The price of energy carriers is growing regularly, so the question of how to save electricity at home is becoming more and more relevant. It should be noted that if ten or fifteen years ago the average family of three did not particularly think about it, since the cost of utilities did not make up the lion's share of the budget, now the situation has changed radically.
At the same time, using all the modern energy-saving possibilities, it is not at all necessary to use dim light, refuse to turn on the necessary devices and "rewind" the meter readings, which threatens offenders with impressive fines. It is important to simply recognize and take for granted the need to save money and adhere to this principle in a way that is very accessible to each of us.
Today on the agenda: how and how much you can save on electricity. Sometimes we all ask ourselves the question, "Am I paying a lot for light (or electricity)? Is it possible to reduce these payments in any way? " But as a rule, the question doesn't go beyond conversations. But in reality, not everything is so scary and difficult. Try to apply the rules described below (or at least some of them) and you will immediately notice the difference.
There are two ways to reduce your electricity bills:
- it changes our behavior slightly
- we use modern energy saving technologies
In the first case, everything will depend only on us, that is, compliance with certain rules will reduce energy costs. The second method involves investing in the purchase of equipment and devices that can significantly reduce electricity consumption. But. . . . . having invested once, you can relax, the technique will do everything for you. And in most cases, the costs pay for themselves within a year.
If we turn to the statistics, the approximate costs in an average apartment of electricity are distributed as follows:
- 25% - electric stove, kettle, microwave and other kitchen appliances
- 21% - refrigerator
- 20% - lighting
- 9% - washing machine, dishwasher
- 11% TV, computer
- 14% - other
Using this data, you can roughly calculate how much and what you can start saving on. Before starting, I recommend that you write down how much energy you consume per month. For what? This will allow you to understand how much you really save by applying certain methods. The result will be visible immediately, and this will give you an added incentive.
Let's start saving energy:
Turn off the light when you go out
Everyone knows the expression, alone. . . . . for some reason we don't use it at home. In vain, this is the simplest and cheapest way to save energy. Make a rule to turn off the lights when you leave the room. The court can also be attributed just like a functioning TV. Such "excesses" cost us around 30% of all lighting costs.
Energy saving lamps
Old incandescent lamps consumed 100 watts, energy saving - 20 watts. 5 times energy saving. Now popular LED lamps with a power of 5 watts. Sure, they're more expensive than both, but for the same lighting brightness they consume A LOT less power and last longer. Don't be stingy and buy. The main thing is to choose those that have a great guarantee - about 2 years. Within a year, LED lamps pay off with a vengeance.
More natural light
Rooms with white or light wallpaper are lighter (pardon the pun) as they reflect 90% of the light. For example, dark tones (closer to black) absorb up to 90% of the light that hits them. Keep windows and lamps clean. Not very clean, dusty, they are able to retain up to 30% of the light. Do not clutter the window sill with flowers and other trifles. Place your workspace near a window. If you don't have enough light, use a low wattage table lamp.
Multi-tariff meters (day-night)
The advantage is that many appliances are always on (refrigerator) or in sleep mode (computer, TV, etc. ). Consequently, in the evening-night time slot, the cost of energy consumption will decrease. If you transfer some energy-intensive operations (washing, cooking, ironing) to the evening, the savings will be even more evident.
Turn off all appliances
First of all, this is equipment that works in standby mode - a computer, a TV, a microwave oven. air conditioning, water heater and many others. Count how many hours (or even minutes) a day you use this or that device. Microwave for 15 minutes, TV - say 2-3 hours, etc.
It turns out that in standby mode, the devices work almost around the clock - 20 - 23 hours. And all this time they are slowly "stealing" our energy, and therefore money. Each individual, of course, does not consume much, but he takes in quantity. For a year, the standby mode costs us about 3, 000 rubles.
Few people know, but many devices still consume energy even if they are turned off, but not pulled out of the network: hairdryer, phone charger.
intelligent technology
Use devices with energy class A (consequently, the highest energy consumption is class G). The difference in energy consumption, even between modern models, can vary greatly. What can we say about obsolete equipment (originally from the 90s onwards). The difference in power consumption can vary, no, not sometimes. Dozens of times!
Many models have an autosave mode. For example, in washing machines and dishwashers, depending on the workload, the system uses the optimum amount of water and energy, thus reducing consumption by 30-40 percent. If you are not planning to change equipment yet, we will save on what we have.
Domestic appliances
Fridge
Proper installation away from direct sunlight, central heating and stoves will save 20-30%. Additional measures: Leave a gap between the refrigerator and the wall for free air circulation. Defrost more often: the higher the frost, the higher the energy consumption. No hot meals in the fridge. Always cover all liquid dishes (soups, compotes). Remember, higher humidity equates to higher energy consumption.
Washing and dishwasher
- Only work fully loaded.
- In the fast and economical washing mode.
- Washing (washing) at low temperatures (where washing at high temperatures is not necessary)
cooking
- If you have gas in your apartment, you are in luck. It is several times cheaper than electricity.
- Boil with the lid closed.
- Always boil water only when necessary.
- The pre-poured water for cooking into the pan itself heats up to room temperature, and the stove needs less energy to heat it further and boil it.
- Residual heat. Turn off the heat 10-20 minutes before the end of cooking. The cooked dish itself will reach the desired condition.
- Heat the dish in the microwave at a time on a large plate, so you can divide it into portions for everyone.
Press
- Laundry that is too dry and poorly dried leads to higher energy consumption. We use the golden mean.
- Switch off the iron 5-10 minutes before the end of ironing. We iron on the residual heat.
- Use an iron with an automatic shut-off function.
Warm up
Up to 50% of the heat loss in an apartment occurs through doors and windows. Our actions are plastic windows (they reduce heat consumption by 80% at once) or a cheaper option - we close all the cracks in windows and doors (we use gaskets). If the house is cool (not cold), do not rush to immediately turn on the heating - sometimes it is enough to wear something warmer from clothes.
As you can see, it's not that difficult to start saving on electricity. You can easily save 30-50%, if you get a little confused, you can generally reduce the payments by 2-2. 5 times. The main thing is to activate the "power saving" mode in your head. You will immediately notice that the payments will go down. Good luck with all your savings.