Energy conservation never loses its importance. Who doesn't want their electricity bill to go down? And saving, as it turns out, is not so difficult. There is no need for ultramodern household appliances and technologies, simple, proven methods are sufficient.
At the same time, it is not only important to know how to save energy, but also why it should be done. And it's not just about saving the family budget. By turning off the lights and using energy-efficient solutions, you contribute to the preservation of nature. But let's talk about everything in order.
The importance of energy conservation
Many people do not understand why it is necessary to save energy. First of all, this way you can save money in the family budget. Second, many irreplaceable resources are used every day for energy production: coal, oil, gas and emissions from thermal power plants pollute the atmosphere.
In recent years, the amount of greenhouse gases, which appear due to the release of carbon into the environment, has been increasing rapidly. Their accumulation leads to global warming and natural disasters, which affect all the inhabitants of the Earth.
If every person on the planet thinks about how to save energy and how to start using resources efficiently, then there is an opportunity to preserve nature for future generations. Let's look at the best ways to save energy at home.
4 simple ways to save energy
Anyone can take care of nature, it just takes a little. Learn more about what makes it possible to save energy.
Using LED lights instead of traditional lights
LED lamps consume 6-10 times less energy than incandescent lamps. At the same time, their lifespan is up to 50 times longer. LED lamps are 1. 5-3 times more economical than energy-saving light bulbs and last 10 times longer.
Types of energy-saving lamps:
- Mercury bulbs. They consume four times less electricity than incandescent lamps. They cannot be thrown away after use, but must be disposed of in special containers.
- LED bulbs. These are new generation consumables. They last much longer than mercury, consume little electricity and contain no toxins. The only disadvantage of light bulbs is their high cost.
Turn off the lights when not needed
The first way to save energy is to use the resource as needed. Sometimes the lack of a good habit of pressing the switch results in the fact that the light is on even during the day or when everyone has left the house. If you remember to turn off the power, place a reminder in visible places. For example: "Check electricity, gas, water! "With a common switch, you can turn off the power supply to the entire apartment before you leave the house.
Heat water in a kettle on a gas stove, if you have one.
This is another way to save energy at home. It takes many kilowatts to boil water in an electric kettle. This household appliance is quite powerful, some options are more than 2 kW. Compared to an LED bulb, it consumes about 10 watts per hour. That's 200 times less than a teapot.
If you have a gas stove in your apartment, you can heat the kettle on it. This reduces power consumption.
Use of motion sensors
If you have a large private house and need to light it, you can install motion sensors. They 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 lighting the area.
It is worth placing the sensors in such a way that the lamp lights up according to the person's movement and then goes out after the person moves on. The device works from a distance of three meters. Motion detectors are an effective way to save energy in private homes.
Similar devices are also available for indoor use. They automatically turn on the light in the room when someone enters it. The sensor detects changes in the capacitive component and the lamp lights up.
Zoning rooms is a great way to save energy
Organize the effective lighting of the rooms with the appropriate zones of the space. Use different light sources in different functional parts of the room: chandeliers, table lamps, bedside lamps, lamps. Each zone has its own lighting method. 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 table.
If lighting is needed in a separate area, you can simply turn it on there instead of always using the main lighting. In order to maintain normal vision, the room should not be dark during creative work or reading. In addition, the lack of light negatively affects the nervous system, which leads to depression or headaches.
Electricity savings with multi-tariff meters
If you are thinking about how to save electricity in your apartment, you can install a multi-tariff meter. It helps to reduce the cost of electricity. Ordinary consumers have access to two- and three-tariff meters.
Two-tariff electricity meters calculate energy consumption during the day and at night separately. The electricity tariff at night is lower than the daytime tariff. To save money, you can turn on washing machines and dishwashers after midnight by setting them to a delayed start mode.
It is not possible to switch to two tariffs in all areas. With this service, you can save up to 70% of your energy consumption.
With a two-tariff meter, you can use devices such as a toaster or a multicooker, which will prepare delicious meals for you at night, while saving energy.
For those who use a boiler to heat water, using a two-phase meter is a good way to save energy. You can set a timer so that the device is only used at night from 11 pm to 7 am.
