The need to save energy will never lose its relevance. Who wouldn't want a reduction in their electricity bill? And saving, it seems, is not that difficult. You don't need ultra-modern appliances and technologies, simple and proven methods are enough.
At the same time, it is important to know not only how to save energy, but also why it should be done. And it's not just about saving on the family budget. By turning off the lights behind you and using energy-efficient solutions, you help preserve nature. But let's talk about everything in order.
The importance of energy saving
Many people don't understand why they save energy. Firstly, this way you can save money in the family budget. Secondly, every day many irreplaceable resources are spent on energy production: coal, oil, gas and emissions from thermoelectric power plants pollute the atmosphere.
In recent years, the volume of greenhouse gases, which appear due to the release of carbon into the environment, has increased rapidly. Their accumulation leads to global warming and natural disasters, which affect every inhabitant of the Earth.
If all people on the planet thought about how to save energy and started using resources efficiently, there would be a chance to preserve nature for future generations. Let's take a look at the best ways to save energy at home.
4 simple ways to save energy
Anyone can take care of nature, it doesn't take much. Let's find out more about what saves energy.
Use of LED lamps instead of conventional ones
LED lamps consume 6-10 times less energy than incandescent lamps. At the same time, their service life is up to 50 times longer. LED lamps are 1. 5-3 times cheaper than energy-saving bulbs and shine 10 times longer.
Types of energy saving lamps:
- Mercury bulbs. They consume 4 times less electricity than incandescent lamps. After use they cannot be thrown away, but must be disposed of in the appropriate containers.
- LED bulbs. These are new generation consumables. They work much longer than mercury ones, consume little electricity and contain no toxins. The only disadvantage of light bulbs is their high cost.
Turn off the lights when you don't need them
The first way to save energy is to use the resource as needed. Sometimes the lack of the good habit of pressing the switch causes the light to be on even during the day or when everyone has left the house. To remind you to turn off the power, you can place a reminder in visible places. For example: "Check electricity, gas, water! "You can also turn off the power to the entire apartment using a common switch before leaving the house.
Heat water in a kettle on a gas stove, if available.
This is another way to save energy at home. It takes many kilowatts to boil water in an electric kettle. This appliance is quite powerful, some options have more than 2 kW. Compared to an LED bulb it consumes approximately 10 watts per hour. This is 200 times less than a teapot.
If you have a gas stove in your apartment, you can heat the kettle. This will reduce electricity consumption.
Using motion sensors
If you have a large private home and an area that needs to be lit, you can install motion sensors. They will turn on the lights when someone enters the area. The devices do not react to animals. In a private house, a lot of electricity is spent on illuminating the area.
It is advisable to position the sensors so that the light turns on based on the person's movement and turns off after he or she has moved on. The device works at a distance of three meters. Motion sensors are one of the effective ways to save energy in a private house.
Similar devices are also available for internal use. They automatically turn on the light in the room when a person enters it. The sensor detects changes in the capacitive component and the light turns on.
Zoning rooms is a great way to save energy
Organize effective lighting of the rooms through correct zoning of the space. Use different light sources in different functional parts of the room: chandeliers, table lamps, bedside lamps, sconces. Each area has its own lighting methods. For example, in the living room install:
- A large chandelier in the center of the room with a two-key switch for adjustment.
- Floor lamp in the recreation area.
- Table lamp on the desktop.
If you need light in a separate area, you can simply turn it on there, instead of always using the main lighting. To maintain normal vision, the room should not be dark when doing creative work or reading. Furthermore, the lack of light negatively affects the nervous system, causing depression or headaches.
Save electricity by using a multi-tariff meter
If you are thinking about how to save electricity in your apartment, you can install a multitariff meter. It will help reduce electricity costs. Ordinary consumers have access to two- and three-tariff meters.
Two-tariff electricity meters calculate energy consumption separately for day and night. The night-time electricity rate is lower than the daytime rate. To save money, you can turn on washing machines and dishwashers after midnight by setting them to delayed start mode.
Not all zones have the option to switch to two tariffs. With this service you can save up to 70% of your energy consumption.
Having a two-tariff meter, you can use devices such as a bread maker or a multicooker, which will prepare you delicious meals at night, saving energy.
For people who use a boiler to heat water, using a two-phase meter will be a good way to save energy adequately. You can set a timer to run the device only at night from 11pm to 7am.
