In ancient times, when Alessandro Volta conducted his first experiments and Thomas Edison examined the invented light bulb, could they have imagined 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 on which everything is linked: information, data, household needs, comfort, communication, leisure.An accident on the electricity network of a capital paralyzed him.The work of maternity hospitals, hospitals, water utilities was stopped, schools and apartment buildings were closed, more than 3 thousand citizens got stuck in the elevator and some, as they say, could not get out of their apartments equipped with smart home systems.In a way, we have all become hostages to electricity.Although the stranded citizens have still literally become themselves.
By increasing the number of electrical appliances in our lives, we unintentionally increase the load not only on urban power grids, but also on our wallets.In our mothers' and grandmothers' houses there was a television, a refrigerator and a lucky few had a washing machine.What works and consumes electricity in our homes leaves our grandmothers impressed by its quantity and functionality.
However, all the pleasures in our life have a price.And for the enthusiastic look of grandmothers - including.Each time, looking at the electricity bills, it seems that magical gnomes live in the apartment, who have fun scrolling the meter wheel, accelerating its movement two or even three times.But no, they're not gnomes.They 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 studied the savings methods offered online, both obvious and incredible.We invite you to read 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 is failing you or you have so many things to do that you don't have time to reach out and flip the switch, 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 turn on automatically when you enter the room and turn off when you leave.Ask installers to set sensors so that they do not react to cats and other pets.Otherwise, the electricity payment, instead of the expected reduction, will skyrocket.
Replace incandescent bulbs with their energy-efficient counterparts.And even better: LEDs.They consume much less energy, while lasting longer and being brighter.If you install sectional lighting and equip the room with several lighting elements, you can use them in turn according to your needs.A dimmer (an element that allows you to adjust the brightness of the lighting) with constant use will also help reduce lighting energy costs.Experienced people recommend choosing lamps for rooms based on their degree of use.Obviously, you can hang a dimmer lamp, but less energy-consuming, in the pantry than in the living room or kitchen.New generation lamps are more resistant to surges.Well, the last tip regarding lamps is that you should not be lazy to wipe them regularly.Dusty lamps give dim light and use more energy to heat the dust unnecessarily.
Buy highly energy efficient electrical appliances (class A+)
Modern equipment knows how to spend energy wisely.Most late-model dishwashers, washing machines and other appliances are equipped with an energy-saving eco mode.Use it often.If possible, select the lowest oven, washing machine and dishwasher temperatures.
The main energy costs are spent on heating the device;by heating it to a minimum you can save a lot.
The load level of the washing machine is also important.Charge it according to the technical documentation.Overcharging or undercharging will increase power consumption.The same goes for vacuum cleaners with unwashed filters and full dust collectors, air conditioners with uncleaned interiors, refrigerators with ice, kettles with scale and other everyday joys.We remind you that heating any 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 of payment for hot water supply.And here you need to weigh which resource costs you more.
This point, of course, is more logical to include in the list of incredible things, but let it be there anyway.Unused household appliances should always be unplugged.When they are on, they consume a lot of electricity.It is ideal if, when designing electrical wiring, switching off all sockets is ensured by a slight movement of the hand.Except the one that powers the refrigerator.You will then be able to leave your home safely without fear of fires, power surges and energy loss.
If you remove the gadget from charging immediately after charging is completed, you save energy and contribute to the long life of the gadget itself and its charger.
Devices that you use regularly throughout the day don't need to be unplugged every time.For example, it would be better to put the computer into sleep mode.Because for some devices, turning it on and off consumes more energy than being in standby mode.Be sure to remove the discs from the drives.When they are on, additional energy is spent on their promotion.
If you still haven't installed a separate toggle switch to turn off the outlets, use surge protectors for your equipment with the ability to turn off the power.
And a little more about technology.In many high-rise buildings, in accordance with established standards, an electric stove rather than a gas stove is provided.