There are meters that divide the day into three periods: "night" - from 23. 00 to 7. 00, "peak" - from 7. 00 to 10. 00 and from 17. 00 to 21. 00, "semi-peak" -Between 10: 00 and 17: 00 and 21: 00 and 21: 00. Electricity costs are lowest at night and most expensive during peak hours. Installing multi-tariff meters has many advantages:
- Use of electricity when the cost is minimal.
- The cost of the device is justified if the proper distribution of the load on the network is observed.
- Three-tariff meters cannot be hacked and reconfigured.
- Ability to transmit data via the Internet.
You often come across the possibility of using two-tariff meters. Three-tariff devices should be purchased by those who spend a lot of electricity during daylight hours. By avoiding the load on the network during peak hours, you can save electricity, because according to the tariff, the morning and evening hours are the most expensive - the cost increases by 70%.
People living in private houses who heat with an electric boiler must reduce the power of the device during peak times, otherwise they cannot reduce energy costs.
Ways to save energy with a boiler and an electric boiler
All owners of summer houses and private houses are concerned with the question of how they can save electricity if heating is done with an electric boiler and water is heated with a water heater. It looks like the boards are going to be huge. It all depends on your efforts.
The heating and hot water supply system must be carefully considered.
- Good home insulation. Different thermal insulation materials are used for this purpose. Insulated walls, floors and roofs retain heat better and use less electricity.
- Installation of additional heat storage. The device is integrated into the heating system in such a way that it accumulates thermal energy during the period of minimum electricity costs and releases it during the phase of maximum peak energy consumption when the boiler is turned off. The system works with automatic on and off buttons.
- Installation of ventilation systems with recovery, which helps retain heat and return it to the room, as well as prevent cold air from entering from the street.
- Maintaining the normal temperature in the apartment at the same level. For this, special equipment must be installed, which automatically regulates the temperature of the room when the indicators change from the outside.
- Use of double-circuit boilers, which allows you to heat the water in the boilers to a comfortable temperature without overheating, as this increases the load on the electrical network.
- Installation of a well-insulated boiler that keeps water warm for a long time. As a result, the water can be heated at night, saving energy costs.
Can you save energy on A+ class household appliances?
Home appliances can be classified into energy efficiency classes. The ad states that an A+ class refrigerator or washing machine will help you save on electricity costs. Is this really?
It is worth comparing the actual power consumption of different categories of equipment to make sure that each model consumes approximately the same amount of power during operation. The only advantage of higher-class devices is that the refrigerator freezes more than the same amount of kilowatts, and the oven heats up faster. Thus, the replacement of equipment does not globally solve the problem of energy saving at home.
In other words, with equal consumption, high-end models use electricity more efficiently in terms of doing their work.
Let's look at an example. A class B refrigerator consumes 485 kilowatt hours per year. An A+ class equipment model with the same volume and number of chambers consumes 272 kilowatt hours per year.
To find out how much money you will save by installing a high-end refrigerator, you need to multiply the kilowatt-hour 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 have equipment that was purchased many years ago but is working properly, buying another one is not a savings. In case of severe damage and the need to replace the refrigerator with a new one, choose the models taking into account your own financial possibilities. Buying the more expensive, high-energy-efficiency option does not guarantee a reduction in electricity costs.
Consequences of illegal energy saving
Illegal actions can lead to problems:
- If the electric clock is damaged or magnetized, the owner is obliged to pay for the use of energy according to the tariffs and fee schedules adopted in the Decision. As a result, the cost of electricity will be much higher than when paying by the meter.
- The owner has to buy a new electric clock, the cost of which is one and a half to four thousand rubles.
- The offender is subject to an administrative fine of 10, 000 to 15, 000 rubles (Article 7. 19). If a person steals electricity worth more than 250, 000 rubles, he faces criminal penalties.
- The owner is subject to civil liability if the demand of the energy supply organization is satisfied and must pay penalties and interest.
Advertisements for special devices that help reduce energy consumption by 25–30% appear on various information sources. But you should not think that there is a tool that can do this with legal methods. There are real facts that confirm that this device does not help to save electricity:
- This is not profitable for resource organizations, they do not allow this.
- According to the laws of physics, this is impossible - we spend as much energy as your equipment consumes one kilowatt from the network.
You must not deceive or commit crimes for profit. Better use legal methods to save energy. This way, you spend less money on your electricity bill and help reduce your negative impact on the environment. You just need to be smart about your resource usage.