The need to save energy will not lose its relevance. Who doesn't want a reduction in their electric bill? And saving, it turns out, is not so difficult. You don't need home appliances and ultra-modern technology; simple and proven methods are sufficient.
At the same time, it is important to know not only how to save energy, but also why it should be done. And this is not only to save the family budget. By turning off the lights behind you and using energy-efficient solutions, you help preserve nature. But let's talk about everything in order.
The importance of saving energy
Many people do not understand why save energy. First, this way you can save money in the family budget. Second, many irreplaceable resources are consumed every day for energy production: coal, oil, gas, and emissions from thermal power plants pollute the atmosphere.
In recent years, the amount of greenhouse gases, which appear as a result of the release of carbon into the environment, has increased rapidly. Their accumulation leads to global warming and natural disasters, which affect every inhabitant of the Earth.
If everyone on the planet thinks about how to save energy and start using resources efficiently, there is an opportunity to preserve nature for future generations. Let's see the best way to save energy at home.
4 easy ways to save energy
Anyone can take care of nature; it only takes a little. Let's find out more about what allows you to save energy.
Using LED lights instead of conventional lights
LED lights use 6-10 times less energy than incandescent lights. At the same time, their service life is up to 50 times longer. LED lights are 1. 5-3 times more economical than energy-saving light bulbs and shine 10 times longer.
Types of energy saving lamps:
- Mercury bulb. They use 4 times less electricity than incandescent lamps. After use, they cannot be thrown away, but must be thrown away in a special container.
- LED light bulb. This is a new generation of consumables. They work longer than mercury, use less electricity, and contain no toxins. The only downside to light bulbs is their high cost.
Turn off lights when not needed
The first way to save energy is to use resources as needed. Sometimes the lack of a good habit of flicking the switch leads to the fact that the lights are on even during the day or when everyone has left the house. To remember to turn off the power, you can put a reminder note in a visible place. For example: "Check the electricity, gas, water! "You can also turn off the power to the entire apartment using a regular switch before leaving the house.
Heat water in a kettle on a gas stove, if available.
This is another way to save energy at home. It takes many kilowatts to boil water in an electric kettle. These home appliances are quite powerful, some options have more than 2 kW. Compared to an LED light bulb, it uses about 10 watts per hour. This is 200 times lower than a teapot.
If you have a gas stove in your apartment, you can heat the kettle on it. This will reduce electricity consumption.
Using a motion sensor
If you have a large private house and an area that needs to be illuminated, you can install a motion sensor. They will turn on the lights when someone enters the area. The device does not respond to animals. In a private house, a lot of electricity is spent on lighting the area.
It is worthwhile to put sensors so that the light turns on according to the movement of a person and turns off after he passes further. The device operates at a distance of three meters. Motion sensors are one of the effective ways to save energy in private homes.
Similar devices are also available for indoor use. They automatically turn on the lights in the room when someone enters it. The sensor registers the change in the capacitive component, and the light turns on.
Zoning the room as the best way to save energy
Organize effective lighting of premises through proper zoning of space. Use different light sources in different functional parts of the room: chandeliers, table lamps, bedside lamps, sconces. Each zone has its own lighting method. For example, in the living room install:
- A large chandelier in the middle of the room with a two-key switch for adjustment.
- Floor lamps in the recreation area.
- Table lamp on the desktop.
If light is needed in a separate area, you can just turn it on there, instead of always using the main light. To maintain normal vision, the room should not be dark while doing creative work or reading. Also, the lack of light has a negative effect on the nervous system, which leads to depression or headaches.
Save electricity using multi-tariff meters
If you are thinking about how to save electricity in your apartment, you can install a multi-tariff meter. It will help reduce your electricity costs. Ordinary users have access to two-tariff and three-tariff meters.
Dual-tariff electricity meters calculate energy consumption for day and night separately. The night tariff for electricity is lower than the daytime tariff. To save money, you can turn on the washing machine and dishwasher after midnight by setting them to delayed start mode.
Not all areas have the opportunity to switch to two tariffs. With this service you can save up to 70% of your energy consumption.
Having a two-tariff meter, you can use a device such as a bread machine or a multicooker, which will prepare a delicious meal for you at night, while saving energy.
For people who use a boiler to heat water, using a two-phase meter will be a good way to save energy properly. You can set a timer to operate the device only at night from 11pm to 7am.