There are meters that divide the day into three periods: "night" – from 11. 00 pm to 7. 00 am, "peak" – from 7. 00 am to 10. 00 am and from 5. 00 pm to 9. 00 pm, "half peak" – from 10am to 5pm and from 9pm to 11pm. Electricity costs are lowest at night and highest during peak hours. Installing meters with multiple tariffs has numerous advantages:
- Use electricity when the cost is minimal.
- The cost of the device is justified if the correct load distribution on the network is observed.
- Three-tariff meters cannot be hacked and reconfigured.
- Possibility of transmitting readings via the Internet.
Often you come across the possibility of using dual rate meters. Three-tariff devices should be purchased by those who spend a lot of electricity during daylight hours. By avoiding the load of the network at peak hours, you can save on electricity, because the morning and evening hours are the most expensive according to the tariff - the cost increases by 70%.
People who live in private homes and heat them with electric boilers must reduce the power of the appliance during peak hours, otherwise they will not be able to reduce energy costs.
Ways to save energy with a boiler and an electric boiler
All owners of cottages and private houses are wondering how to save electricity if heating is carried out using an electric boiler, and water is heated using a water heater. It looks like the boards will be huge. It all depends on your efforts.
It is necessary to carefully consider the heating and hot water supply system.
- Good home insulation. For this purpose, various thermal insulation materials are used. Insulated walls, floors and roofs will retain heat better and you will have to spend less on electricity.
- Installation of an additional heat accumulator. The device is integrated into the heating system in order to accumulate thermal energy during the period of minimum electricity cost and release it when the boiler is turned off during the phase of maximum peak energy consumption. The system works using automatic on and off controls.
- Installation of ventilation systems with recovery, which helps retain heat and return it to the room, as well as preventing cold air from entering from the street.
- Maintaining normal temperature in the apartment at the same level. To do this, it is necessary to install special equipment that will automatically control the temperature in the room when the indicators change outside.
- Use of double circuit boilers, allowing you to heat water in boilers to a comfortable temperature without overheating it, as this increases the load on the electricity grid.
- Install a boiler with good thermal insulation that will keep the water hot for a long time. As a result, the water can be heated during the night, saving on energy costs.
Is it possible to save energy on class A+ appliances?
Home appliances are divided into energy efficiency classes. The advert states that an A+ class refrigerator or washing machine will help you save on electricity costs. Really?
It is worth comparing the actual energy consumption of equipment of different categories to make sure that all models consume approximately the same amount of electricity during operation. The only advantage of higher class appliances is that for the same kilowatt, the refrigerator freezes more and the oven heats up faster. Therefore, replacing equipment will not globally solve the problem of how to save energy at home.
That is, for the same energy consumption, high category models use electricity more efficiently in terms of carrying out their work.
Let's look at an example. A class B refrigerator consumes 485 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. A model of equipment with the same volume and number of class A+ chambers consumes 272 kilowatt hours per year.
To find out how much money you save if you install a high-end refrigerator, you need to multiply the kilowatt hours by the average tariff, for the capital it is 5. 38 rubles. It turns out that you can save 1146 rubles a year.
If a new refrigerator costs 30 thousand rubles, it will pay for itself in 30 years. If you already own equipment purchased many years ago, but which works properly, buying another one will not bring you any savings. In case of serious damage and the need to replace the refrigerator with a new one, choose models taking into account your financial capabilities. Purchasing a more expensive, energy-efficient option does not guarantee a reduction in electricity costs.
Consequences of illegal energy saving
Illegal actions can lead to problems:
- If the electric meter is damaged or magnetized, the owner will be obliged to pay for the use of energy according to the rates and tariffs adopted by the Resolution. As a result, the cost of electricity will be much higher than paying at the meter.
- The owner will have to purchase a new electricity meter which costs from one and a half to four thousand rubles.
- The offender will be subject to an administrative fine of 10-15 thousand rubles (Article 7. 19). If a person steals electricity worth more than 250 thousand rubles, he risks criminal punishment.
- If the energy utility's request is met, the owner will be held civilly liable and will have to pay penalties and interest.
On various information resources, advertisements are posted for special devices that help reduce energy consumption by 25-30%. But you should not think that there is a device that can do this using legal methods. There are real facts confirming that this device will not help save on electricity:
- This is not beneficial to organizations providing resources; they won't allow it.
- According to the laws of physics, this is impossible: you spend as much energy as one kilowatt is consumed from the network by your equipment.
You should not be fooled and commit crimes in pursuit of profit. Better to use legal methods to save energy. This way you will spend less money on electricity bills and will also help reduce your harmful impact on the environment. To do this, you just have to be smart about your resource consumption.