Question

Saving Electricity
Josephine Campbell

1 Electricity is an important part of life. It powers everything from alarm clocks and lights to refrigerators and toasters. However, many people waste electricity in their homes. They leave lights on in empty rooms. They forget to unplug devices they are not using. Wasting electricity is expensive, and it is harmful to the environment. So what can people do to save electricity?

Basic Ways to Save

2 People can save electricity in many simple ways. For example, many people clean floors with vacuum cleaners, which need electricity to work. Instead of using vacuum cleaners, people can use brooms to sweep floors. Blow dryers also use electricity. Instead of blow-drying hair, people could dry hair with a towel or let it air dry. Clothes dryers also use a lot of electricity. Hanging clothes on a clothesline to dry is a good way to save electricity. During the day, people should try to rely on natural light from windows and doors rather than on lamps that use electricity. In the evening, people should turn on only the lights they need. People who fall asleep with the television on should use sleep timers that turn off the set after an hour or two.

Cooking with Care

3 Many people have electric ovens and stoves, so they need electricity to cook food. However, they may waste electricity when cooking without realizing it. An electric oven uses electricity to warm up and stay hot. When people open the oven door to see food cooking, the oven loses heat and must use more electricity to heat up again. To save electricity, people should look through the oven window to see food or use a timer to notify them when food is ready. Another idea is to cook in a toaster oven, which uses less electricity than a regular oven. Defrosting food in a microwave also wastes electricity. Instead, people should thaw frozen foods by simply setting them in the refrigerator.

Understanding Standby Power

4 Many devices use electricity called “standby power” even when they are not actually being used. For example, the tiny clock on a microwave oven uses power when the microwave itself is off. A mobile phone charger plugged into the wall uses electricity even when it is not attached to a phone. Standby power wastes electricity. To cut down on this waste, devices can be plugged into power strips, which can be turned off easily with the flick of a switch.

Answer 1

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Short summary:
The passage explains simple ways to save household electricity: use non-electric alternatives (broom, towel, clothesline), rely on natural light and turn off unneeded lights, use timers and toaster ovens and avoid opening oven doors, thaw food in the fridge, and reduce standby power by plugging devices into switchable power strips.

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