In ancient times, when Alessandro Volta performed his first experiments and Thomas Edison observed the invented light bulb, could they think about how the lives of their descendants would change in relation to their discoveries?Nowadays it is impossible to imagine life without electricity.It is a resource to which everything is linked: information, data, household needs, comfort, communication, leisure.An accident in the electrical grid of a capital paralyzed him.The work of maternity hospitals was stopped, hospitals, water companies, schools and residential buildings were cut off, more than 3 thousand citizens were trapped in the elevator and some, as they say, could not leave their apartments equipped with smart home automation systems.In a sense, we have all become hostages to electricity.Although the stranded citizens still literally turned into them.
By increasing the number of electrical devices in our lives, we inadvertently increase the load not only on the electrical networks of cities, but also on our pockets.In our mothers' and grandmothers' houses there was a television, a refrigerator, and a lucky few had a washing machine.What works and consumes electricity in our homes leaves our grandmothers amazed by its quantity and functionality.
However, all the pleasures in our lives have a price.And even because of the enthusiastic gaze of the grandmothers.Every time we look at the electricity bills, it seems to us as if magical gnomes live in the apartment who have fun spinning the meter wheel, accelerating its movement two or even three times.But no, these are not gnomes.These are our insatiable electronic friends.
To curb the appetite of imaginary gnomes and ease the fortunes of our wallets, we tried to find out whether, in principle, it is possible to save electricity.
To do this, we study the savings methods offered online, both obvious and incredible.We invite you to familiarize yourself with the results of our work.
Obvious ways to save energy
The most obvious, which lies on the surface, is to turn off the light when not in use.If your memory fails, or you have so much to do that you don't have time to reach out and flip the switch, there is a way out.Motion sensors or presence sensors.They settle in rooms and react to the appearance of a person in the room.They turn on automatically when you enter the room and turn off when you leave it.Ask installers to set the sensors so that they do not react to cats and other pets.Otherwise, the electricity payment, instead of the expected reduction, will skyrocket.
Replace incandescent bulbs with their energy-efficient counterparts.And even better: LEDs.They consume much less energy, last longer and shine brighter.If you install sectional lighting and equip the room with several light elements, you can use them alternately as needed.A dimmer (an element that allows you to adjust the brightness of lighting) with constant use will also help reduce energy costs for lighting.Experienced people recommend choosing lamps for rooms according to their degree of use.Obviously, you can hang a dimmer, but less energy-consuming lamp in the pantry than in the living room or kitchen.New generation lamps are more resistant to surges.Well, the last tip about lamps is that you should not be too lazy to clean the dust on them periodically.Dusty lamps give off a dim light and use more energy to heat the dust unnecessarily.
Buy highly energy efficient appliances (class A+)
Modern equipment knows how to spend energy intelligently.Most dishwashers, late-model washing machines and other devices are equipped with an energy-saving eco mode.Use it frequently.If possible, select the lowest oven, washing machine and dishwasher temperatures.
The main energy costs go to heating the device;By heating it to a minimum, you can save a lot.
The load level of the washing machine is also important.Please charge it according to the technical documentation.Overloading or underloading will increase power consumption.The same applies to vacuum cleaners with dirty filters and full dust collectors, air conditioners with dirty insides, refrigerators with ice, kettles with scales and other everyday pleasures.We remember that heating any leftover material increases your costs.A washing machine and dishwasher connected to centralized hot water will use less energy to heat them.But instead of spending on electricity, the amount of payment for hot water supply will increase.And here you must weigh which resource costs you more.
This point, of course, is more logical to include in the list of amazing things, but leave it here anyway.Appliances that are not in use should always be unplugged.When they are on, they consume quite a bit of electricity.Ideally, when designing the electrical wiring, all sockets should be deactivated with a slight movement of the hand.Except the one that powers the refrigerator.Then you can leave the house safely and without fear of fire, power surges or power loss.
If you remove the device from charging immediately after it is finished, you will save energy and contribute to the long life of the device and its charger.
There is no need to unplug the appliances you use regularly throughout the day every time.For example, it would be better to put the computer in sleep mode.Because for some devices turning on and off consumes more power than being in sleep mode.Be sure to remove the disks from the drives.When they are turned on, additional energy is spent on their promotion.
If you have not already installed a separate toggle switch to turn off outlets, use surge protectors for your equipment with the ability to turn off the power.
And a little more about technology.In many high-rise buildings, in accordance with established standards, an electric stove is provided instead of a gas one.
