Rates go up and bills go up every month. It's time to think about how to save electricity in your apartment. Using simple methods, it is not difficult to achieve a 25% cost reduction. Is there no reason to think about energy saving?
General advice
Big savings start with small habits. Many people know how to save energy at home, it is difficult to get a family used to these simple rules. Turn off the lights when you leave the room, unplug chargers when charged, use appliances more efficiently, watch less TV - small lifestyle changes can save you a lot of money.
Light can be saved either with the help of restrictions, or by using the techniques used by the Swedes and Scandinavians. Refusal of heavy curtains, tulle on the windows provides the best lighting. Light-colored walls and floors reflect up to 80% of the sun's rays, which means you'll need to turn on the lighting less often.
It is also important to wash the glass regularly, remove dust from light bulbs, lampshades on chandeliers and wall lights: pollution lowers the light by a third. Windows and doors with good thermal insulation, wiring and modern appliances are wasteful, but they will pay for themselves quickly with lower bills.
The main ways to save energy
In an apartment and in a private house, you can save electricity both on lighting, on the kitchen and on appliances: in every direction it is necessary to reduce costs. It is convenient to work, you can read with a table lamp without turning on a 3-5 horn chandelier. You will need to vacuum less often if you get rid of carpets and dust off regularly. The correct use of household appliances, the choice of energy-saving lamps and devices, the calculation of tariffs are the main resources for a reasonable expenditure of money.
Correct use of electrical appliances
Knowing the secrets will save you a lot of money. How to properly use household appliances so as not to overpay for electricity?
- Devices that don't require uninterrupted power, such as a refrigerator, are best unplugged at night. For this it is convenient to use line filters with switches.
- Do not leave your computer, laptop, printer or other equipment in standby mode. This will reduce the cost of payment by 200 kW per year.
- Place the refrigerator away from heating appliances. To get the family out of the habit of looking at it this way: after opening the door, the energy consumption for cooling increases by 5%.
- Start the washing machine, dishwasher only when fully loaded. Use high quality household chemicals and low temperature conditions.
- Iron things that require gentle treatment, after switching off, with an iron. Iron clothes only after accumulating a few sets, so as not to heat the iron many times. The bedding is easy to smooth after washing and folds neatly.
- Refuse to buy unnecessary equipment: electric fireplaces, coffee makers, thermal pots, decorative lamps do not contribute to the savings. Their functions are often duplicated by other techniques.
Controlling the shutdown of appliances is a hassle, but the cost savings will please the responsible owner. Saving energy at home is as easy as creating new habits.
Purchase of energy-saving appliances
Buying the right appliances is an important part of saving. Modern technology will save money on electricity. What is important to consider?
- Energy efficiency class. It is better to choose A or B. A class A refrigerator consumes from 130 to 300 kWh, categories D and C will increase this figure 2-3 times.
- Dimensions. A family of three is unlikely to need a large refrigerator, it will remain half empty and you will have to pay for its energy consumption.
- Modern technologies. Induction hobs heat only the bottom of the pots, their efficiency reaches 95%!
Portable solar-powered batteries will charge a smartphone, such batteries are also used to charge flashlights, which are used in place of a night light. Power saving modes are built into modern computers, tablets, it is important not to be lazy and to understand how to use it correctly. Disabling and removing unnecessary applications will increase the operating time of your smartphone by 15-20%, which means that you will have to charge it less often.
Applications for LED lamps
Light is a convenient way to save money, many people know how to do it. It is necessary to replace incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones. An incandescent lamp consumes 60 W, a fluorescent lamp - 15 W and an LED - 8 W. The choice is obvious. It is necessary to buy LED lamps from reliable manufacturers, they are more expensive, but due to the long term of use, they justify the costs and give tangible savings. What other advantages do they have?
- Activate immediately.
- The base / ceiling does not heat up.
- The E27 and E14 bases fit most lighting fixtures.
- You can choose warm or cold light, indicated on the package.
Replacing all bulbs is the fastest way to achieve energy savings. Within a month, the saved kilowatts will reduce the cost of electricity by 2 times.
Setting up a two tariff counter
Range of meters with two tariffs: from 7. 00 to 23. 00, from 23. 00 to 7. 00. The installation will pay for itself in a year if there are many appliances in the house that can be turned on at night: washing machine and dishwasher, underfloor heating, air conditioning and even if the owners come home late or work on the computer at night.
Saving in the kitchen
The appliances that consume the most energy are in the kitchen. This is a stove, kettle, refrigerator, microwave. How can energy costs be reduced here?
- Defrost the refrigerator regularly if it is not equipped with a No Frost system.
- If possible, connect a gas stove.
- Buy plates with thick walls and bottoms - food languishes when the heat is off, will have time to cook and will stay hot longer.
- Boil water without reserve - as many cups as you intend to drink.
- Use a thermos. If you fill it with boiling water in the morning, there will be enough water for the whole day.
- A steamer or multicooker allows you to cook several dishes at the same time.
A wise housewife knows how to save energy without compromising the quality of life. Regular descaling of the kettle, closing the pot during cooking, using a pressure cooker are simple recipes for household thrift.
Other ways to save
There are various methods on the Internet to reduce the cost of paying bills. Puzzled about how to save electricity in an apartment with folk remedies, you can find home tricks used by residents to avoid paying for electricity. This is the use of a magnet, wire to lock the tool. When asked how to save energy in the home, advice on zero contact grounding and other illegal methods may come up. The consequences of their use may be too unpleasant to seriously recommend such experiments.
Energy saving devices
Which technique will help you use less electricity? All energy saving devices are designed to turn off the equipment or the light in time.
Is it possible to save money with their help and how to do it, owners of apartments and private houses are thinking. What should be done?
- Install motion and presence sensors in places where a person stays for a short time: closet, corridor, bathroom.
- Use walk-through switches: at the beginning and end of the stairs, a long corridor, they put the keys to turn off the lighting when you leave the room.
- Use the time relay. It is convenient to program flower lamps, fan heaters, even water heaters with a volume of 30–40 liters to operate over a certain period. It is no longer necessary to monitor their timely arrest.
- Configure the thermostats. You can save electricity in your home by setting the water temperature in the boiler, underfloor heating or electric boiler.
You can save money by installing useful devices in your apartment or house. If there are no owners during the day, the heating for this period can be turned down a few degrees so that the thermostat raises the temperature an hour or two before the owners arrive.
How to save electricity in a private house
All the methods listed for apartments work for individual residential buildings, but due to the larger area they can have their own characteristics. Saving electricity in a private house is no more difficult than in an apartment, you just need to know how. Heating is responsible for most of the costs. Underfloor heating, it is better to replace an electric boiler with gas or solid fuel heating. Well insulated walls will limit heat loss. The Russian stove, the fireplace will warm the room and add originality to the interior.
Thrifty owners know how easy it is to save electricity in a private house. During the construction phase, they are planning a cellar or basement that will replace the refrigerator, as well as an outdoor kitchen where they cook using an oven or grill. In the area it is necessary to install solar powered lanterns. The sun will heat the water in the summer and an outdoor shower is energy-free.
Cottage owners know how to save energy in a private house - installing solar panels provides 120 kW from 1 sq m. M. The system requires investment, but it can become a valuable aid in reducing resource costs.
Economy and respect for the environment are the current priorities. Consuming energy wisely will save you money on vacation or study. Many people around the world worry about saving electricity, which means conserving the planet's resources.