To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. There is no such option just to press a button to get the minimum bills. And life without light is somehow not comfortable at all.
The importance of saving energy
While energy resources were cheap, no one thought about the need to save energy. But since then, as payments have risen sharply, there has been 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 residents are looking for information on how to save electricity in an apartment.
The increase in tariffs is fully justified, as the planet is rapidly reducing its reserves of depleted energy resources, and the cost of their production is increasing. Unfortunately, the wages of ordinary people do not show such 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 of transformer substations. Every year, more and more electrical appliances appear in people's homes. Of course, power lines and substations may not last, they need to be repaired or replaced with more powerful ones.
Also, saving electricity reduces emissions of processed products into the atmosphere and water sources. Saving resources make a modest contribution to the protection of rivers, lakes and forests and help protect the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Demand Reduction
How can you reduce energy consumption without any appliances and additional investment? It's very simple. We just need to think about how much light we really need and use the following tips from experienced innovators:
- Try to use less electric light. This does not mean a return to primitive times, when life's activities 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.
- When studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you should know that the degree of illumination depends on the purity 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 ceiling is clean, then the light penetrates perfectly through it, which means you can use a smaller bulb.
- The windows also need to be washed more often, because that way the daily hours will last a little longer for you and you can turn on the electricity later.
- For chandeliers with several bulbs, you can turn on not all at once, but one or two. For desk work, use a table lamp in combination with low overhead lighting.
- A very useful invention is the dimer. It allows you to adjust the brightness of each lamp.
- Replace standard light bulbs for energy efficient ones. Recently, many have begun to worry about the question: do LED lamps save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume a scarce amount of energy, emitting enough light.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room. This, of course, is quite difficult if there are children in the house, which is very difficult to get used to such a simple way to save.
Use of 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 the power plants operate almost at 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 the multi-tariff meter will help reduce the electricity bill. Washing can start at night and at the same time the power of the heaters can be increased to turn them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
There are devices in every home that are never disconnected from the sockets. But not everyone knows that even in sleep mode, they draw electricity. Each individual device has a very small amount of such support power, but an impressive amount is obtained in one month. To prevent unnecessary waste, simply pull the plugs of all devices out of the sockets during their "idling".
Note:The use of old, poor quality wiring and many extension cords and various 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, older models of refrigerators and TVs consume a lot of energy, 2 times more than modern models. Try to gradually replace all obsolete appliances with low-energy models. Labels usually show the degree of economy, class A is the most profitable.
More economical energy consumption classes have recently emerged, such as A +, A ++.
Smart devices have started to appear on the market now, they can independently calculate the amount of detergent or detergent, based on the weight of dishes or linen, and control water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super economy mode during the owners' holidays.
Vacuum Cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from pulling more energy out of the mains than it should, it should be cleaned regularly and in time from the accumulated layers of dust, because when it is full, its consumption increases by 15-20%. Also, do not turn the vacuum cleaner on and off too often - it consumes the most energy for these actions.
Refrigerator
Probably a million articles have been written about the proper installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been shot, but our people still stubbornly continue to place this device near the heater, the stove and on the sunny side. But in this case, the refrigerator heats up quickly from nearby heat sources and consumes much more electricity. It is also recommended to leave a little free space between the refrigerator and the wall 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 if necessary and release it from the accumulated ice, facilitating the operation of the appliance and reducing its "energy appetite". Make sure the door is not damaged.
If you are considering how to reduce your energy bills, then when you buy a new refrigerator, do not "swing" on the largest and most spacious model, if the house is constantly inhabited by 2-3 people. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
Electric stove
The electric stove is a very energy consuming device. You can reduce energy costs by following these guidelines:
- If the dish recipe does not indicate that the oven must be preheated at the time the dish is placed in it, then you should not switch it on in advance.
- Turn off the hob 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking time. There will be enough residual heat to prepare it.
- Pots should always be covered with lids.
- When cooking eggs and vegetables, add enough water just to cover the food.
- It's important to use good flat-bottomed pans. Ideal for electric stove - pots and pans with thick bottoms.
- To boil water for tea or coffee, use an electric kettle instead of a stove, because it will consume much less electricity for this process.
- For a quick meal, use the microwave or multicooker, not the oven.
Laundry
It is very difficult to imagine modern life without a washing machine, but it also "eats" a lot of electricity - about 15% of total consumption. To save some money, use these tricks:
- Wash with fast and economical mode.
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but undermine the laundry until it is completely loaded. But you can't overload the car either.
- Use low temperature settings for normal washing.
Air conditioners
To prevent the consumption of many air conditioners, use it properly:
- Set the optimum temperature enough to cool, not freeze the room.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with the windows or doors open.
- When buying an air conditioner, be sure to calculate the area of the room in which it will cool. Do not take too powerful for a small room, because it is a loss of electricity.
- Remember to clean the fans, filters and grilles of the air conditioner so that it does not have to work at high speeds.
Heaters
In the fall, winter and early spring we often have to take different heaters from our bins. After all, the heating is often turned on and off for a very long time. So we use energy-intensive heaters, although such heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in the relatively warm season, make sure to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors. It is best to replace the old windows with plastic ones. And if that's not possible, at least try to seal all cracks and microcracks within and next to the glass. Up to 50% of the heat passes through them. Do the same manipulations with the front doors.
If the heating is already on and the batteries are still cold, you should call a wizard to 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 proves to be a huge task for individual households, as solar panels and other structural elements are expensive and pay for themselves over many years.
It is recommended to read special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the design stage. Many people try to do the whole structure themselves, but do not take into account all the nuances and complexities, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Domestic wind turbines in regions with high air mass activity can significantly reduce electricity costs, and if there is a special meter, they can also benefit from 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 forced downtime of expensive equipment.
Smart Home System
Probably everyone has watched the movies in which the character claps his hands or shouts a password and at that time the lights turn on or off, the window curtains open, the fireplace starts working. This is the 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 record and determine the amount of electricity used in each room. The computer analyzes and offers solutions to optimize energy use.
The system will not work alone, it must be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the occupants of the house are scattered in the morning for their business, the system will turn off the air conditioning or lighting in the kitchen, block the door or start washing.
Install motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive "Smart Home" system, you can deal with "a little blood" and install motion sensors in the premises. After all, we often just forget to turn off the light when we leave the house or fall asleep with the light on. But if the rooms are equipped with motion sensors, they will turn off the lights themselves.
They can be adjusted so that the light is turned off only 5-10 minutes after a person leaves the room. After all, children are constantly running back and forth, and adults can move very quickly in the house.
Such a sensor is very useful in the hallway, where the light is only needed to move to another room. In order not to constantly switch the switch or keep the light constantly on in the hallway, you can place the sensor and live comfortably. Energy-saving lamps with built-in motion sensors are now available.
It's not very difficult to save electricity, you just have to adjust and agree with all members of 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 that the bills for light are small.