Air conditioning is only turned on for 3 hours a day
On hot sunny days, workers' boarding houses in Thien Loc commune (Hanoi City) are filled with heat from morning to night. In a small rented room, Ms. Cao Thu Trang lives with 3 children who always have to carefully calculate their electricity use.
Previously, Ms. Trang worked as a worker at Thang Long Industrial Park for a long time. After quitting her job, she switched to freelance work outside to have more time to take care of her children. Unstable income, while living expenses are increasing, makes her have to save more.
The prolonged heat makes her children often demand to turn on the air conditioner for comfort. However, to avoid excessively high electricity bills, she is forced to issue strict regulations.
I set a rule that I only turn on the air conditioner for 3 hours a day. Although I don't like it, the children all strictly comply," Ms. Trang shared.
According to her, at noon, the family only turns on the air conditioner for about 1 hour and then switches to using a fan. In the evening, the air conditioner is turned on for about 2 more hours to make it easier for the whole family to sleep, then the machine will automatically turn off in a timer mode.
Not only saving air conditioning, she also tries to limit the use of other electrical appliances. The washing machine is only used when enough clothes are collected, the electric lights are turned off immediately when not needed, and all electrical appliances are turned off after use.
Just using uncontrolled air conditioning, the electricity bill increases very high. Meanwhile, I also have to worry about rent, tuition fees for my children and many other living expenses," she said.
Although the rented room has air conditioning in two different rooms, Ms. Trang still only allows turning on one room to save electricity. Every night, all four mothers and children sleep in a small room together.
In the room, a bunk bed is placed close to the wall, the eldest child sleeps upstairs, the youngest child sleeps downstairs; and Ms. Trang spreads a mat to sleep on the floor to make room for her children.
According to Ms. Trang, normally each month the family has to pay about 600,000 VND for electricity. But on peak hot days, this amount can be up to more than 1 million VND/month.
Workers tighten spending due to worrying about electricity bills
Also struggling with the worry of electricity bills in the hot summer, Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - a worker working at Thang Long Industrial Park - said that his family is having to change many living habits to reduce costs.
Mr. Hung and his wife rented a room with their two young children in Thien Loc commune. The room is less than 20m2 wide but is always hot, especially in the evening.
Everyone is tired after work, just want to turn on the air conditioner to feel comfortable. But looking at the electricity meter running makes me feel heartbroken," Mr. Hung said.
According to him, in the past, his family often turned on the air conditioner almost all night. However, recently, to save electricity, he and his wife only dare to turn it on for about 2-3 hours in the early evening and then switch to using a fan.
Not only that, his family also limits cooking during peak hours, regularly reminding their children to turn off the electricity and fans when leaving the room.
Workers' salaries have to worry about everything, from rent, tuition fees for children to daily living expenses. Just a few hundred thousand VND increase in electricity bills is also a big pressure," the male worker shared.
Mr. Hung believes that saving electricity is not only a solution to cope with summer but also a way to reduce the burden of making a living in the context of increasing costs.
