Ecobreves – CUBA: Simple Device to Economize Electricity

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

HAVANA, May 10 2010 (IPS) - Cuba has begun producing devices made from clay to be placed in household electric ovens to help save energy, company officials from the factory in the coastal municipality of Gibara told Tierramérica. Aurelio Corella, from the Empresa Constructora de Obras del Poder Popular in this town in the eastern province of Holguín, estimated the artisanally-made device helps save around two tons of petroleum for every two and a half minutes that 200,000 electric ovens are operating.

There are more than 2.8 million electric ovens in Cuba, sold to the population as part of a 2005 strategy for the more rational and efficient use of the island's energy resources.

“The device goes inside the plate, under the oven resistance. When disconnected from the current, the piece maintains the heat and refracts it. The country saves electricity and households reduce their bills for electrical service,” said Corella.