To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. There is no such option to simply press a button to get the minimum bills. And living without light is somehow not comfortable at all.
The importance of energy saving
Although energy resources were inexpensive, no one thought about the need to save energy. But since then, as payment amounts have grown a lot, there has been considerable interest among the population in ways to save electricity and other resources. Villagers are concerned about how to save electricity in a private house, while city dwellers are looking for information on how to save electricity in an apartment.
The increase in tariffs is completely justified, because the planet is rapidly reducing the stocks of exhaustible energy resources and the cost of their production, on the contrary, is growing. Unfortunately, the salaries of ordinary residents are not showing such a frenzied growth, so there is no other way out than to look for effective ways to save electricity.
There is another reason to save: the colossal load on transformer substations. More and more electrical appliances appear in people's homes every year. Of course, power lines and substations may not withstand, they need to be repaired or replaced with more powerful ones.
Furthermore, thanks to the saving of electricity, the emissions of processed products into the atmosphere and water sources are reduced. People who conserve resources make their humble contribution to the conservation of rivers, lakes and forests and help protect the health of the nation.
Effective and legal saving methods
Reduction in demand
How can you reduce your energy consumption without appliances and additional investments? It's very simple. We just have to think about how much light we really need and use the following advice from experienced innovators:
- Try to use less electric light. This does not mean a return to primitive times, when the activity of life took place only in the light of day. You can just try to do all the things that require bright lighting during the day and in the evening limit yourself to one lamp to illuminate the rest of the work.
- Studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, it is necessary to know that the degree of illumination depends on the cleanliness of the lighting fixtures. If the lampshade in the kitchen is covered with a "centuries-old" layer of grease and dust, then you should not expect bright light from it. And if the ceiling is clean, then the light penetrates perfectly through it, which means you can use a smaller bulb.
- The windows also need to be washed more often, because that way the daylight hours for you will last a little longer and you can turn on the electricity later.
- In chandeliers with several bulbs, you can turn them on not all at once, but one or two. For desk work, use a desk lamp in combination with low ceiling lighting.
- A very useful invention is the dimmer. Allows you to adjust the degree of illumination of each lamp.
- Replace standard light bulbs with energy saving ones. Recently, many have begun to worry about the question: do LED lamps save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume a small amount of energy, emitting enough light.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room. This, of course, is quite difficult if there are children in the house who are very difficult to get used to such an easy way to save.
Use of multi-tariff meters
Electricity can cost differently at different times of the day. This is due to the fact that during the day it is consumed in large quantities, and at night the power plants work practically idle. Therefore, you can save energy with a meter that calculates the energy consumed during the day at the normal price, and for the night it allows you to pay 30% less.
If the house has appliances that are used around the clock (refrigerator, electric heater, etc. ), a multi-tariff meter will help reduce the electricity bill. Washing can be started at night and at the same time it is possible to increase the power of the heating devices to turn them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
In every home there are devices that never switch off from the sockets. But not everyone knows that even in "dormant" mode they draw electricity. Every single device has a very small amount of that support power, but a staggering amount is achieved in a month. To avoid unnecessary waste, simply unplug all devices from the sockets during their "inactivity time".
Note:Using old, low quality cables and lots of assorted extension cords and tees will also increase your household electricity consumption.
Technical news
People who want to know how to intelligently reduce the cost of electricity in an apartment should evaluate each of their appliances. After all, the old models of refrigerators and TVs consume a lot of energy, 2 times more than modern models. Try gradually replacing all outdated appliances with low-energy models. The labels usually indicate the degree of economy, class A being the most profitable.
Recently, cheaper energy consumption classes have appeared, such as A +, A ++.
Smart devices have begun to appear on sale now, they are able to independently calculate the amount of laundry detergent or detergent based on the weight of dishes or laundry and control water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super-economy mode during the owners' holidays.
Vacuum cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from taking more energy from the mains than it should, it must be regularly and over time cleaned of accumulated layers of dust, because, being full, its consumption increases by 15-20%. Also, do not turn the vacuum cleaner on / off too often - it spends more energy to perform these actions.
