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?Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine life without electricity.It is a resource on which everything is tied: information, data, household needs, comfort, communication, free time.An accident in the power grid of a capital city paralyzes him.The work of maternity homes, hospitals, water supply stopped, schools and residential buildings were interrupted, more than 3 thousand citizens were stuck in the elevator, and some, 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 stranded citizens still literally turned into them.
By increasing the number of electrical appliances in our lives, we unknowingly increase the load not only on the city's electrical networks, but also on our wallet.In the houses of our mothers and grandmothers there was a TV, a refrigerator, and a few lucky ones had a washing machine.What works and consumes electricity in our homes leaves our grandmothers in awe of its quantity and functionality.
However, all the pleasures in our life come at a price.And for the ecstatic look of grandmothers - including.Every time, looking at the electricity bills, it begins to seem that magical gnomes live in the apartment, who amuse themselves by turning the wheel of the meter, accelerating their movement two or even three times.But no, these are not gnomes.These are our voracious electronic friends.
To limit the appetite of imaginary gnomes and ease the fate of our wallet, we tried to find out if it is possible to save electricity in principle.
To do this, we've researched the savings methods offered online, both the obvious and the unlikely.We invite you to familiarize yourself with the results of our work.
Obvious ways to save energy
The most obvious one lying on the surface is to turn off the light when not in use.If your memory is failing you or you are so busy that you don't have time to reach out and turn the key, there is a way out.Motion or presence sensors.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 that they do not respond to cats and other pets.Otherwise, the payment for electricity, instead of the expected reduction, will skyrocket.
Replace incandescent bulbs with their energy-efficient analogs.And even better - LED ones.They consume much less energy while lasting longer and shining brighter.If you install sectional lighting and equip the room with several light elements, you can use them in turn as needed.A dimmer (an element that allows you to adjust the brightness of the lighting) with constant use will also help reduce lighting energy costs.Experienced people recommend choosing lamps for rooms according to the degree of their use.Obviously, you can hang a weaker but less energy-consuming lamp in the closet than in the living room or kitchen.New generation lamps are more resistant to overvoltages.Well, the last piece of advice about lamps is that you shouldn't be too lazy to dust them regularly.Dust lamps give poor light and use more energy to senselessly heat the dust.
Buy appliances with high energy efficiency (class A+)
Modern equipment knows how to use energy wisely.Most dishwashers, washing machines of the latest model and other devices are equipped with an energy-saving eco mode.Use it often.If possible, choose the lowest oven, washing machine and dishwasher temperatures.
The main energy costs go to heating the device;by heating it to a minimum, you can save a lot.
The load level of the washing machine is also important.Load it in accordance with the technical documentation.Overloading or underloading will increase power consumption.The same goes for vacuum cleaners with unwashed filters and full dust collectors, air conditioners with uncleaned insides, refrigerators with ice, kettles with scale and other everyday joys.We remember that heating any excess material increases your costs.A washing machine and dishwasher connected to centralized hot water will use less energy for heating.But instead of spending on electricity, you will increase the amount of payment for hot water.And here you have to weigh which resource is worth more to you.
This point, of course, is more logical to include in the list of amazing things, but let it be here anyway.Unused household appliances should always be unplugged.When they are turned on, they consume a lot of electricity.It is ideal if the design of the electrical wiring ensures that all contacts can be turned off with a slight movement of the hand.Except for the one that powers the fridge.Then you can safely leave your home without fear of fires, power surges and energy losses.
If you remove the gadget from charging immediately after it is finished, you save energy and contribute to the long service life of the gadget itself and its charger.
Appliances that you use 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 for some devices turning on and off is more energy intensive than being in sleep mode.Be sure to remove the discs from the drives.When it is on, the extra energy is spent on promoting them.
If you haven't already installed a separate contact disconnect switch, use surge protectors for your equipment with a power disconnect capability.
And a little more about technology.In very tall buildings, in accordance with the established standards, an electric rather than a gas stove is provided.
Therefore, buy an induction stove for apartments on high floors.It is specially designed to save electricity.But it will be even better if you buy flat-bottomed cookware that exactly matches the size of the stove burner.And when you cook, you will cover the pan with a lid.And you'll end up cooking dinner on a cooling burner by turning it off 5-10 minutes before it's done.And by the way, we iron delicate delicate items with the iron and cooling already turned off.
kettle?In addition to timely descaling, we recommend that you only pour in as much water as necessary.
