In ancient times, when Alessandro Volta conducted his first experiments and Thomas Edison looked at the invented light bulb, could they have thought about how the lives of their descendants would change in connection with their discoveries?Nowadays it is impossible to imagine life without electricity.This is a resource to which everything is linked: information, data, household needs, comfort, communication, leisure.An accident in the electrical network of a capital paralyzed him.Work in maternity hospitals, hospitals, water utilities was stopped, schools and residential buildings were disrupted, more than 3 thousand citizens were trapped in the elevator and some, as they say, were unable to leave their apartments equipped with smart home systems.In a way, we have all become hostages to electricity.Although the lost citizens still literally became them.
By increasing the number of electrical appliances in our lives, we involuntarily increase the load not only on city electrical networks, but also on our wallet.In our mothers' and grandmothers' homes there was a TV, a refrigerator and a lucky few had a washing machine.What works and consumes electricity in our homes leaves our grandmothers amazed with its quantity and functionality.
However, all the pleasures in our life have a price.And by the enthusiastic looks of the grandmothers - including.Each time, looking at the electricity bills, it begins to seem that magical gnomes live in the apartment, who have fun turning the meter wheel, accelerating its movement by two or even three times.But no, these are not gnomes.These are our insatiable electronic friends.
To curb the appetite of imaginary gnomes and ease the fate of our wallet, we tried to find out whether it is, in principle, possible to save electricity.
To do this, we study the savings methods offered online, both obvious and incredible.We invite you to familiarize yourself with the results of our work.
Obvious ways to save energy
The most obvious, on the surface, is to turn off the light when not in use.If your memory fails or you have so many things to do that you don't have time to reach out and press the button, there is a way out.Motion sensors 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 it.Ask installers to configure sensors so they don't react to cats and other pets.Otherwise, the payment for electricity, instead of the expected reduction, will skyrocket.
Replace incandescent light bulbs with their energy-efficient counterparts.And even better - LED ones.They consume much less energy, last longer and shine brighter.If you install sectional lighting and equip the room with several light elements, you can use them as needed.A constantly used dimmer (element that allows you to adjust the brightness of the lighting) will also help reduce energy costs for lighting.Experienced people recommend choosing lamps for rooms according to the degree of use.Of course, you can hang a dimmer but less energy-consuming lamp in the pantry than in the living room or kitchen.New generation lamps are more resistant to voltage surges.Well, the last piece of advice about lamps is that you shouldn't be too lazy to regularly clean the dust from them.Dusty bulbs provide dim light and use more energy to uselessly heat the dust.
Buy household appliances with high energy efficiency (class A+)
Modern equipment knows how to spend energy wisely.Most dishwashers, washing machines of the latest model and other devices are equipped with an energy-saving eco mode.Use it frequently.If possible, select the lowest oven, washing machine and dishwasher temperatures.
The main energy costs go to heating the device;By heating to a minimum, you can save a lot.
The washing machine's load level is also important.Charge it in accordance with the technical documentation.Overloading or underloading will increase power consumption.The same applies to vacuum cleaners with dirty filters and full dust collectors, air conditioners with dirty interiors, refrigerators with ice, kettles with limescale and other everyday joys.Remember that heating excess material increases your costs.A washing machine and dishwasher connected to centralized hot water will use less energy to heat them.But instead of spending on electricity, you will increase the amount you pay for hot water supply.And here you need to weigh which resource costs more.
This point, of course, is more logical to include in the list of incredible things, but let it stay here anyway.Unused appliances must always be turned off.When turned on, they consume a lot of electricity.It is ideal that, when designing electrical wiring, de-energizing all sockets is done with a slight movement of the hand.Except the one that powers the refrigerator.Then you can safely leave the house without fear of fires, power surges and energy losses.
If you remove charging from the gadget immediately after its completion, you will save energy and contribute to the long service life of the gadget itself and its charger.
Appliances that you use regularly throughout the day do not need to be turned off every time.For example, it would be better to put your computer into sleep mode.Because for some devices, turning on and off consumes more power than being in sleep mode.Be sure to remove the disks from the drives.When activated, additional energy is spent on its promotion.
If you haven't already installed a separate toggle switch to turn off outlets, use surge protectors for your equipment with power-off capability.
And a little more about technology.In many high-rise buildings, in accordance with established standards, an electric stove is provided instead of a gas stove.