Refrigerator
Probably a million articles have been written about proper refrigerator installation and thousands of videos have been shot, but our people still stubbornly keep putting this unit next to the heating coil, stove and on the sunny side. But in this case, the refrigerator quickly heats up from nearby heat sources and consumes much more electricity. It is also advisable to leave a small free space between the refrigerator and the wall to ensure the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the room where the refrigerator is located is cool. Do not forget to defrost the refrigeration unit as needed and free it of accumulated ice, facilitating the operation of the appliance and reducing its "energy appetite". Check that the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce your electricity bills, when buying a new refrigerator, do not "swing" on the largest and most spacious model if 2-3 people live permanently in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
Electric cooker
The electric stove is a device that consumes a lot of energy. You can reduce your energy costs by following these guidelines:
- If the recipe for a dish does not indicate that the oven must be preheated when the dish is inserted, it is not necessary to turn it on in advance.
- Switch off the plate 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. There will be enough residual heat to cook it.
- Pots should always be covered with lids.
- When boiling eggs and vegetables, add enough water just to cover the food.
- It is important to use good flat-bottomed pans. Ideal for an electric stove - pots and pans with a thick bottom.
- To boil water for tea or coffee, do not use a stove, but an electric kettle, as it will consume much less electricity for this process.
- For quick meals, use the microwave or multicooker, not the oven.
Washing machine
It is very difficult to imagine modern life without a washing machine, but it also “eats” a lot of electricity, about 15% of total consumption. To save money, use these tricks:
- Wash with the Quick and Economic modes.
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but undermine the laundry until it is fully loaded. But you can't overload the car either.
- For normal washing, use low temperature settings.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, make it work properly:
- Set the optimum temperature just enough to cool, not freeze, the room.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with open windows or doors.
- When buying an air conditioner, be sure to calculate the area of the room that will cool. Don't get too powerful for a small room, as this is a waste of electricity.
- Be sure to clean the fans, filters and grilles of the air conditioner so that it does not have to run at high speeds.
Heaters
In autumn, winter and early spring, we often have to take various heaters from our bins. After all, the heating is often turned on and off for a long time. So we use energy-consuming heaters, although such heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in a relatively hot season, take care to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors. It is better to replace old windows with plastic ones. And if that's not possible, then at least try to seal all cracks and micro-cracks in the frames and near the glass. Up to 50% of the heat passes through them. Do the same manipulations with the front doors.
If the heating has already been turned on and the batteries are still cold, you need to call a wizard who will check if there is water in them.
Use of solar energy
Solar energy has long been actively used in many countries with warm climates. Some have even managed to completely abandon all other sources. The technology is very interesting, but without government support, it often turns out to be an overwhelming task for individual households, as solar panels and other structural elements are expensive and pay off for many years.
It is recommended to read the special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the design stage. Many people try to make the whole structure on their own, but do not take into account all the nuances and intricacies, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Domestic wind generators in regions with a high activity of air masses can significantly reduce electricity costs, and if there is a special meter, they can also make money from the generated electricity. However, such devices, like solar stations, cost a lot and require installation by specialists.
It happens that the owners of such power plants incorrectly calculate the power of wind flows, and this leads to forced downtime of expensive equipment.
Smart home system
Probably everyone has seen movies in which the hero claps his hands or calls a password, and at this moment the lights go on or off, the window curtains open, the fireplace starts to work. This is the "Smart Home" system.
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used that also controls the level of energy consumption. There are sensors throughout the house that take readings and determine the amount of electricity used in each room. The computer analyzes and proposes solutions to optimize energy use.
The system will not work by itself, it must be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the inhabitants of the house disperse in the morning for their business, the system turns off the air conditioner or lighting in the kitchen, closes the door or starts the washing.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive "Smart Home" system, you can get away with "little blood" and install motion sensors on the premises. After all, we often just forget to turn off the light when we leave the house or fall asleep with the light. But if the rooms are equipped with motion sensors, they will turn off the lighting.
They can be adjusted so that the light goes out only 5-10 minutes after a person leaves the room. After all, children are constantly running back and forth, and adults can move around the house very quickly.
Such a sensor is very useful in the hallway, where light is only needed for passing into another room. In order not to constantly operate the switch or always keep the light on in the corridor, you can put the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale there are energy-saving lamps with integrated motion sensors.
It is not very difficult to save electricity, you just need to tune in and agree on this with all family members. The main obstacle is ourselves and our beliefs. As soon as we realize the need to save, we can immediately make sure that the electricity bills are small.