The price of energy is rising steadily, so the question of how to save electricity at home is becoming more pressing. It should be noted that if ten or fifteen years ago the average family of three did not think much about this, as overhead did not digest the lion’s share of the budget, now the situation has changed radically.
At the same time, taking advantage of all the modern possibilities of energy saving, it is not at all necessary to use low light, refuse to turn on the necessary devices and "rewind" the metering stations, which threatens offenders with impressive fines. in a way that is accessible to all of us.
On the agenda today - how and how much you can save on electricity. Sometimes we all ask ourselves, "Do I pay a lot for light (or electricity)? Is it possible to somehow reduce these payments? " But usually things don’t go beyond conversations. But in reality, not everything is so scary and difficult. Try applying the rules described below (or at least some of them) and you’ll notice the difference right away.
There are two ways to reduce your electricity bills:
- we change our behavior a little bit
- we use modern energy saving technologies
In the first case, everything will be up to us, e. g. following certain rules reduces energy costs. The second method involves investing in the purchase of equipment and tools that can significantly reduce power consumption. De. . . . . once invested, you can relax, the technique will do everything for you. And in most cases, the costs will be recouped within a year.
Turning to the statistics, the approximate cost of an average electricity home is broken down as follows:
- 25% - electric stove, kettle, microwave and other kitchen utensils
- 21% - refrigerator
- 20% - lighting
- 9% - washing machine, dishwasher
- 11% TV, computer
- 14% - other
From this data, you can roughly calculate how much and what you can start saving. Before you begin, I would advise you to write down how much energy you consume per month. Why? This will allow you to understand how much you are actually saving by using certain methods. The result will be immediately visible and this will provide additional encouragement.
Let's start with saving energy:
Turn off the lights when starting
Everyone knows the term, only. . . . . for some reason we don’t use it at home. In vain, this is the easiest and cheapest way to save energy. As a rule, turn off the lights when you leave the room. The court can be attributed in the same way as a working TV. Such "overruns" cost about 30% of total lighting costs.
Energy saving lamps
The old incandescent bulbs consumed 100 watts and were energy efficient - 20 watts. Five times the energy savings. Now popular LED lamps with 5 watts of power. Of course, they are more expensive than both, but at the same brightness they consume MUCH less energy and last longer. Don't be stingy and buy. The point is to choose those that have a great warranty - about 2 years. LED lights pay off in a year.
More natural light
Rooms with white or light wallpaper are brighter (sorry for the pun) as they reflect 90% of the light. For example, dark tones (closer to black) absorb up to 90% of the light that reaches them. Keep windows and lights clean. Not very clean, dusty, able to retain 30% of light. Don’t crowd the windowsill with flowers and other nonsense. Place the workspace near a window. If you do not have enough light, use a low-power table lamp.
Multi-tariff meters (day-night)
The advantage of this is that many appliances are always on (refrigerator) or in sleep mode (computer, TV, etc. ). Accordingly, the cost of energy consumption decreases in the evening-night period. If we carry over some energy-intensive operations into the evening (washing, cooking, ironing), the savings will be even more noticeable.
Turn off all devices
First of all, it is a device operating in standby mode: computer, TV, microwave. air conditioning, water heater and much more. Count how many hours (or even minutes) you use this or that device per day. 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 the time, they are slowly "stealing" energy from us, so money. Of course, not every individual consumes too much, but quantity. Standby costs about 3, 000 rubles a year.
Few people know, but many appliances consume power even when it is turned off but not unplugged: hair dryer, phone charger.
smart technology
Use energy class A devices (accordingly, the highest energy consumption is class G). The difference in energy consumption can differ significantly even between modern models. What about obsolete equipment (originally from the 90s and older). The difference in energy consumption can be different at times, no, no. Dozens of times!
Many models have an automatic save mode. For example, in washing machines and dishwashers, depending on the load, the system uses the optimal amount of water and energy, thus reducing consumption by 30 to 40 percent. If you do not plan to change equipment yet, we will save on what we have.
Appliances
Refrigerator
Proper installation away from direct sunlight, central heating and a stove saves 20-30%. Additional measures: leave a gap between the refrigerator and the wall to allow free airflow. Defrost more often - the greater the frost, the higher the energy consumption. There is no hot food in the fridge. Always cover all liquid food (soup, compote). Keep in mind that higher humidity equals higher energy consumption.
Washing machines and dishwashers
- Only work at full load.
- Fast and economical wash mode.
- Low temperature washing (where no high temperature washing is required)
Cooking
- If there is gas in your apartment, you are in luck. It is several times more economical than electricity.
- Bring to the boil with the lid closed.
- Always boil as much water as you need.
- The water pre-poured into the pan for cooking heats up to room temperature and the stove needs less energy to heat and boil it further.
- Residual heat. Switch off the hob 10-20 minutes before the end of cooking. The cooked food itself reaches the desired state.
- Preheat the pan in the microwave in one large plate at a time - then you can divide it into portions for everyone.
ironing
- Over-dried and under-dried laundry means increased energy consumption. We use the golden mean.
- Turn off the iron 5-10 minutes before the end of ironing. Iron the residue over heat.
- Use an iron with an automatic shut-off function.
Warming up
In an apartment, up to 50% of heat loss occurs through windows and doors. Our actions are either plastic windows (reducing heat consumption by 80% at a time) or a more economical solution - we close all gaps in windows and doors (we use seals). If the house is cool (not cold), don’t rush to turn on the heating right away - sometimes it’s enough to wear something warmer.
As you can see, it’s not that hard to start saving energy. You can easily save 30-50% if you get a little confused, you can usually reduce your payouts by 2-2, 5 times. The point is to turn on "energy saving" mode in your head. You will immediately notice that payments will be reduced. Good luck with all your savings.