To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. There is no such option for just pushing a button to get the minimum bills. And living without light is not at all comfortable.
The importance of saving energy
While energy resources were inexpensive, no one thought about the need to save energy. But since then, as the payment amounts have greatly increased, the population has shown considerable interest in methods of saving electricity and other resources. Villagers are worried about how to save electricity in a private house, while city dwellers are looking for information on how to save electricity in an apartment.
The increase in tariffs is quite justified, because the planet is rapidly decreasing stocks of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production increases on the contrary. Unfortunately, the salary of ordinary residents of such unbridled growth does not show, so there is no other way out than to find effective ways to save electricity.
There is another reason to save - the colossal load on transformer stations. More and more electrical devices appear in homes every year. Naturally, power lines and substations may not stand up, they need to 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. Resource-efficient people make their modest contribution to the conservation of rivers, lakes and forests and help protect the health of the nation.
Effective and legal ways to save
Demand reduction
How to reduce energy consumption without any device or additional investment? It is very simple. We just need to think about how much light we really need and use the following tips from experienced innovators:
- Try to use less electric light. This does not mean a return to primitive times, when the activity of life took place only in the light of day. You can just try to do all the things that require bright lighting during the day, and in the evening limit yourself to a single lamp to light up the rest of the work.
- When studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you should know that the degree of lighting depends on the cleanliness of the fixtures. If the kitchen shade is covered with a "century old" layer of grease and dust, you shouldn't expect bright light. And if the ceiling is clean, light penetrates it perfectly, which means you can use a smaller bulb.
- Windows also needs to be washed more often, as this way the daylight hours will last a little longer and you can turn on the electricity later.
- In chandeliers with multiple bulbs, you can turn them on not at the same time, but one or two. For office work, use a desk lamp in combination with low ceiling lighting.
- A very useful invention is the dimmer. It allows you to adjust the degree of illumination of each lamp.
- Replace standard bulbs with energy efficient ones. Recently, many have started to worry about the question: do LED lamps save energy? Experts are convinced that the future belongs to LED lamps, because they consume little energy and emit enough light.
- Turn off the lights when you leave the room. This, of course, is quite difficult if there are children in the house who are very difficult to get used to such a simple means of saving.
Use of multi-tariff 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 power plants are practically idle. Therefore, you can save electricity with a meter that calculates the energy consumed during the day at the usual price, and for the night - allows you to pay 30% less.
If the house is equipped with appliances that are used 24 hours a day (refrigerator, electric heater, etc. ), a multi-rate meter will help reduce the electricity bill. Washing can be started at night and at the same time the power of the heaters can be increased to turn them off completely during the day.
Rational use of technology
In each home, there are devices that never turn off the sockets. But not everyone knows that even in "sleep" mode, they consume electricity. Each individual device has a very small amount of this supporting power, but an impressive amount is achieved in a month. To avoid unnecessary waste, simply remove the plugs of all devices from the outlets during their "idle time".
Note:Using old and poor quality cables and many matching extension cords and 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 household appliances. After all, older models of refrigerators and TVs consume a lot of energy, 2 times more than modern models. Gradually try to replace all obsolete devices with low-power models. Labels usually indicate the degree of economy Class A is the most cost effective.
Recently, more economical energy consumption classes have appeared, such as A +, A ++.
Smart appliances have now started to appear for sale, they are able to independently calculate the amount of laundry or laundry according to the weight of dishes or laundry, and control the water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super economy mode during owner vacations.
Vacuum cleaner
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from drawing more energy from the network than it should, it must be cleaned regularly and in time from the layers of accumulated dust, because, being full, its consumption increases from 15 to 20%. And don't turn the vacuum cleaner on and off too often - it spends the most energy on these actions.
