When air conditioning becomes a concern
The recent prolonged heat wave has become a nightmare for low-income workers like Ms. Bui Thi Khanh (from Hoa Binh).
Living in a boarding house where the electricity price has just been adjusted up from VND 2,500 to VND 3,000/kWh, her electricity bill last month increased to nearly VND 400,000. For a single mother who is having to support her children's education and care for their elderly parents, this arising cost is a huge burden.
"Working as workers with low incomes and high electricity bills makes us very worried" - Ms. Duong (from Ha Giang), another female worker, shared. Her basic salary of only 6 million VND/month has been struggling to cover the rent of nearly 1 million VND and other living expenses, leaving only a small amount to send to her family.
To cope with the growing electricity bill, many workers have had to set their own electricity usage rules. The air conditioner, which was a lifebuffer during days when temperatures reached 40 degrees Celsius, has now become a luxury device that every time it was turned on, it had to be measured.
Ms. Khanh said that her family only dares to turn on the air conditioner when it is "too hot to bear", and most of the time still has to rely on a regular fan. For them, effective heat resistance must make room for economic problems and comfort must sometimes be exchanged for sweat drops to save every penny.
Tips for using air conditioners with fans
Not only simply limiting the time of use, the female workers also explore and share with each other the secrets of using air conditioners to make the most economical. Ms. Duong said that to reduce the load on the machine and save electricity, she often only installs air conditioners at 26-27 degrees Celsius, a temperature just right to cool but does not have to keep the compressors operating at high capacity.
In particular, a tip applied by her and many other workers is to use air conditioners with fans. "We left the air conditioner in cool mode and used a fan," said Ms. Duong.
According to Ms. Duong, a fan will help circulate cold air throughout the room faster, creating a uniform cool feeling without having to lower the air conditioning temperature too low. Thanks to that, the air conditioner can quickly reach the setting temperature and automatically turn off the compressors, significantly reducing power consumption.
These methods, although small, clearly reflect the hard life of workers far from home. Every time they turn on an electrical device, they not only think about convenience but also have to consider the amount of money they will have to pay at the end of the month. In the context of increasing all expenses, saving electricity is no longer an option, but has become a life skill to help them maintain their health and save a small amount of money to send home to take care of their family.
