To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. There is no such option to just press a button to get the minimum bills. And living without light is somehow not comfortable at all.
The Importance of Saving Energy
While energy resources were inexpensive, no one thought about the need to save energy. But since then, as the amounts in payments have grown very much, there has been a significant interest among the population in methods of saving electricity and other resources. Villagers are worried about how to save electricity in a private house, while city dwellers are looking for information on how to save electricity in an apartment.
The increase in tariffs is completely justified, because the planet is rapidly dwindling stocks of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production - on the contrary, is growing. Unfortunately, the salaries of ordinary residents do not show such a frantic growth, so there is no other way out but to look for effective ways to save electricity.
There is another reason for saving - the colossal load on transformer substations. More and more electrical appliances appear in people's homes every year. Naturally, power lines and substations may not withstand, they have to be repaired or replaced with more powerful ones.
Also, by saving electricity, emissions of processed products into the atmosphere and water sources are reduced. Resource-saving people make their humble contribution to the conservation of rivers, lakes and forests and help protect the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways of saving
Demand reduction
How can you reduce energy consumption without any appliances and additional investments? It's very simple. We just need to think about how much light we really need and use the following advice from experienced innovators:
- Try to use less electric light. This does not mean a return to primitive times, when life activity took place only in daylight. You can just try to do all the things that require bright lighting during the day, and in the evening limit yourself to one lamp to illuminate the rest of the work.
- Studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you need to know that the degree of illumination depends on the cleanliness of the lighting fixtures. If the lampshade in the kitchen is covered with a "century-old" layer of grease and dust, then you should not expect bright light from it. And if the plafond is clean, then the light penetrates through it perfectly, which means that you can use a smaller light bulb.
- Windows also need to be washed more often, because this way the daylight hours for you will last a little longer and you can turn on the electricity later.
- In chandeliers with several bulbs, you can turn them on not all at once, but one or two. For desk work, use a desk lamp in combination with low overhead lighting.
- A very useful invention is the dimmer. It allows you to adjust the degree of illumination of each lamp.
- Swap out standard bulbs for energy efficient ones. Recently, many began to worry about the question: do LED lamps save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume a meager amount of energy, emitting enough light.
- Turn off the lights when leaving the room. This, of course, is quite difficult if there are children in the house who are very difficult to accustom to such a simple way of saving.
Using multi-tariff meters
Electricity can cost differently at different times of the day. This is due to the fact that in the daytime it is consumed in large quantities, and at night power plants operate practically idle. Therefore, you can save electricity with a meter that calculates the energy consumed at the usual price during the day, and allows you to pay 30% less for the night.
If the house has appliances that are used around the clock (refrigerator, electric heating, etc. ), then a multi-tariff meter will help reduce the electricity bill. The wash can be started at night and at the same time the power of the heating devices can be increased to turn them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
In every dwelling there are devices that never turn off from the sockets. But not everyone knows that even in the "sleeping" mode, they draw electricity. Each individual device has a very small amount of such supporting power, but an impressive amount is obtained in a month. To prevent unnecessary waste, it is enough just to pull the plugs of all devices from the sockets during their "idle time".
Note:Using old, poor quality wiring and lots of extension cords and assorted tees will also increase household electricity consumption.
Technical news
People who want to know how to intelligently reduce the cost of electricity in an apartment should evaluate each of their household appliances. After all, old models of refrigerators and TVs consume a lot of energy, 2 times more than modern models. Gradually try to replace all outdated appliances with low-energy models. The labels usually indicate the degree of economy, class A is the most profitable.
Recently, more economical power consumption classes have appeared, such as A +, A ++.
Smart devices have now begun to appear on sale, they are able to independently calculate the amount of detergent or laundry detergent based on the weight of dishes or linen, and control water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super economy mode during the holidays of the owners.
Vacuum cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from drawing more energy from the network than it should, it must be cleaned regularly and in time from accumulated layers of dust, because, being full, its consumption increases by 15-20%. And also do not turn on / off the vacuum cleaner too often - it spends the most energy on performing these actions.
