To understand how to save energy in an apartment, you need to prepare for an integrated approach. Just pushing a button to get the minimum bills won't work. And living without light is not at all comfortable.
The importance of saving energy
While energy resources were only worth a few cents, no one thought about the need to save electricity. But since then, as the payment amounts have greatly increased, the population has shown significant 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 the reserves of exhaustible energy resources, and the cost of their production - on the contrary, is increasing. Unfortunately, the wages of ordinary residents of our country do not show such rampant growth, so there is no other way out than to find efficient ways to save electricity.
There is another reason to save - the colossal loads on transformer substations. 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, thanks to electricity savings, 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 keep the nation healthy.
Effective and legal ways to save
Reduce the need
How can you save energy at home without any appliances or additional investment? It's very simple. Just 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.
- Studying the question of how to save light in an apartment, you should know that the degree of lighting depends on how clean the lighting fixtures are. 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 should also 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 several bulbs, you can light them 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 a dimmer. It allows you to adjust the degree of illumination of each luminaire.
- Replace standard incandescent 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, as they consume a low amount of energy and emit a decent amount of 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 stations operate almost at idle. How to save energy 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 every house, 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, poor quality cables and a large number of extension cords and various tees also increases the consumption of electricity in the home.
Technical innovations
People who dream of learning how to properly save electricity in an apartment should evaluate each of their household appliances. After all, older models of refrigerators and televisions consume a lot of energy, twice as much as 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 devices have now started to appear on sale, they are able to independently calculate the amount of laundry or detergent based on the weight of dishes or laundry, and control water consumption. Refrigerators can go into super economy mode during owner vacations.
Fridge
Probably a million articles have already been written on the correct installation of the refrigerator and thousands of videos have been filmed, but our people, all the same, stubbornly continue to place this device near the heating coil, the heater. stove and 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 in order to ensure the necessary air circulation.
It is also desirable that the room in which the refrigerator is located is cool. Remember to defrost the refrigeration unit as needed and to rid it of accumulated ice, which facilitates the operation of the appliance and reduces its "energy appetite". Make sure the door is not damaged.
If you are thinking about how to reduce energy bills, then when buying a new refrigerator, do not go for the larger, more spacious model if there are 2-3 people living in it. permanently in the house. After all, such a "colossus" consumes a lot of energy.
A vacuum
To prevent the vacuum cleaner from starting to draw more energy from the network than it should, it should be cleaned regularly and in a timely manner from the layers of accumulated dust, since, being full, it consumes 15-20% ofmore. And don't turn the vacuum on / off too often - it spends the most energy on these actions.
Electric cooker
An electric cooker is a very energy consuming appliance. You can reduce energy costs by following these recommendations:
- If the recipe for the dish does not state that the oven should be preheated by the time the dish is placed in it, you should not turn it on in advance.
- Switch off the baking sheet 5 to 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, flat-bottomed 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 use much less electricity for this process.
- For quick meals, use a microwave or multicooker, 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 - around 15% of total consumption. To save money, use these tips:
- Washing with quick and economical modes
- Do not wash 2-3 items at a time, but undermine the laundry until fully loaded. But you can't overload the car either.
- Use low temperature settings for normal washing.
Air conditioners
To prevent the air conditioner from consuming too much electricity, operate it properly:
- Set the temperature to an optimum temperature just enough to cool, not freeze, the room.
- Do not use 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.
Radiators
In the fall, winter and early spring, we often have to get various heaters from the garbage cans around the house. 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 relatively hot weather, be sure to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors, etc. Old windows are better replaced with plastic windows. And if that is not possible, at least try to close all the cracks and microcracks in the frames and next to the glass. Up to 50% of the heat is dissipated 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 a master who will check whether there is water inside.
The 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 very expensive and cost effective over many years.
To find out how to save electricity with the help of the sun, it is advisable to read the special literature and determine the necessary characteristics of a solar station at the project stage. Many people try to make the whole structure on their own, but they do not take into account all the nuances and difficulties, so they often fail.
Wind energy
Domestic 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.
It happens that the owners of such power plants incorrectly calculate the power of wind flows, which leads to forced downtime for expensive equipment.
Smart home system
To automate the operation of all devices in the house, special equipment and a computer program are used, which also control the level of energy consumption. Sensors are placed throughout the house that 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 everyone in the house disperses in the morning about their belongings, the system turns off the air conditioner or kitchen lights, locks the door, or starts washing.
Installation of motion sensors
Instead of buying a rather expensive "Smart Home" system, you can get by with "little blood" and install motion detectors in the premises. After all, we often just forget to turn off the light when leaving the house or fall asleep with the light on. But if the rooms have motion sensors, they will turn off the lights themselves. They can be adjusted so that the light turns off only 5-10 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.
Such a sensor is very useful in the hallway, where light is only needed for passage to another room. In order not to constantly flip the switch or keep the light on in the hallway constantly, you can put on the sensor and live comfortably. Now on sale there are energy saving lamps with built-in motion sensors.
Saving electricity is not very difficult, 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.