Refrigerator
Probably a million articles have been written on the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people stubbornly continue to place this device near the heater coil, the stove and the sidesunny. 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 in order to ensure the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the room where the refrigerator is located is cool. Do not forget to defrost the refrigeration unit if necessary and to free it from the accumulated ice, facilitating the work of the appliance and reducing its "energy appetite". Make sure the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce your electricity bills, then when buying a new refrigerator, do not "swing" to the larger and more spacious model if there are 2-3 people permanently living in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
Electric cooker
An electric cooker is a very energy consuming appliance. You can reduce energy costs by following these guidelines:
- If a dish's recipe does not state that the oven should be preheated when the dish is placed in it, you should not turn it on in advance.
- Switch off the hotplate 5 to 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. There will be enough residual heat to cook it.
- Jars should always be covered with lids.
- When boiling eggs and vegetables, add enough water just to cover the food.
- It is important to use good, flat bottom pans. Ideal for an electric stove - heavy-bottomed pots and pans.
- To boil water for tea or coffee, do not use a stove, but an electric kettle, as it will consume much less electricity for 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 - around 15% of total consumption. To save money, use these tips:
- Washing with Quick and Economy modes.
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but damage laundry until fully loaded. But you can't overload the car either.
- For normal washing, use low temperature settings.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it correctly:
- Set the optimum temperature just enough to cool, not freeze, the room.
- Do not operate the air conditioner with windows or doors open.
- When purchasing an air conditioner, be sure to calculate the area of the room to be cooled. Do not take too much power for a small room, as it is a waste of electricity.
- Be sure to clean the air conditioner's fans, filters, and grilles so that it does not have to run at high speeds.
Heaters
In the fall, winter and early spring, we often have to take various heaters out of our household trash cans. After all, the heating is often turned on and off for a very long time. We therefore use energy-intensive heaters, even if such heat is very expensive.
To reduce the need for heating, even in the relatively hot season, be sure to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors. It is better to replace old windows with plastic windows. And if that is not possible, at least try to seal all the cracks and microcracks in the frames and next to the glass. Up to 50% of the heat passes through them. Do the same things with the entrance doors.
If the heater has already been turned on and the batteries are still cold, you need to call an assistant who will check if there is water in it.
Use of solar energy
Solar energy has long been actively used in many countries with warm climates. Some have even managed to completely abandon all other sources. The technology is very attractive, but without government support it often turns out to be an overwhelming task for individual households, as solar panels and other structural elements are expensive and cost effective 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 they do not take into account all the nuances and complexities, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Household wind turbines in regions with high air mass activity can significantly reduce electricity costs, and if there is a special meter, they can also save money on the electricity produced. But, such devices as well as solar stations cost a lot of money and require installation by specialists.
Owners of such power plants sometimes do not correctly calculate the power of wind flows, resulting in forced downtime for expensive equipment.
Smart Home System
Everyone has probably seen the movies in which the hero claps his hands or calls out a password, and at that moment the lights go on or off, the window curtains open, the fireplacestarts to work. This is the “Smart Home” system.
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used that also control the level of energy consumption. Sensors are placed throughout the house to take measurements and determine how much electricity is used in each room. The computer analyzes and offers solutions to optimize energy consumption.
The system will not work on its own, it must be programmed for a specific house or apartment. But when all the inhabitants of the house disperse in the morning about their belongings, the system turns off the air conditioner or the kitchen lights, blocks the door or starts the laundry.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive "Smart Home" system, you can get by with "little blood" and install motion sensors in the premises. After all, we often forget to turn off the light when leaving the house or fall asleep with the light on. But if the rooms are fitted with motion detectors, they will turn off the lights themselves.
They can be adjusted so that the light turns off only 5-10 minutes after a person has left the room. After all, children are constantly coming and going, and adults can move around the house very quickly.
Such a sensor is very useful in the hallway, where light is only needed for passage into another room. In order not to constantly flip the switch or keep the light on in the hallway all the time, you can put on the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale there are energy saving lamps with built-in motion sensors.
It is not very difficult to save electricity, you just need to log in and agree with all household members. The main obstacle is ourselves and our beliefs. As soon as the awareness of the need to save money comes to us, it immediately turns out to be done so that the light bills are low.