Refrigerator
A million articles have probably been written about the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people still stubbornly continue to put this unit near the heating battery, stove and on the sunny side. But in this case, the refrigerator quickly heats up from nearby heat sources and consumes much more electricity. It is also recommended to leave a small free space between the refrigerator and the wall in order to provide the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the room where the refrigerator is located is cool. Do not forget to defrost the refrigeration unit as needed and free it from the accumulated ice, making it easier to operate the apparatus and reducing its "energy appetite". Make sure that the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce your energy bills, then when buying a new refrigerator, do not “swing” at the largest and most spacious model if 2-3 people permanently live in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
Electric cooker
An electric stove is a very energy consuming device. You can reduce energy costs by following these guidelines:
- If the recipe for a dish does not indicate that the oven should be preheated at the moment the dish is placed in it, then you should not turn it on in advance.
- Turn off the hotplate 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. There will be enough residual heat to cook it.
- Pots should always be covered with lids.
- When boiling eggs and vegetables, add enough water just to cover the food.
- It is important to use good pans with a flat bottom. Ideal for an electric stove - pots and pans with a thick bottom.
- To boil water for tea or coffee, use not a stove, but an electric kettle, because it will consume much less electricity for this process.
- For quick meals, use the microwave or multicooker, not the oven.
Washing machine
It is very difficult to imagine modern life without a washing machine, but it also “eats” a lot of electricity - about 15% of the total consumption. To save some money, use these tricks:
- Wash with Quick and Economy modes.
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but undermine the laundry until it is fully loaded. But you cannot overload the car either.
- For normal washing, use low temperature settings.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it correctly:
- Set the optimum temperature just enough to cool, not freeze, the room.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with windows or doors open.
- When buying an air conditioner, be sure to calculate the area of the room that it will cool. Do not take too powerful for a small room, because this is a waste of electricity.
- Be sure to clean the fans, filters and grilles of the air conditioner so that it does not have to operate at high speeds.
Heaters
In the fall, winter and early spring, we often have to get various heaters from our bins. After all, heating is often turned on and off for a very long time. So we use energy-consuming heaters, although such heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in a relatively warm season, take care of insulating everything you can: windows, walls, floors. It is best to replace old windows with plastic ones. And if this is not possible, then at least try to seal up all the cracks and microcracks in the frames and next to the glass. Up to 50% of the heat goes through them. Do the same manipulations with the front doors.
If the heating has already been turned on, and the batteries are still cold, then you need to call a wizard who will check if there is water in them.
Solar Energy Use
Solar energy has long been actively used in many countries with warm climates. Some even managed to completely abandon all other sources. The technology is very attractive, but without government support, it often turns out to be an overwhelming task for individual households, since solar panels and other structural elements are expensive and pay off over many years.
It is advisable to read special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the design stage. Many people try to make the entire structure on their own, but they do not take into account all the nuances and complexities, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Home wind generators in regions with high activity of air masses can significantly reduce electricity costs, and if there is a special meter, they can also make money on the electricity generated. But, such devices as well as solar stations cost a lot of money and require installation by specialists.
It happens that the owners of such power plants incorrectly calculate the power of wind flows, and this leads to the forced downtime of expensive equipment.
Smart Home System
Everyone has probably seen the films in which the hero claps his hands or calls a password word, and at this time the lights turn on or off, the curtains on the windows open, the fireplace starts working. This is the “Smart Home” system.
To automate the operation of all appliances in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used that also controls the level of energy consumption. Sensors are placed throughout the house that take readings and determine the amount of electricity used in each room. The computer analyzes and proposes solutions to optimize energy use.
The system will not work on its own, it needs to be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the inhabitants of the house scatter in the morning about their business, the system will turn off the air conditioner or lighting in the kitchen, block the door or start the wash.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive "Smart Home" system, you can get by with "little blood" and install motion sensors in the premises. After all, often we simply forget to turn off the light when leaving the house or fall asleep with the light. But if the rooms are equipped with motion sensors, then they themselves will turn off the lighting.
They can be adjusted so that the light turns off only 5-10 minutes after the person leaves the room. After all, children are constantly running back and forth, and adults can move around the house very quickly.
Such a sensor is very useful in the corridor, where light is needed only for passage to another room. In order not to constantly flip the switch or keep the light on in the corridor all the time, you can put the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale there are energy-saving lamps with built-in motion sensors.
It is not very difficult to save electrical energy, you just need to tune in and agree on this with all household members. The main obstacle is ourselves and our beliefs. As soon as the realization of the need to save comes to us, we immediately succeed in making sure that the bills for light are small.