Rates are increasing and utility bills are increasing every month. It is time to think about how you can save electricity in your apartment. Using simple methods, it is not difficult to achieve a cost reduction of 25%. Is there no reason to think about saving energy?
General recommendations
Big savings start with little habits. Many people know how to save energy at home, it is difficult to get a family used to these simple rules. Turning off the lights when leaving the room, unplugging chargers from the outlet when the device is charged, using appliances more efficiently, watching TV less time - small lifestyle changes can save a lot of money.
Light can be saved both with the help of restraints and with the techniques possessed by the Swedes and Scandinavians. Rejection 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 have to turn on lighting less often.
It is also important to regularly wash the glass, clean the dust from the bulbs, the lampshades of the chandeliers and the wall lights; pollution dims the light by one third. Well-insulated windows and doors, wiring, and modern appliances are wasteful, but will pay for themselves quickly with a reduction in utility bills.
The main ways to save energy
In an apartment and a private house, you can save electricity both in lighting, kitchen and household appliances; in each direction it is necessary to reduce costs. It is comfortable 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 rugs and dust 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 use household appliances correctly so as not to overpay for electricity?
- Devices that do not require an uninterruptible power supply, 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 paying 200 kW per year.
- Place the refrigerator only away from heating appliances. To make the family unaccustomed to looking at it like this, the energy consumption for cooling, after opening the door, increases by 5%.
- Turn on the washing machine, the dishwasher only on full load. Use high quality household chemicals and low temperature conditions.
- Iron things that require delicate handling, after turning them off, with a cooling iron. Iron your clothes only after accumulating a few sets, so as not to heat the iron many times. Bedding is easy to straighten after careful washing and folding.
- Do not buy unnecessary equipment: electric fireplaces, coffee makers, thermal pots, decorative lamps do not contribute to savings. Its functions are often duplicated with other techniques.
Controlling appliance shutdown is a hassle, but cost savings will please the responsible homeowner. Saving energy in your home is as easy as creating new habits.
Purchase of energy efficient appliances
Buying the right appliances is an important part of saving. Modern technology will save money on electricity. What is important to keep in mind?
- 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.
- Size. A family of three is unlikely to need a large refrigerator, it will be half empty and you will have to pay for its energy consumption.
- Modern technologies. Induction hobs only heat the bottom of cookware, their efficiency reaches 95%!
Portable solar powered batteries will charge your smartphone; These batteries are also used to charge flashlights, which are used in place of a night light. Power saving modes are built into modern computers and tablets, it is important not to be lazy and find out how to use it correctly. Disabling and removing unnecessary apps will increase your smartphone's uptime by 15-20%, which means you'll need to charge it less often.
LED lamp applications
Light is an affordable way to save money, many people know how to do it. Incandescent bulbs need to be replaced with energy-saving ones. An incandescent lamp consumes 60 W, a fluorescent lamp - 15 W and an LED lamp - 8 W. The choice is obvious. You should buy LED lamps from reliable manufacturers, they are more expensive, but due to the long term of use, they justify the costs and provide tangible savings. What other advantages do they have?
- Instantly turns on.
- Base and ceiling do not heat up.
- The E27 and E14 bases fit most luminaires.
- You can choose warm or cool light; this is indicated on the package.
Replacing all the bulbs is the fastest way to see energy savings. Within a month, the kilowatts saved will reduce electricity costs by 2 times.
Two-tariff meter setup
Ranges of measuring devices with two tariffs: from 7: 00 to 23: 00, from 23: 00 to 7: 00. The installation will pay off in a year if there are many electrical appliances at home that can be switchedthe night: a washing machine and dishwasher, underfloor heating, air conditioning, and also if the owners come home late or work on the computer at night.
Savings in the kitchen
The most energy-consuming appliances are in the kitchen. It is a stove, kettle, refrigerator, microwave oven. 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 dishes with thick sides and bottoms - food languishes when the heat is turned off, will have time to cook, and will stay hot longer.
- Boil water without reserve, as many cups as you plan 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 multi-cooker allows you to cook several dishes at the same time.
A wise homemaker knows how to save energy without compromising quality of life. Regular descaling of the kettle, closing the pot when cooking, using a pressure cooker are simple recipes to save at home.
Other ways to save
There are several methods on the Internet to reduce bill payments. Puzzled about how to save electricity in an apartment with home remedies, you may find household tricks used by residents to avoid paying for electricity. This is the use of a magnetic wire to lock the meter. When asked about how to save energy at home, recommendations may come up on how to ground zero contact and other illegal methods. The consequences of its use may be too unpleasant to seriously advise such experiments.
Power Saving Devices
What 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 your help and how to do it? , the owners of apartments and private houses are thinking. What should be done?
- Install presence and motion sensors in places where a person stays for a short time: warehouse, hallway, bathroom.
- Use pass switches: at the beginning and end of the stairs, a long corridor, they put keys to turn off the lighting when leaving the room.
- Use time relay. It is convenient to program flower lamps, fan heaters, and even water heaters with a volume of 30 to 40 liters to work in a certain period. You no longer have to monitor its timely shutdown.
- Configure thermostats. You can save electricity at home by setting the water temperature in the boiler, the underfloor heating mode or the 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 lowered a few degrees, so that the thermostat raises the temperature an hour or two before the arrival of the owners.
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 may 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 homeowners know how to easily save electricity in a private home. During the construction phase, they are planning a cellar or basement that will replace the refrigerator, as well as an outdoor kitchen where they will cook with an oven or grill. In the local area, you need to install solar powered lanterns. The sun will heat the water in summer and an outdoor shower requires no energy.
Cottage owners know how to save electricity in a private house - installing solar panels provides 120 kW of 1 sq. m) The system requires investment, but it can be a great help to reduce resource costs.
The economy and respect for the environment are current priorities. Smart energy consumption will save you money on vacations or studies. Many people around the world are concerned about saving electricity, which means preserving the planet's resources.