To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. Simply pressing a button to get the minimum bills will not work. And living without light is somehow not comfortable at all.
The importance of saving energy
Although energy resources were worth only pennies, no one thought about the need to save electricity. But since then, as the amounts in payments have grown a lot, there has been a significant interest among the population in the methods 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 decreasing the reserves of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production, on the contrary, is growing. Unfortunately, the salary of ordinary residents of our country does not show such a frantic growth, so there is no other way out than to look for effective ways to save electricity.
There is another reason to save: colossal loads in transformer substations. Every year more electrical appliances appear in people's homes. Naturally, power lines and substations may not withstand, they must be repaired or replaced with more powerful ones.
In addition, due to electricity savings, emissions of processed products to the atmosphere and water sources are reduced. Resource-saving people make their humble contribution to conserving rivers, lakes and forests and helping to preserve the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Reduce the need
How can you save energy at home without additional appliances and investments? It is very simple. You just need to think about how much light we really need and use the following tips from seasoned innovators:
- Try to use less electric light. This does not mean a return to primitive times, when the activity of life took place only during the day. You can try to do all the things that require bright lighting during the day and at night limit yourself to one lamp to illuminate the rest of the work.
- When studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you need to know that the degree of illumination depends on the cleanliness of the lighting fixtures. If your kitchen lampshade is covered with a layer of "centuries-old" grease and dust, you shouldn't expect bright light from it. And if the ceiling is clean, then the light penetrates perfectly through it, which means that you can use a smaller bulb.
- The windows also need to be washed more often, because this 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 light them 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 a dimmer. It allows you to adjust the degree of illumination of each luminaire.
- Swap standard incandescent bulbs for energy efficient models. Recently, many began to worry about the question: do LED lamps save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume a meager amount of energy and emit a decent amount of 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 a simple way of saving.
Use of multiple rate 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 power plants operate almost idle. How to save energy with a meter that calculates the energy consumed during the day at the usual price, and at night, allows you to pay 30% less? If the home has appliances that are used around the clock (refrigerator, electric heat, etc. ), then a multi-tariff meter will help lower your electricity bill. Washing can be started at night and at the same time the power of the heating devices can be increased to completely turn them off during the day.
Rational use of technology
In every home there are devices that never turn off the plugs. But not everyone knows that even in "sleep" mode they consume electricity. Each individual device has a very small amount of such support power, but you get an impressive amount in a month. To avoid unnecessary waste, simply unplug the plugs of all devices from the sockets during their "idle time".
Note: Using old, low-quality wiring and a large number of extension cords and multiple tees also increases household electricity consumption.
Technical innovations
People who dream of learning how to properly save electricity in an apartment should evaluate each of their household appliances. After all, old models of refrigerators and televisions consume a lot of energy - 2 times more than modern models. Try gradually to replace all outdated appliances with energy-efficient models. The labels usually indicate the degree of economy, class A is the most profitable.
Recently, cheaper power consumption classes have appeared, such as A +, A ++.
Smart devices have now begun to appear on sale, they can independently calculate the amount of detergent or laundry detergent based on the weight of dishes or clothes, and monitor water consumption. The refrigerators can go into super economy mode during the owners' holidays.
Fridge
Probably, a million articles have already been written on the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people, anyway, still stubbornly keep putting this unit near the heating coil, the stove and on the side. sunny. But in this case, the refrigerator heats up quickly from nearby heat sources and consumes much more electricity. It is also recommended 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. Be sure to defrost the refrigeration unit as needed and free it of accumulated ice, making the appliance easier to operate and reducing your "energy appetite". Make sure the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce energy bills, then when shopping for a new refrigerator, do not move to the larger and more spacious model if there are 2-3 people permanently living in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
A vacuum cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner starting to draw more energy from the network than it should, it must be cleaned periodically and in a timely manner of accumulated layers of dust, since, being full, it consumes 15-20% more. And don't turn the vacuum cleaner on / off too often either; spends the most energy on these actions.
Electric stove
An electric stove is a device that consumes a lot of energy. You can reduce energy costs by following these recommendations:
- If the recipe for the dish does not state that the oven should be preheated at the time the dish is placed, you should not turn it on ahead of time.
- Turn off the cooking zone 5-10 minutes before the end of the cook time. There will be enough residual heat to cook it.
- Pans should always be covered with lids.
- When boiling eggs and vegetables, add enough water 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, because it will consume much less electricity for this process.
- For fast foods, use a microwave or multi-cooker, not an oven.
Washer
It is very difficult to imagine modern life without a washing machine, but it also "consumes" a lot of electricity, about 15% of the total consumption. To save some money, use these tricks:
- Wash with quick and economy modes
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but rather undercut the clothing until fully loaded. But you can't overload the car either.
- Use low temperature settings for normal washing.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it properly:
- Set the temperature to an optimum temperature enough to cool, not freeze, the room.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with the windows or doors open.
- When buying an air conditioner, be sure to calculate the area of the room that will be cooled. Do not take too powerful for a small room, because this is a waste of electricity.
- Be sure to clean the air conditioner fans, filters, and louvers so you don't have to run at high speeds.
Heaters
In fall, winter, and early spring, we often have to get multiple heaters from household containers. After all, heating often goes on and off for a long time. That's why we use energy-consuming heaters, although that heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in relatively warm weather, be sure to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors, etc. It is better to replace old windows with plastic ones. And if this is not possible, at least try to close all the cracks and microcracks on the frames and next to the glass. Through them, up to 50% of the heat is removed. Do the same manipulations with the entrance doors.
If the heating has already been turned on and the batteries are still cold, you need to call a master who will check if there is water in them.
The use of solar energy
Solar energy has long been actively used in many countries with hot climates. Some even managed to completely abandon all other sources. The technology is very attractive, but without government support, it is often a daunting task for individual households, as solar panels and other structural elements are very expensive and pay for themselves over many years.
To know how to save electricity with the help of the sun, it is advisable to read special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the project stage. Many people try to do the whole structure on their own, but they do not take into account all the nuances and difficulties, so they often fail.
Wind power
Home wind generators in regions with high air mass activity can significantly reduce electricity costs, and if there is a special meter, they can also make money from the electricity generated. But, such devices, as well as solar stations, cost a lot of money 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
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used, which also controls the level of energy consumption. Sensors are placed throughout the home 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 on its own, it must be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the inhabitants of the house are scattered in the morning about their affairs, the system will turn off the air conditioning or kitchen lighting, lock the door, or start washing.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a fairly expensive "Smart Home" system, you can get by on "little blood" and install motion sensors on the premises. After all, we often just forget to turn off the light when leaving the house or fall asleep with the light. But if the rooms are equipped with motion sensors, they will turn off the lighting themselves. They can be adjusted so that the light turns off only 5-10 minutes after the person leaves the room. After all, children are constantly running around, and adults can move around the house very quickly.
Such a sensor is very useful in the hallway, where only light is needed to pass to another room. In order not to constantly turn on the switch or keep the light in the hall constantly on, you can place the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale are energy-saving lamps with integrated motion sensors.
Saving electricity is not very difficult, 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 money, it immediately turns out that it is done so that the electricity bills are small.