Therefore, buy an induction cooker for apartments on high floors.It is specifically designed to save electricity.But it will be even better if you buy dishes with a flat bottom that exactly fit the size of the stove burner.And when cooking, you will cover the pan with a lid.And finish cooking dinner on a cold burner, turning it off 5 to 10 minutes before it's ready.And while we're at it, we iron delicate and delicate garments with the iron already turned off and cooling.
Kettle?In addition to timely descaling, we recommend that you pour only the amount of water you need.
Now to the refrigerator.And the reforms will not escape him.The refrigerator should not be close to walls or other surfaces.Especially if the surfaces are heated, for example an oven.This will prevent it from overheating.Don't forget to check the rubber gasket and the presence of ice.The main function of a refrigerator is to protect food by keeping it at a low temperature.And if there is a heat source from outside, the refrigerator will try to cool with double the energy (electric).Of course, at your expense.
You can also say a few words about movies.High-quality movies consume more energy, but we don't suggest you save money by watching movies.This is blasphemy.
The repair concept itself can make a small but significant contribution to your salary savings.For those who did not miss physics at school, it is obvious that a light-colored wall covering will save electricity and heat, since, unlike a dark one, it does not absorb it.This also includes cleaning dust from windows and heating appliances.Dust is a known heat absorber.And if, in addition, your windows have greater light transmittance and energy efficiency, this will allow you to save a little more money.
Choose homes with south-facing windows.Then you will receive heat and light directly from the sun and completely free of charge.But this advantage is balanced by the fact that in summer you will have to turn on the split system more often.The south side heats up very quickly and in hot climates these rooms without air conditioning can be uncomfortable.Therefore, keep in mind that small savings in winter can result in large expenses in summer.
A significant part of the heat (and, consequently, the loss of energy for heating the room) goes to the walls to which the radiators are attached.Installing heat reflectors between the wall and the battery will allow you to use the generated heat without the cost of heating the street.According to experts, this measure allows you to increase the air temperature in the living room by 2-3 degrees without additional energy costs.
Let's now move on to those savings methods that in our reality are more incredible than feasible.However, we will tell you about them.
Less likely ways to save
Replace your home's wiring with more efficient wiring by organizing power sources so you can eliminate the need for additional cables and supports.Well, since you're going to rewire anyway, take care of the switch on everything except the refrigerator, which was described above.
Eliminate heat loss.Specialists with a thermal imaging camera will tell you about the weak points in your home.And according to the diagnosis, it will be necessary to strengthen the weak, insulate from the cold and dry out the moisture.In most cases, homeowners will need to additionally insulate walls and replace windows.
If you are the happy owner of individual heating, we recommend that you install a boiler with a thermostat.It is capable of regulating the heating temperature, preventing it from rising above the set temperature.The absence of additional heating is equivalent to saving a small fraction of electricity.
Install a Smart Home system in your home.Automatically sets the optimal energy consumption.With this system you can remotely control the electricity in your apartment yourself.In our opinion, the only drawback of the system will be told to you by colleagues who suffered the accident in 2015. On the other hand, these cases of force majeure are rare and do not cover all the benefits of a smart home.
If you are afraid of the rise of machines and believe in the victory of artificial intelligence over human intelligence, this option is not for you either.
Install electricity generators.Windy, solar.And become energetically independent.You thought this was completely outside the realm of science fiction, right?In vain.
If you plan to move to hot countries, keep in mind that in Greece, for example, solar panels are used as a source of energy, because centralized electricity is very expensive.
Installation of a two-phase meter.The idea is to move the main business to the evening, when the load on the city's electrical grid is minimal and, consequently, the rates are quite cheap.Before changing the meter, make sure you are a night owl and that living a night-time lifestyle (particularly washing dishes, doing laundry, and using appliances) is not burdensome for you.And also make sure that your neighbors are also owls, or take care of additional sound insulation so as not to incur the wrath of your neighbors.
In many regions, representatives of power grids even offer to install two-phase meters for free.But practice has shown that there are still discrepancies in indicators and not entirely correct calculations.Therefore, people are in no hurry to change their usual meters to two-phase ones, despite all their possible benefits.
And the least reliable way to save electricity, included in the top 3 employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the fire service, is independent manipulation of the wiring, as a result of which the line bypasses the meter.Built without knowledge of basic technical safety standards and the laws of physics, these structures become the cause of fires and other disasters.Not to mention the fact that city services can check the equipment and discover their secret plan.For an experienced power engineer, this search will not take much time.And then, instead of saving, you will be forced to pay a rather small fine for your initiative.