The cost of energy carriers is constantly rising, so the question of how to save electricity at home is becoming increasingly important. It should be noted that about ten or fifteen years ago, a family of three people on average did not think about it, because utilities did not eat the lion's share of the budget, and now the situation has changed dramatically.
At the same time, using all modern means to save energy, it is not necessary to use low light, refuse to turn on the necessary devices and "pull back" the meter readings, which threatens violators with effective fines. It is simply important to understand and accept the need to save money and follow this principle in a way that is most accessible to each of us.
On the agenda today - how and how much you can save on electricity. We all sometimes ask ourselves, "Am I paying too much for electricity (or electricity)? Can these payments be reduced in any way? " But as a rule, the issue does not go far from the conversation. But in fact, not everything is so scary and difficult. Try to apply the rules described below (or at least some of them) and you will immediately see the difference.
There are two ways to reduce your electricity bill:
- change our behavior a little
- We use modern energy saving technologies
In the first case, everything will depend only on us, that is. Adherence to certain rules will reduce energy costs. The second method involves investing in equipment and devices that can significantly reduce electricity consumption. But. . . . . Once you can relax by investing, the technique will do everything for you. And in most cases, the costs pay off within a year.
If we look at the statistics, the estimated cost of electricity in an average apartment is distributed as follows:
- 25% - electric oven, kettle, microwave and other kitchen appliances
- 21% - refrigerator
- 20% - lighting
- 9% - washing machine, dishwasher
- 11% TV, computer
- 14% - others
Using this information, you can roughly calculate how much and what you can start saving. Before you start, I recommend that you write down how much energy you spend per month. Why? This will allow you to understand how much you really save by applying certain methods. The result will be visible immediately, and this will give you an extra incentive.
Let's start saving energy:
Turn off the light as you go
Everyone knows his expression, but. . . . . we don't use it at home for some reason. In vain, this is the easiest and most convenient way to save energy. Make it a rule to turn off the lights when leaving the room. The court can also be attributed to the working television. Such "surpluses" cost us about 30% of all lighting costs.
Energy saving lamps
Old incandescent lamps consumed 100 watts, energy saving - 20 watts. 5 times energy saving. Now popular 5-watt LED lamps. Of course, they are more expensive than both, but with the same brightness of lighting, they consume less energy and last longer. Don't be stingy and buy. The main thing is to choose the ones with a big warranty - about 2 years. LED lamps pay for themselves within a year.
More natural light
Rooms with white or light wallpaper are lighter because they reflect 90% of the light (sorry for the word). For example, dark tones (close to black) absorb 90% of the light that hits them. Keep windows and lamps clean. It is not very clean, it is dusty, they can retain 30% of light. Do not fill the window sill with flowers and other nonsense. Place your workplace near a window. If you do not have enough light, use a low-watt table lamp.
Multi-tariff meters (day and night)
The advantage is that many appliances are always open (refrigerator) or in sleep mode (computer, TV, etc. ). Accordingly, the cost of energy consumption will decrease in the evening and at night. If you postpone some energy-intensive operations in the evening (washing, cooking, ironing), the savings will be even more noticeable.
Turn off all devices
First of all, this is the equipment that works in standby mode: computer, TV, microwave. air conditioning, water heater and many others. Calculate how many hours (or even minutes) you use of this or that device per day. 15 minutes in the microwave, TV - say, 2-3 hours, etc.
It turns out that in standby mode, the devices work almost day and night - 20 - 23 hours. And during all this time, they are slowly "stealing" energy and therefore money from us. Each individual, of course, does not consume much, but receives the amount. Waiting for a year costs us about 3, 000 rubles.
Few people know, but even if many devices are turned off, but not unplugged, they still consume energy: a hair dryer, a phone charger.
smart technology
Use devices with energy class A (respectively, the most energy consuming is class G). The difference in energy consumption can vary significantly, even between modern models. What about obsolete equipment (originally from the 90s and older). The difference in energy consumption can be different, no, sometimes not. Dozens of times!
Many models have an automatic saving mode. For example, in washing and dishwashers, depending on the workload, the system consumes an optimal amount of water and energy, thus reducing consumption by 30-40 percent. If you do not plan to change the equipment yet, we will save what we have.
household appliances
Refrigerator
Proper installation away from direct sunlight, central heating and stoves will save 20-30%. Additional measures: Leave a space between the refrigerator and the wall for free air circulation. Defrost more often - the more frost, the higher the energy consumption. There is no hot food in the refrigerator. Always cover all liquid dishes (soups, compotes). Remember that high humidity is equivalent to high energy consumption.
Washing machines and dishwashers
- Only work with full download.
- In fast and economical washing mode.
- Low temperature washing (washing) (where high temperature washing is not required)
Cook
- If you have gas in your apartment, you are lucky. It is several times more economical than electricity.
- Boil with the lid closed.
- Always boil water only as needed.
- The pre-poured water for cooking in the pan is heated to room temperature, and the oven requires less energy to heat it up and boil it.
- Residual heat. Turn off the oven 10-20 minutes before the end of cooking. The cooked food itself will reach the desired state.
- Heat the food in the microwave on a large plate at a time - then you can divide it into portions for everyone.
to iron
- Excessively dried and under-dried laundry is an increased energy consumption. We use gold.
- Switch off the iron 5-10 minutes before the end of ironing. We iron in the remaining heat.
- Use an iron with automatic shut-off function.
Warming up
Up to 50% of heat loss in the apartment occurs through windows and doors. Our actions are either plastic windows (which reduce heat consumption by 80% at a time), or a more economical option - we close all cracks in the windows and doors (using seals). If the house is cool (not cold), do not rush to turn on the heater immediately - sometimes it is enough to wear something warmer than clothes.
As you can see, it is not difficult to start saving electricity. You can easily save 30-50%, if you are a little confused, then you can generally reduce payments by 2-2, 5 times. The key is to turn on the "energy saving" mode in your head. You will immediately see that the payments will be reduced. Good luck with all your savings.