Therefore, buy an induction cooker for apartments on high floors.It is specifically designed to save electricity.But it will be even better if you buy dishes with a flat bottom that exactly fit the size of the stove burner.And when it's time to cook, you'll cover the pan with a lid.And you'll finish cooking dinner on a cold burner, turning it off 5 to 10 minutes before it's ready.And speaking of which, we iron delicate and delicate items with the iron already turned off and cooling.
Kettle?In addition to timely descaling, we recommend that you only add the amount of water necessary.
Now let's go to the fridge.And the reforms will not escape him.The refrigerator should not be placed close to walls or other surfaces.Especially if the surfaces are heated - for example an oven.This will prevent overheating.Don't forget to check the rubber seal and the presence of ice.The main function of a refrigerator is to protect food by keeping it at a low temperature.And if there is an external heat source, the refrigerator will try to cool with twice the (electrical) energy.At your expense, of course.
You can also say a few words about films.High-quality movies consume more energy, but we don't suggest you save money by watching movies.This is blasphemy.
The very concept of repair can make a small but still significant contribution to your salary savings.For those who did not miss physics at school, it is obvious that a light-colored wall covering will save electricity and heat, since, unlike a dark one, it does not absorb them.This also includes cleaning dust from windows and heating appliances.Dust is a known heat absorber.And if, in addition, your windows have greater light transmission and energy efficiency, you will save some more money.
Choose rooms with south-facing windows.Then you will receive heat and light directly from the sun and completely free of charge.But this bonus is offset by the fact that in summer you will have to turn on the split system more often.The south side heats up very quickly, and in hot weather these rooms without air conditioning may not be comfortable.So keep in mind that small savings in winter can result in big expenses in summer.
A significant part of the heat (and, consequently, the loss of energy for heating the room) goes to the walls where the radiators are fixed.Installing heat reflectors between the wall and the battery will make it possible to use the heat generated without the cost of heating the street.According to experts, this measure allows you to increase the air temperature in a room by 2-3 degrees without additional energy costs.
Now let's move on to those saving methods that in our reality are more incredible than feasible.However, we will talk 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 additional cables and carriers.Well, since you're rewiring anyway, take care of the key for everything except the refrigerator, which was described above.
Eliminate heat loss.Thermal imager experts will tell you about the weak points in your home.And according to the diagnosis, it will be necessary to strengthen the weak, isolate the cold and dry the moisture.In most cases, homeowners will have to additionally insulate walls and replace windows.
If you are the happy owner of individual heating, we recommend that you install a boiler with a thermostat.It is capable of regulating the heating temperature, preventing it from exceeding the set temperature.The absence of additional heating is equivalent to saving a small fraction of electricity.
Install a Smart Home system in your home.It automatically sets the ideal energy consumption.With this system, you can control the electricity in your apartment yourself and remotely.In our opinion, the only disadvantage of the system will be told by the comrades who suffered from the 2015 accident. On the other hand, such force majeure events are rare and do not cover all the benefits of a smart home.
If you are afraid of the revolt of machines and believe in the victory of artificial intelligence over human intelligence, this option is also not for you.
Install electricity generators.Windy, sunny.And become energy independent.You thought this was completely outside the realm of science fiction, right?In vain.
If you plan to move to hot countries, remember that in Greece, for example, solar panels are used as a source of energy, because centralized electricity is very expensive.
Two-phase meter installation.The idea is to transfer the main business to the nighttime, when the load on the city's electricity grid is minimal and, therefore, the rates are very economical.Before changing the meter, make sure that you are a nocturnal person and that leading a nocturnal lifestyle (in particular, washing dishes, washing clothes and using household appliances) is not a burden on you.And also make sure that your neighbors are also owls, or take care of additional sound insulation so as not to incur the wrath of your neighbors.
In many regions, representatives of electrical networks even offer free installation of two-phase meters.But practice has shown that there are still discrepancies in indicators and not entirely correct calculations.Therefore, people are in no hurry to change their usual meters to two-phase, despite all its possible benefits.
And the most unreliable way to save electrical energy, included in the top 3 officials of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Fire Department, is independent manipulation of the wiring, causing the line to bypass 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 that municipal services can check the equipment and discover your secret scheme.For an experienced power engineer, this search will not take much time.And then, instead of saving, you will be forced to pay a small fine on your own initiative.