Now to the fridge.And the reforms will not escape him.The refrigerator should not be close to walls or other surfaces.Especially if the surfaces are heated - for example, an oven.This will keep it from overheating.Be sure to check the rubber seal and the presence of ice.The main function of a refrigerator is to protect your food by keeping it at a low temperature.And if there is an outside heat source, the refrigerator will try to cool with double (electrical) energy.At your expense of course.
You can also say a few words about the movies.High-quality movies consume more power, but we won't suggest that you save money by watching movies.This is blasphemy.
The repair concept alone can make a small, yet significant, contribution to your salary savings.For those who did not skip physics at school, it is obvious that a light wall covering will save electricity and heat, because, unlike a dark one, it does not absorb it.This also includes cleaning windows and heating devices from dust.Dust is a known heat absorber.And if, in addition, your windows have increased light transmission and energy efficiency, this will save you even more money.
Choose a home with south-facing windows.Then you will receive heat and light directly from the sun, and completely free of charge.But this bonus is balanced by the fact that in the summer you will have to turn on the split system more often.The south side heats up very quickly, and in warm weather such rooms without air conditioning may not be comfortable.So keep in mind that small savings in winter can add up to big costs in summer.
A significant part of the heat (and, accordingly, the loss of energy for heating the room) goes to the walls to which the radiators are attached.Installing heat reflectors between the wall and the battery will allow you to use the generated heat without the cost of heating the street.According to experts, this measure allows you to raise the air temperature in the living room by 2-3 degrees without additional energy costs.
Now let's move on to those methods of saving, which in our reality are more improbable than feasible.However, we will tell you about them.
Less likely ways to save
Replace your home's wiring with more efficient wiring by arranging power sources to eliminate the need for extra cables and racks.Well, since you're rewiring anyway, take care of the switch for everything except the fridge, which was described above.
Eliminate heat loss.Specialists with a thermal camera will tell you about the weak points of your home.And in accordance with the diagnosis, it will be necessary to strengthen the weak, isolate the cold and dry the damp.In most cases, the owners will have to additionally insulate the walls and replace the windows.
If you are the happy owner of individual heating, we recommend installing a boiler with a thermostat.It is able to regulate the heating temperature, preventing it from rising above the set one.The absence of additional heating equals saving a small part of the electricity.
Install a Smart Home system in your home.It automatically sets optimal energy consumption.With this system, you can control the electricity in your apartment yourself and remotely.In our opinion, the only drawback of the system will be told to you by the comrades who suffered from the accident in 2015. 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 uprising of machines and believe in the victory of artificial intelligence over human intelligence, this option is also not for you.
Install generators for electricity.Windy, sunny.And become energy independent.You thought this was completely out of the realm of science fiction, right?In vain.
If you plan to move to hot countries, keep in mind that in Greece, for example, solar panels are used as a source of energy, since centralized electricity is very expensive.
Installation of a two-phase meter.The idea is to transfer the main business at night, when the load on the city's electricity transmission network is minimal and, accordingly, the tariffs are quite economical.Before changing the meter, please make sure that you are a night owl and that leading a nocturnal lifestyle (especially washing dishes, laundry and using electrical appliances) is not burdensome for you.And also make sure that your neighbors are also owls or take care of additional soundproofing so that you do not incur the wrath of the neighbors.
In many regions, representatives of electric networks even offer free installation of two-phase meters.But practice shows that there are still discrepancies in indicators and not quite correct calculations.That is why people are in no hurry to change their usual meters to two-phase ones, despite all the possible advantages.
And the most unreliable way to save electricity, included in the top 3 of the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Fire Service, is the independent manipulation of the wiring, as a result of which the line bypasses the meter.Built without knowledge of basic technical safety standards and the laws of physics, such structures become causes of fires and other disasters.Not to mention the fact that the city authorities can inspect the equipment and understand your secret scheme.For an experienced energy engineer, such a search will not take much time.And then, instead of saving, you will be forced to pay a rather small penalty for your initiative.