issue that requires the involvement of both public and private sectors in Dubai."