In ancient times, when Alessandro Volta conducted his first experiments and Thomas Edison looked at the invented light bulb, could they have imagined how the lives of their descendants would change in connection with their discoveries?Today, life without electricity is unimaginable.It is a resource to which everything is connected: information, data, household needs, comfort, communication, leisure.An accident in one of the capital's electrical networks left him paralyzed.The work of maternity hospitals, hospitals, and waterworks stopped, schools and residential buildings stopped, more than 3 thousand citizens were stuck in the elevator, and some of them - as they say - could not get out of their apartments equipped with smart home systems.In a sense, we have all become hostages of electricity.Although the trapped citizens literally became them.
By increasing the number of electrical devices in our lives, we unwittingly increase not only the load on the city's electrical networks, but also our wallets.Our mothers' and grandmothers' houses had TVs, refrigerators, and a few lucky ones had washing machines.What works and consumes electricity in our home amazes our grandmothers with its quantity and functionality.
However, all the joys in our lives come at a price.And for the enthusiastic appearance of grandmothers - among other things.Looking at the electricity bills, every time it seems as if there are magical gnomes living in the apartment, who amuse themselves by rolling the meter wheel, speeding up its movement two or three times.But no, these are not gnomes.These are our insatiable electronic friends.
In order to curb the appetite of imaginary gnomes and ease the fate of our wallets, we tried to figure out whether it is possible to save on electricity in principle.
To that end, we've looked at ways to save online that are both obvious and unbelievable.We invite you to familiarize yourself with the results of our work.
Obvious ways to save energy
The most obvious is lying on the surface to turn off the light when not in use.If your memory fails you 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 detectors or presence detectors.They are installed in rooms and react to the appearance of a person in the room.They automatically turn on when you enter the room and turn off when you leave.Ask the installers to set the sensors so they don't respond to cats and other pets.Otherwise, instead of the expected decrease, the electricity bill will skyrocket.
Replace incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones.And even better - they're LED.They consume much less energy while lasting longer and shining brighter.If you install sectional lighting and equip the room with several lighting elements, you can use them alternately as needed.A dimmer (an element that allows you to adjust the brightness of the lighting) with constant use also helps to reduce the energy costs of the lighting.Experienced people recommend choosing the lamps for the rooms according to the degree of their use.Of course, we can hang a dimmer, but less energy-demanding lamp in the pantry than in the living room or the kitchen.New generation lamps are more resistant to voltage fluctuations.Well, the last piece of advice about lamps is to not be lazy to wipe the dust off them regularly.Dust lamps give a weak light and use more energy to unnecessarily heat the dust.
Buy electrical appliances with high energy efficiency (class A+)
Modern equipment knows how to spend energy wisely.Most dishwashers, washing machines of the latest models and other appliances are equipped with an energy-saving eco mode.Use it often.If possible, select the lowest oven, washing machine and dishwasher temperature.
The main energy costs relate to heating the device;you can save a lot by heating to a minimum.
The load level of the washing machine is also important.Load according to the technical documentation.Overloading or underloading increases energy consumption.The same applies to vacuum cleaners with unwashed filters and full dust collectors, air conditioners with uncleaned interiors, refrigerators with ice, kettles with limescale and other everyday pleasures.Remember that heating excess material increases your costs.Washing machines and dishwashers connected to central hot water use less energy for heating.But instead of spending on electricity, it increases the amount you pay for hot water service.And here you need to consider which resource costs more.
Of course, this point is more logical to add to the list of incredible things, but it should be here anyway.Always unplug household appliances that are not in use.When switched on, they consume quite a lot of electricity.It is ideal to ensure that all sockets are de-energized with a slight movement of the hand when designing electrical wiring.Except for the one that powers the fridge.Then you can leave your home safely, without fear of fires, surges and energy loss.
Shutting down the module immediately after charging will save energy and contribute to the longevity of the gadget itself and its charger.
Devices used regularly during the day do not need to be unplugged every time.For example, it would be best to send the computer to sleep mode.Because with some devices, switching on and off requires more energy than in sleep mode.Be sure to remove the disks from the drives.When switched on, they devote additional energy to their promotion.
If you still haven't installed a separate toggle switch to turn off the outlets, use a surge protector for the equipment that can turn off the power.
And a little more about technology.In many high-rise buildings, electric rather than gas stoves are provided as per established standards.