Therefore, buy an induction cooker for apartments on upper floors.It is specially designed to save electricity.But it will be even better if you buy flat-bottomed dishes that exactly match the size of the stove burner.And when cooking, you will cover the pan with a lid.And you'll finish cooking dinner on a cooling burner, turning it off 5-10 minutes before it's ready.And by the way, we iron delicate items with the iron already turned off and cooled.
Kettle?In addition to rapid descaling, we recommend that you only pour as much water as you need.
Now let's move on to the refrigerator.And the reforms will not escape him.The refrigerator should not be located near walls or other surfaces.Especially if the surfaces are heated - for example an oven.This will prevent it from overheating.Remember to check the rubber seal and the presence of ice.The main function of a refrigerator is to protect your food by keeping it at a low temperature.And if there is an outside heat source, the refrigerator will try to cool with double the (electrical) energy.At your expense, of course.
You can also say a few words about the films.High quality movies consume more power, but we don't suggest you save money by watching movies.It's blasphemy.
The concept of repair itself can make a small, but still significant, contribution to your salary savings.For those who did not skip physics at school, it is obvious that a light-colored wall covering will save electricity and heat, since unlike a dark covering, it does not absorb it.This also includes wiping dust off windows and heaters.Dust is a known heat absorber.And if, in addition, your windows have increased light transmission and energy efficiency, you will save even more money.
Choose accommodation with south-facing windows.You will then receive heat and light directly from the sun, completely free of charge.But this bonus is offset by the fact that in summer you will have to activate the split system more often.The south side heats up very quickly, and in hot weather such rooms without air conditioning may not be comfortable.So keep in mind that small savings in winter can lead to big expenses in summer.
A significant part of the heat (and, therefore, the energy loss required to heat the room) goes into the walls to which the radiators are attached.Installing heat reflectors between the wall and the battery will allow you to use the generated heat without the costs of street heating.According to experts, this measure allows you to increase the air temperature in a living 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 tell you about it.
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 brackets.Well, since you're rewiring anyway, take care of the switch for everything except the refrigerator, which was described above.
Eliminates heat loss.Specialists equipped with a thermal camera will inform you about the weak points in your house.And in accordance with the diagnosis, it will be necessary to strengthen the weak, insulate the cold and dry the humidity.In most cases, homeowners will also need to 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 able to regulate the heating temperature, preventing it from exceeding the set one.The absence of additional heating equates to saving a small fraction of electricity.
Install a Smart Home system in your home.It automatically sets optimal energy consumption.With this system you can control the electricity in your apartment yourself and remotely.In our opinion, the only drawback of the system will be told to you by comrades who suffered from the accident in 2015. On the other hand, such force majeure events are rare and do not cover all the advantages of a smart home.
If you are afraid of machine uprising 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 energetically independent.You thought this was completely outside the realm of science fiction, didn't you?In vain.
If you are planning to move to warm countries, keep in mind that in Greece, for example, solar panels are used as a source of energy, since centralized electricity is very expensive.
Installation of a two-phase meter.The idea is to shift the main activity to nighttime, when the load on the city's electricity grid is minimal and, therefore, tariffs are quite economical.Before changing your meter, make sure that you are a night owl and that leading a nocturnal lifestyle (including washing dishes, laundry and using electrical appliances) does not burden you.And also make sure your neighbors are also owls, or provide extra sound insulation so you don't attract the wrath of your neighbors.
In many regions, representatives of power networks even offer to install two-phase meters free of charge.But practice has shown that there are still discrepancies in the indicators and not entirely correct calculations.Therefore, people are in no hurry to replace their usual meters with two-phase meters, despite all their possible advantages.
And the most unreliable way to save electricity, included in the top 3 employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Fire Brigade, is independent manipulation of the wiring, as a result of which the line bypasses the meter.Built without knowledge of basic technical safety standards and the laws of physics, these structures become causes of fires and other disasters.Not to mention that city departments can check the equipment and discover your secret scheme.For an experienced energy engineer, such research will not take much time.And then, instead of saving, you will be forced to pay a fairly small fine for your initiative.