The governor of Mie prefecture recently published a message to the citizens of his prefecture on energy saving.

The content of the message was that there are concerns that this summer will continue to see the power shortages experienced last year since the incident caused by the Great Tohoku Earthquake on March 11^th 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant.

In response to this, between the 2^nd of July and 7^th of September 2012, Chubu Electric will be attempting a minimum 5% reduction and Kansai Electric a minimum 15% reduction in power consumption from 2010 levels.
In order to reduce problems during this period of energy conservation, citizens are being asked to help contribute by reducing their power consumption.

We will now introduce tips on how to save energy in your home.

1.  Air conditioning: air conditioning is more effective when air conditioning units are set to 28 degrees and combined with a stand-alone electric fan to circulate the air. Using bamboo and reed screens will cut the heat from sunlight coming from windows.

By cleaning the air conditioners filters, you will cut energy consumption and improve the air flow.

2. Refrigerator: You can prevent the cool air escaping when you open the door by using a refrigerator curtain, available to buy at home centers. You can also save energy by moving the refrigerator away from the wall and changing the settings from ‘high’ to ‘medium’.

3. Turn off unnecessary lights.

4. Unplug electrical appliances when not in use as even when they are in stand-by mode they are using electricity. This also applies for personal computers; however, certain models have a power saving ‘eco-mode’.

5. Instead of using your rice cooker several times a day, cook a whole day’s worth of rice and then store it in the freezer.

Out of the electronic devices in the home, the biggest users of electricity are:

1. Iron
2. Kettle
3. Microwave
4. Toaster
5. IH Cooking Heater
6. Vacuum cleaner

Try to avoid using these electrical appliances as much as possible.

By using these tips you can reduce your home’s electricity consumption. By everyone acknowledging the need for cooperation,Japanand its citizens can overcome this period of energy shortages. We appreciate your support.