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 not at all comfortable.
The importance of saving energy
Although energy resources were worth mere cents, no one thought about the need to save electricity. But since then, as payment amounts have grown a lot, there has been significant interest on the part of 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 fully justified, because the planet is rapidly decreasing the reserves of depleted energy resources and the cost of their production - on the contrary, it is growing. Unfortunately, the wages of ordinary residents of our country 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 to save - the colossal loads at 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, due to electricity savings, 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 preserve the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Reducing the need
How can you save energy at home without additional appliances and 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 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 illuminate the rest of your work.
- Studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, it is necessary 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 frequently, so that the hours of the day for you will last a little longer and you can turn on the light later.
- In chandeliers with multiple lamps, you can light them not all at once, but one or two. For table work, use a table lamp in combination with low lighting.
- A very useful invention is a dimmer. It allows to adjust the lighting degree of each luminaire.
- Swap out standard incandescent bulbs for energy-efficient models. Recently, many have begun to worry about the question: do LED bulbs save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, as they consume a small amount of energy, emitting a reasonable amount of light.
- Turn off the lights when leaving the room. This, of course, is quite difficult if there are children at home who are very difficult to get used to with such a simple way of saving.
Using multiparty 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 almost idle. How to save energy 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 appliances used 24 hours a day (refrigerator, electric heating, etc. ), a multiparty party will help to reduce the electricity bill. The washing can be started at night and at the same time the power of the heating devices can be increased to switch them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
In all houses there are appliances 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 from all devices from the sockets during "idle time".
Note: Using low quality old wiring and a large number of extension cables and multiple T's also increases electricity consumption in the home.
Technical innovations
Anyone who dreams of learning how to save 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.
More economical energy consumption classes, such as A +, A ++, have recently emerged.
Smart devices have already started to appear on sale, they are able to independently calculate the amount of detergent or washing powder 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.
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, even so, stubbornly continue to place this appliance 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 ensure the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the environment where the refrigerator is located is cool. 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 that the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce energy bills, when buying a new refrigerator, do not "swing" on the larger and more spacious model if there are 2 to 3 people living permanently in the house. After all, this "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 cleaned regularly and timely from the accumulated dust layers, since, being full, it consumes 15-20% more. Also, do not turn the vacuum cleaner on / off too often - it uses more energy for these actions.
Electric stove
An electric stove is a device that consumes a lot of energy. You can reduce energy costs by following these recommendations:
- If the dish recipe does not indicate that the oven must be preheated at the time the dish is placed, you should not turn it on in advance.
- Switch 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 a microwave or baking soda, not an 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 Economical modes
- Do not wash 2 to 3 pieces at a time, but mine the laundry until it is fully loaded. But you also can't overload the car.
- Use low temperature settings for normal washing.
Air conditioner
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it properly:
- Set the temperature to an ideal temperature just enough to cool, not freeze, the environment.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with the windows or doors open.
- When purchasing 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 the air conditioner does not have to operate at high speeds.
Heaters
In the fall, winter and early spring, we often need to buy several heaters from household waste bins. After all, the heating is usually turned on and off for a long time. Therefore, we use heaters that consume energy, although this heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heaters, even in a relatively hot period, take care to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors, etc. Old windows should be replaced with plastic windows. And if that is not possible, at least try to close all cracks and micro cracks 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 is already on and the batteries are still cold, you need to call a master who will check for water in them.
The use of solar energy
Solar energy has long been used actively in many countries with hot climates. Some have 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 households, since solar panels and other structural elements are very expensive and pay off over many years.
In order to know how to save electricity with the help of the sun, it is advisable to read the specialized literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station in the design phase. Many people try to make the whole structure on their own, but do not take into account all the nuances and difficulties, 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 such devices, like 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 forced shutdowns of expensive equipment.
Smart home system
To automate the operation of all appliances 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 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, lock the door or start washing.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a very expensive "Smart Home" 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 adjusted so that the light goes out just 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 constantly turn the switch or keep the hall light on constantly, you can put the sensor on and live comfortably. Energy-saving lamps with integrated motion sensors are already on sale.
Saving electricity is not very difficult, you just need to tune in and agree with all the members of the household. 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.