Therefore, buy an induction cooker for high-rise apartments.It is specially designed to save electrical energy.But it will be even better if you buy pans with flat bottoms that exactly fit the size of the stove burner.And when cooking, you cover the pan with a lid.And you finish cooking dinner on a fridge burner, turning it off 5-10 minutes before it's ready.By the way, delicate items are ironed with an iron that has already been switched off and cooled down.
Kettle?In addition to timely descaling, we recommend that you only pour in as much water as you need.
Now to the fridge.And the reforms will not escape him.The refrigerator should not be near walls or other surfaces.Especially if the surfaces are heated - for example an oven.This prevents overheating.Do not forget to check the rubber seal and the presence of ice.The main function of a refrigerator is to protect food by storing it at a low temperature.And if there is an external heat source, the refrigerator tries to cool with double (electrical) energy.Of course, at your expense.
You can also say a few words about the films.High-quality movies consume more energy, but we do not recommend that you save money by watching movies.This is blasphemy.
The repair concept itself is small, but it can still make a significant contribution to saving wages.It is obvious to anyone who did not miss physics at school that light wall coverings save energy and heat, since, unlike dark ones, they do not absorb it.This includes dusting the windows and heating equipment.Dust is a known heat absorber.And if your windows also have increased light transmission and energy efficiency, you can save even more money.
Choose south-facing windows.It then receives heat and light directly from the sun, and completely free of charge.But this bonus is offset by the fact that you have to turn on the split system more often in the summer.The south side heats up very quickly, and in hot weather such rooms without air conditioning may not be comfortable.Therefore, remember that small savings in winter can lead to big expenses in summer.
A significant part of the heat (and, accordingly, the loss of energy needed to heat the room) goes to the walls to which the radiators are attached.Installation of heat reflectors between the wall and the battery allows the use of the produced heat without the cost of heating the street.According to experts, this measure makes it possible to raise the daytime air temperature by 2-3 degrees without additional energy costs.
Now let's move on to the rescue methods, which in reality are more unbelievable than feasible.Nevertheless, we tell you about them.
Less likely ways to save
Replace your home's wiring with more efficient wiring by arranging your power sources to avoid the need for additional cables and carriers.Well, since you're rewiring it anyway, make sure the switch is on everything except the cooler, which we described above.
Eliminate heat loss.Professionals with thermal cameras will tell you about your home's weak points.And according to the diagnosis, you need to strengthen the weak, insulate the cold and dry the moisture.In most cases, the owners need to insulate the walls further and replace the windows.
If you are the happy owner of individual heating, we recommend that you install a thermostatic boiler.It is able to regulate the heating temperature, preventing it from rising above the set one.The absence of additional heating means a small saving in electrical energy.
Install a Smart Home system in your home.It automatically sets the optimal energy consumption.With this system, you can control the electricity in your home manually and remotely.In our opinion, the comrades who suffered the accident in 2015 will tell you about the only downside of the system.On the other hand, such force majeure events are rare and do not cover all the advantages of the smart home.
If you fear the rise of machines and believe in the victory of artificial intelligence over human intelligence, this opportunity is also not for you.
Install power generators.Windy, sunny.And become energy independent.You thought this was completely outside the realm of science fiction, right?In vain.
If you are going to move to hot countries, remember 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 shift the main activity to the night, when the load on the city's electricity network is minimal and, accordingly, the tariffs are quite economical.Before changing the meter, make sure that you are a night owl and that the night lifestyle (especially washing dishes, washing and using electrical appliances) is not stressful for you.And also make sure your neighbors are owls too, or provide additional soundproofing so you don't incur the wrath of the neighbors.
In many regions, representatives of electric networks even offer free installation of two-phase meters.However, practice shows that there are still discrepancies between the indicators, and the calculations are not completely correct.Therefore, people are in no hurry to replace their usual meters with two-phase ones, despite all their possible advantages.
And the most unreliable way to save electricity, which is among the top 3 employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Fire Department, is independent manipulation of wires, as a result of which the line bypasses the meter.Structures built without basic technical safety standards and knowledge of the laws of physics cause fires and other disasters.Not to mention that the city services could inspect the equipment and figure out your secret plan.For an experienced energy engineer, such a search does not take much time.And then, instead of saving, you will be forced to pay a rather small penalty for your initiative.