Consumers are being pushed by rising energy prices and environmental considerations to save electricity. Consumers may view the environment as a whim or a fraud, but if that translates into an additional cost, it must be taken into account.
Of course, energy will go nowhere, its consumption will increase, the number of sources will increase and the most harmful will be replaced. Savings don't mean limitation, but wise use. You can economically spend a hundred kilowatts and waste a hundred watts.
The saving of electrical energy is achieved by a reasonable organization (not chaotic) of its use, it is the result of planning activities. And the quack devices and "methods" sometimes advertised on the Internet have nothing to do with saving. These methods can only cause fire and electric shock.
Energy consumers in descending order
All electricity consumers can be classified in one way or another by the amount of energy consumed (energy intensity). For example, in this way, in descending order:
- Heaters;
- Lighting apparatus;
- Electric motors;
- Computer science;
- Electronic equipment and communication devices.
Even at the household level, this classification is justified: electricity is mainly consumed by kettles, stoves of various types - grills, toasters, electric stoves, then irons, dryers. A large amount of energy is spent on lighting. Lighting competes with refrigerators (compressor motor).
An ordinary home PC also consumes a lot, it is quite a competitor of the refrigerator. In this context, television, security and fire alarms and chargers for mobile communication devices consume the least.
Converting electricity into heat is the most "noticeable" result that can be obtained, but it is also obtained with maximum efficiency. whether such a conversion is required. The efficiency of iron is almost 100%. For light sources, the situation is much worse - even for LED lamps, the efficiency is close to only 15%, (we can only talk about 100% proximity for quantum phenomena in a semiconductor crystal of LEDs, the rest is devoted to heating wires and losses in additional equipment: the drivers).
Savings on heaters
How to save energy without depriving yourself of the benefits of civilization? Since, as can be seen, heaters "consume mostly electricity", it is the most important resource for saving. For them, everyday energy saving methods are indirect, but no less important. First of all, the heat must be fully utilized. For example, it is extremely unwise to boil water in a metal tank in a cold room that does not require heating. It is best to do this where the heat spreads into living rooms.
The resulting heat must be retained completely and for as long as possible thanks to good thermal insulation of the premises. In European countries, for example Germany, they are even fined for poor insulation.
With multi-tariff payment for energy and the ability to store heat, the most opportune will be the night mode of operation of water heaters and other heating devices. During the day, the heat will be kept at a sufficient level. This is particularly beneficial if residents work or study during the day. In addition, by spending energy at night, consumers equalize the load on the power grid, which has a positive effect on its service state and operating costs. This allows us to hope for cheaper rates.
Savings on lighting
Let's start with a reminder so that we don't forget to turn off the lights where they aren't needed. And think carefully about the location of light sources (preferably with the help of professionals in the field) in all rooms, even if they are technical rooms. Next, we turn to the sources of light that exist in our time.
First of all, it should be noted that we are living in a fertile period of rejection of gluttonous incandescent lamps, which heat more than they glow. The widespread use of fluorescent light sources (daylight) allows very significant energy savings, two to three times.
Fluorescent lamps made in the form of tubes of 40 and 80 W were very widespread before (since the 70s of the last century), but mainly in public and industrial buildings.
Modern "energy-saving" household fluorescent lamps in E27 base are the same tubes with mercury vapor and phosphorus on the inner surface of the glass. But they are twisted into a round spiral and connected via a miniature electronic ballast located in the base and performing the same functions as the iron choke and gas discharge starter previously made.
But fluorescent lamps are already crowded out by LED lamps, which consume two to three times less energy than fluorescent lamps with the same luminous flux. They are still a little more expensive than other types of lamps, but the market is not yet saturated with new products. The costs pay off quickly thanks to the significant savings resulting from their use.
Fluorescent and LED bulbs have a very broad spectrum that approximates daylight. This is due to the use of an ultraviolet primary source in both cases - LED lamps also use luminescence and ultraviolet light is converted into a mixture of all the colors of visible light. Only in LED lamps, ultraviolet light is not generated by atoms of mercury vapor, but by a semiconductor crystal.
Other ways to save energy when troubleshooting lighting problems are to automate switching on and off. The person forgets, but the technique is not. Using dimmers (dimming devices), photo relays, timers, and motion detectors will minimize unnecessary lighting costs.
All of these products are in store, sold with warranties, certificates and instructions, and have long since ceased to be exclusive handcrafted products available only to the skilled radio amateurs who made them for their homes.
Electric motors
Electric motors are found in everyday life mainly in refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners. There are also pumps for heating systems and pumps for wells. All other cases: coffee grinders, drills, etc. do not deserve attention, because they are turned on infrequently and for a short time.
The reduction of energy consumption in the event of continuous operation of electric motors is achieved either by periodically stopping them (refrigerators and air conditioners) or by using frequency converters for asynchronous motors.
These are sometimes used to control pump motors in water supply and heating systems. As the operation of electric motors is generally associated with heat (cold), the economy measures are reduced to the fact that there is less reason to start the motors: keep the doors, the vents, the doors of the refrigeratorsand closed freezers.
The power consumed by electric motors in everyday life is relatively low - around several hundred or even tens of watts, you can ignore the famous "cosine phi" here, since the consumer does not pay for the energyresponsive.
However, asynchronous motors have one characteristic: a large starting current, 5 to 7 times higher than the rated current. This suggests that the less often such motors are started the better and justifies the use of frequency converters, where they are acceptable (the cases of refrigerators, especially air conditioners, do not apply to this). And don't put hot pots in the fridge.
Electric motors used in household appliances can be classified by power and duty cycle (fraction of time in a work cycle) as follows:
- Refrigerators, air conditioners (150–450 W, 20–50%);
- Heating pumps (60–200 W, 40–100%);
- Kitchen appliances (50-500 W, short term);
- Fans (10-30 W, up to 100%).
Submersible water pumps are used quite rarely and have a large power. They are used in single-family homes and cottages for wealthy owners. But even there, questions of economy are not in last place. Therefore, the operation of pumps in such systems is optimized by hydraulic accumulators, frequency converters and controllers that control the operation of the water supply. Everything happens automatically.
Computers, TV and phone chargers
Gaming computers are able to run counters well not only because of the fast processor, but also because of the powerful video card which runs 20 hours a day (game time passes quickly, and instarting as a schoolboy, you might not notice how the pension approached). . . Some people also use video cards to earn money.
A typical desktop computer in silent mode consumes about 200 W, a laptop - 40-60 W. This is comparable to a TV and not so important. Despite this, it doesn't hurt to manage the power supply of such devices, especially since such capabilities have long been expected in modern smart electronics.
As for chargers for phones and other mobile devices, they can be powered by “alternative” energy sources: solar panels and small wind turbines powered by suitable converters (including, of course, 5, 12 and 20 VDC. The latter can be used to charge laptops. )
Alternative sources in everyday life are still not very widespread, their capacity is very modest and the price is high. However, you have to start somewhere, and everyday energy saving tips should take that into account.