To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. There is no such option of just pressing a button to get the minimum bills. And living without light is not at all comfortable.
The importance of saving energy
Although energy resources are cheap, no one thought about the need to save energy. But since then, as payment amounts have grown a lot, there has been a great deal of interest from the population in methods of saving electricity and other resources. Residents are concerned with how to save electricity in a private home, while city dwellers are looking for information on how to save electricity in an apartment.
The increase in tariffs is entirely justified, because the planet is rapidly decreasing reserves of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production is, on the contrary, rising. Unfortunately, ordinary residents' salaries are not growing as frantically, so there is no alternative but to look for effective ways to save electricity.
There is another reason to save - the colossal load in the transformer substations. More and more electrical appliances appear in people's homes each year. Naturally, transmission lines and substations may not resist, they must be repaired or replaced with more powerful ones.
In addition, by saving electricity, emissions of processed products into the atmosphere and water sources are reduced. People who save resources make their humble contribution to the conservation of rivers, lakes and forests and help to protect the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Demand reduction
How can you reduce energy consumption without additional devices and 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 vital activity took place only in daylight. You can simply try to do all the things that require strong lighting during the day and, at night, limit yourself to a lamp to light the rest of your work.
- Studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you need to know that the degree of lighting depends on the cleanliness of the luminaires. If the kitchen lamp is covered with a "century-old" layer of grease and dust, you shouldn't expect strong light from it. And if the ceiling is clean, the light penetrates perfectly, which means that you can use a smaller lamp.
- The windows also need to be washed more often, because that way the hours of the day for you will last a little longer and you can turn on the electricity later.
- In chandeliers with multiple lamps, you can light not all at once, but one or two. For table work, use a table lamp in combination with low ceiling lighting
- A very useful invention is the dimmer. It allows you to adjust the lighting level of each lamp.
- Replace standard lamps with more efficient ones. Recently, many have started to worry about the question: do LED bulbs save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume little energy, emitting enough light.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room. This, of course, is very difficult if there are children at home who are very difficult to get used to with such a simple way of saving.
Use of multi-brand 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 plants operate practically idle. Therefore, you can save electricity with a meter that calculates the energy consumed during the day at the normal price, and at night - allows you to pay 30% less.
If the house has household appliances used 24 hours a day (refrigerator, electric heating, etc. ), a multiparty meter will help to reduce the electricity bill. Washing can be started at night and at the same time you can increase the power of the heaters to turn them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
In all rooms there are devices that never disconnect from the sockets. But not everyone knows that, even in "sleeping" mode, they consume electricity. Each individual device has a very small amount of that support power, but an impressive amount is obtained in one month. To avoid unnecessary waste, simply remove the plugs of all devices from the sockets during "idle time".
Note:Using old, poor quality wiring and lots of extension cables 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 appliances. After all, old models of refrigerators and TVs consume a lot of energy, twice as much as 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 energy consumption classes have emerged, such as A +, A ++.
Smart devices have already started to appear on sale, they are able to independently calculate the amount of detergent or laundry detergent based on the weight of the dishes or clothes, and to control water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super economy mode during the owners' vacation.
Vacuum cleaner
In order to prevent the vacuum cleaner from drawing more energy from the network than it should, it should be cleaned regularly and over time with the accumulated layers of dust, since, being full, its consumption increases by 15-20%. Also, do not turn the vacuum on / off too often - it uses more energy to perform these actions.
Refrigerator
Probably a million articles have been written about the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people still stubbornly continue to place this device near the heating battery, 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 small free space between the refrigerator and the wall to allow the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the environment where the refrigerator is located is cold. Do not forget to defrost the refrigerator as needed and remove it from the accumulated ice, facilitating the operation of the appliance and reducing your "appetite for energy". Make sure the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce your electricity bills, when buying a new refrigerator, do not "swing" on the larger and more spacious model if 2-3 people live permanently in the house. After all, this "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
Electric cooker
An electric stove is a device that consumes a lot of energy. You can reduce energy costs by following these guidelines:
- If the recipe for a dish does not indicate that the oven must be preheated the moment the dish is placed, it should not be turned on in advance.
- Turn off the hob 5-10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. There will be enough residual heat to cook it.
- Pans 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 quality pans with a flat bottom. Ideal for an electric stove - pots and pans with a thick bottom.
- To boil water for tea or coffee, do not use a stove, but an electric kettle, as it will consume much less electricity in 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 “consumes” a lot of electricity - about 15% of total consumption. To save some money, use these tricks:
- Wash with Fast and Economy modes.
- Do not wash 2-3 pieces at a time, but sabotage the laundry until it is fully loaded. But you also can't overload the car.
- For normal washing, use low temperature settings.
Air conditioning
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it correctly:
- Set the ideal 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, as this is a waste of electricity.
- Be sure to clean the air conditioner's fans, filters and grills so that it doesn't need to operate at high speed.
Heaters
In autumn, winter and early spring, we often need several heaters in our boxes. After all, heating is often turned on and off for a long time. Therefore, we use energy-consuming heaters, although that heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in a relatively hot season, pay attention to insulating everything you can: windows, walls, floors. It is best to replace old windows with plastic windows. And if that is not possible, at least try to seal all cracks and micro cracks in the frames and next to the glass. Up to 50% of the heat passes through them. Do the same manipulations with the front doors.
If the heater has already been turned on and the batteries are still cold, you need to call an assistant who will check for water in them.
Use of solar energy
Solar energy has long been used actively in many countries with hot climates. Some even managed to completely abandon all other sources. The technology is very attractive, but without government support, it often ends up being an arduous task for individual families, since solar panels and other structural elements are expensive and pay off over many years.
It is advisable to read the special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the design stage. Many people try to make the whole structure on their own, but do not take into account all the nuances and complexities, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Domestic wind generators in regions with high air mass activity can significantly reduce electricity costs and, if there is a special meter, they can also make money from the electricity generated. But these devices, as well as solar stations, cost a lot of money and require installation by specialists.
It turns out that the owners of these plants incorrectly calculate the power of wind flows, which leads to the forced shutdown of expensive equipment.
Smart home system
Everyone has probably seen the movies where the hero claps his hands or says a password and, at this moment, the lights turn on or off, the window curtains open, the fireplace starts to work. This is the “Smart Home” system.
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program that also controls the level of energy consumption are used. Sensors are placed throughout the house that take the 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 alone, it needs to be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the residents of the house disperse in the morning about their business, the system will turn off the air conditioning or kitchen lighting, block the door or start washing.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a very expensive "Smart House" system, you can survive on "little blood" and install motion sensors on 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, they will turn off the lighting themselves.
They can be configured so that the light turns off only 5 to 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.
This sensor is very useful in the corridor, where light is only needed to move to another room. In order not to turn the switch constantly or keep the hall light on all the time, you can put the sensor on and live comfortably. On sale there are energy saving lamps with integrated motion sensors.
It is not very difficult to save electricity, you just need to tune in and agree with all the members of the house. The main obstacle is ourselves and our beliefs. As soon as we realize the need to save money, it soon starts to be done so that the electricity bills are small.