To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. Just pressing a button to get the minimum bills will not work. And living without light is somehow not comfortable at all.
The importance of saving energy
While energy resources were worth mere pennies, no one thought about the need to save electricity. 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 reserves of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production - on the contrary, is growing. Unfortunately, the salary of ordinary residents of our country does 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 loads 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, due to electricity savings, 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 preserve the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Reducing the need
How can you save energy at home without any appliances and additional investments? It's very simple. You 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.
- The 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 luminaire.
- Swap out standard incandescent bulbs for energy efficient models. 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 a decent amount of light.
- Turn off the lights when leaving the room. This, of course, is rather 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 during the day it is consumed in large quantities, and at night power plants operate almost idle. How to save energy with a meter that calculates the consumed energy during the day at the usual price, and for the night - allows you to pay 30% less? 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 home 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, low-quality wiring and a large number of extension cords and various tees also increases electricity consumption at home.
Technical innovations
People who dream of learning how to correctly save 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-power 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.
Fridge
Probably, a million articles have already been written about the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people, all the same, 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 ensure 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 tightness of the door is not compromised.
If you are thinking about how to reduce energy bills, then when buying a new refrigerator, do not "swing" at the largest and most capacious model if 2-3 people permanently live in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
A vacuum cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from starting to draw more energy from the network than it should, it must be regularly and timely cleaned of accumulated layers of dust, because, being full, it consumes 15-20% more. And also do not turn on / off the vacuum cleaner too often - it spends the most energy on these actions.
Electric stove
An electric stove is a very energy-consuming device. You can reduce energy costs by following these recommendations:
- If the recipe for the 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 just enough water 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 a microwave or multicooker, not an oven.
Washer
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 can't overload the car either.
- Use low temperature settings for normal washing.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it correctly:
- Set the temperature to an optimal 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 home 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, etc. Old windows are best replaced 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 is removed 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 master who will check if there is water in them.
The use of solar energy
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 very expensive and pay off over many years.
To know how to save electricity with the help of the sun, it is advisable to read special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the project stage. Many people try to make the entire structure on their own, but they do not take into account all the nuances and difficulties, 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, like 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 forced downtime of expensive equipment.
Smart Home System
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used, which 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, lock the door or start the wash.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive system "Smart Home", you can get by with "little blood" and install motion sensors in the premises. After all, we often 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 constantly keep the light on in the corridor, you can put the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale there are energy-saving lamps with built-in motion sensors.
Saving electricity is not very difficult, you just need to tune in and agree on this with all the household. The main obstacle is ourselves and our beliefs. As soon as the realization of the need to save money comes to us, it immediately turns out to be done so that the bills for light are small.