There is a meter that divides the day into three periods: "night" - from 23. 00 to 7. 00, "peak" - from 7. 00 to 10. 00 and from 17. 00 to 21. 00, "half-peak" - from10. 00 to 17. 00 and from 23. 00 to 23. 00. Electricity costs are lowest at night and most expensive during peak hours. Installing meters with various tariffs has several advantages:
- Use electricity when the cost is minimal.
- The cost of the device is justified if the correct distribution of the load on the network is observed.
- The three-tariff meter cannot be hacked and reconfigured.
- The possibility of sending readings via the Internet.
The option to use a two-tariff meter is often found. A three-tariff device should be purchased by those who spend a lot of electricity during the day. By avoiding the load on the network during peak hours, you can save electricity, because the morning and evening hours are the most expensive according to the tariff - the cost increases by 70%.
People who live in private houses and heat them with electric boilers must reduce the power of the device during peak hours, otherwise they will not be able to reduce energy costs.
Ways to save energy with boilers and electric boilers
All owners of cottages and private houses are concerned with the question of how they can save electricity if heating is done using an electric boiler and water is heated using a water heater. It looks like the board is going to be huge. It all depends on your efforts.
It is necessary to carefully consider the heating system and hot water supply.
- Good home insulation. For this purpose, different thermal insulation materials are used. Insulated walls, floors and roofs will retain heat better and you will have to spend less on electricity.
- Installing additional heat accumulators. This device is built into the heating system so that it collects thermal energy during periods of minimum electricity costs and releases it when the boiler is turned off during the phase of maximum peak energy consumption. The system operates using automatic on and off controls.
- Installation of a ventilation system with recovery, which helps retain heat and return it to the room, as well as prevent the entry of cold air from the street.
- Maintain the normal temperature in the apartment at the same level. To do this, it is necessary to install special equipment that will automatically control the temperature in the room when the indicator changes outside.
- Using a double circuit boiler, allows you to heat the water in the boiler to a comfortable temperature without overheating, as this increases the load on the electrical network.
- Installing a boiler with good thermal insulation will keep the water warm for a long time. As a result, water can be heated at night, saving energy costs.
Is it possible to save energy on A+ class home appliances?
Household appliances for the home are divided into energy efficiency classes. The advertisement states that an A+ class refrigerator or washing machine will help you save on electricity costs. Really?
It is worth comparing the actual energy consumption of different categories of equipment to ensure that all models use approximately the same amount of electricity during operation. The only advantage of high-class appliances is that for the same amount of kilowatts, the refrigerator freezes more, and the oven heats up faster. Therefore, replacing equipment will not solve the problem of how to save energy at home globally.
That is, with the same power consumption, higher category models use electricity more efficiently in terms of doing their job.
Let's look at an example. A Class B refrigerator uses 485 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Equipment models with the same volume and number of chambers as class A+ use 272 kilowatt-hours per year.
To find out how much money you save if you install a luxury refrigerator, you need to multiply kilowatt-hours by the average tariff rate, for the capital is 5. 38 rubles. It turns out that you can save 1146 rubles a year.
If a new refrigerator costs 30 thousand rubles, it will pay for itself in 30 years. If you already have equipment that was bought years ago, but works fine, buying another one will not bring you any savings. In the event of serious damage and the need to replace the refrigerator with a new one, choose a model taking into account your own financial capabilities. Buying a more expensive high energy efficiency option does not guarantee a reduction in electricity costs.
As a result of illegal energy saving
Illegal actions can lead to problems:
- If the electric meter is damaged or magnetized, the owner will be obliged to pay for energy consumption according to the tariffs and rates adopted by the Resolution. As a result, the cost of electricity will be much higher than when paying using a meter.
- The owner needs to buy a new electricity meter costing from one and a half to four thousand rubles.
- Offenders will be subject to an administrative fine of 10–15 thousand rubles (Article 7. 19). If a person steals electricity worth more than 250 thousand rubles, he faces criminal penalties.
- The owner will be civilly liable if the demands of the energy supply organization are met, and he will have to pay penalties and interest.
Ads for special devices that help reduce energy consumption by 25–30% are posted on various information sources. But you should not think that there are devices that can do this using legal methods. There are real facts that confirm that this device will not help save electricity:
- This is not profitable for the sourcing organization; they will not allow this.
- According to the laws of physics, this is impossible - you spend as much energy as the kilowatts used from the network by your equipment.
You should not be deceived and commit crimes for the sake of profit. It is better to use legal methods to save energy. This way you will spend less money on electricity bills and will also help reduce your harmful impact on the environment. To do this, you just need to be smart about using resources.