The presence of a large number of lighting devices and many units of household appliances that use electricity is a common occurrence in a city apartment. It is quite understandable that modern people want to live comfortably, attractively and comfortably. But all the benefits of this civilization became increasingly "greedy", while the resources themselves became more expensive. The monthly electricity bill is getting bigger. After receiving the next receipt, many have to figure out how to save electricity in the apartment, so as not to give most of their budget to the state. If you approach the resolution of this issue responsibly, then it is very possible to do this.
Pay attention to lighting if you want to save energy
To save electricity, start by replacing old lighting fixtures and the interior of your apartment. Traditionally, most people use central overhead lights rather than large and bulky chandeliers powered by several bulbs. At the same time, an obsolete model with an incandescent spiral was used. In winter, it gets dark early, which means you have to turn on the lights for a long time. As a result, monthly electricity bills increase in size.
And this is a reason to save light and replace ordinary bulbs with energy -saving fluorescent or LED bulbs. The cost is much higher, but they differ profitably because they do not use much electricity for their work and, at the same time, are designed for a long service life. In this way, one -time acquisition costs translate into sustainable savings in the future.
In addition, to reduce the number of kilowatt hours:
- make sure lights, glass shades and windows are clean;
- make full use of natural light;
- paste on the wall with light wallpaper;
- Turn off the room lights when no one has been around for a long time.
Use local area lighting and low power lighting fixtures. If necessary, install a motion sensor that will turn off the lights in an empty room. This will help you save a lot of energy in your home.
Save energy for the most powerful users
The refrigerator is the most wasteful household appliance in terms of energy consumption, as it must work all the time to save food. To save electricity in the apartment, use one of the modern models with low energy consumption (marked by the manufacturer as class A). So you shouldn’t buy the biggest device. Select the appropriate amount of equipment based on the needs of the family.
You can pay less with an old refrigerator if replacement is still not possible. For this:
- Defrost the freezer regularly (except for models with a "No Frost" system).
- Check the tightness and tightness of the door seals periodically.
- Place only dishes and pots that have been cooled to room temperature in them.
- Ventilate the kitchen if the temperature rises above 30 degrees.
- Place the refrigerator away from heating appliances.
- Provide adequate and continuous ventilation to the back of the device.
Electric stoves are another powerful consumer of electricity, but in this case there are a few tricks that can help reduce costs. To save money:
- Preheat the oven strictly at the time indicated in the recipe, not in advance.
- Turn off the stove a few minutes before food is ready, using the warmth of a hot plate for cooking.
- Use a pan with a flat bottom exactly the size of the heating element.
- Do not use excess water to cook fast food; cover the pot with a lid.
- Use an electric kettle to boil water for tea.
By following these simple rules, the savings can be significant.
Bathroom appliances can use less electricity
A washing machine is an indispensable electrical appliance in daily life, but it accounts for up to 20% of the current used. This is provided that all possible techniques are used incorrectly. At the same time, it is quite possible to save electricity in the apartment, but quite possible to wash it not by hand. To do this, wash the stain first. Load the cutter to the maximum level allowed, but do not overload it. Select the wash mode that suits the fabric:
- cotton;
- synthetic;
- feathers.
Give priority to fast and economical washing mode. Set the temperature regulator to 30-40 degrees if the laundry is not too dirty. This will help reduce energy consumption, and consequently the amount of payments.
Another device is an electric boiler. It allows you to always have hot water on hand, but to make heating water really economical, you need to place and prepare it properly. To do this, install the boiler as close as possible to the bathroom so that the liquid does not cool when passing through a long water supply. Optimize the boiler operating mode by adjusting the on and off times of the heating element. Clean the heating element from scale from time to time, increasing its heat production.
Don't pay for what you don't use
Today you can provide yourself with free time and entertainment without leaving your own apartment. For this, there are color televisions, personal computers, laptops, stereos and DVD players.
To save energy, turn it on only when necessary and turn it off when you are away from the room for a long time. A few hours of work is not necessary - and in a month, depending on the model of the device, several tens of additional kW can "run".
Therefore, turn off the TV with the remote control, and also put it in standby mode:
- whole night;
- when leaving for work.
For long absences, it is better to unplug the cord completely.
Computers are a technique that can be found in almost every home. Electricity saving rules exist for this category of electrical equipment. Powerful components such as processors, graphics cards and widescreen monitors typically require large amounts of power in stationary devices. In this case, notebooks are much more economical.
To not pay too much and save energy, set the desired value in the PC power consumption settings. If you do not want to close the program, put your computer to sleep. Turn on all peripherals connected to it via surge protectors:
- printer;
- scanner;
- modem.
Turn it off after the session is over. Unplug your laptop or computer completely if you haven’t used it for a long time. Electricity and money savings will be seen soon.
Do not heat, but warm
Central heating in the apartment has one feature. They turn it on on schedule, and the cooler doesn’t always meet the required temperature. For this reason, many are accustomed to using electric heaters, convectors, etc. The early onset of cold weather, old radiators, and frames that aren’t glued for the winter can also force them to turn on additional heat sources.
All this contributes to the fact that the apartment becomes cold and uncomfortable. Heaters are convenient because, with their small dimensions, they allow you to quickly heat the air in the room to the required temperature, but at the same time, the devices use a lot of expensive electricity for their operation. The power of one installation is measured in several kilowatts, so it is not difficult to calculate how many rubles a month for heating such an apartment.
Therefore, to save energy, it is more profitable to take measures to improve the energy efficiency of the house: change the old frames and doors, insulate the walls, wash or install new heating radiators. Of course, this requires a serious investment in the early stages, but in the long run it is profitable, because you have to pay less for light.
Install a new meter to save energy
Electricity savings in apartments with meters may also be due to metering devices. The old meter that is common to everyone is designed for one tariff, regardless of the time of day the resource is used. For those who have multiple connected users in the house and they don’t use it often, this doesn’t matter. Owners of large apartments and a variety of appliances can benefit from the installation of modern dual -tariff metering devices.
Due to the lower cost of 1 kilowatt at night, the use of powered equipment is much cheaper. It mainly includes installations with heating elements - washing machines and dishwashers, bread makers, water heaters. Such devices can be easily programmed to work at the right time, and you have to pay less. Energy savings can amount to about 25% of the previous payment amount, which is definitely beneficial.