Tariffs are increasing and utility bills are increasing every month. It’s time to think about how you can save electricity in your apartment. It is not difficult to achieve savings of 25% with simple methods. Is there no reason to think about saving energy?
General Recommendations
Big savings start with small habits. Many people know how to save energy at home, it is difficult for the family to get used to these simple rules. Turning off the lights when leaving the room, unplugging the charger when the device is charging, using household appliances more efficiently, watching TV for less time - small lifestyle changes can save a lot of money.
Light can be saved both with the help of restrictions and with the techniques used by Swedes and Scandinavians. Rejecting heavy curtains, tulle on the windows gives the best lighting. Light-colored walls and floors reflect up to 80% of the sun’s rays, which means you’ll need to turn on the lighting less often.
It is also important to wash the glass regularly, wipe the dust off the bulbs, lampshades on chandeliers and lamps - pollution dimms the light by a third. Windows and doors with good thermal insulation, modern wiring and appliances are a waste, but will pay off quickly by reducing utility bills.
Main ways to save energy
In an apartment and a private house, you can save electricity on lighting, cooking and household appliances - it is necessary to reduce costs in each direction. It is comfortable to work with, you can read with a table lamp without lighting a chandelier of 3-5 horns. If you regularly get rid of carpets and dust, you will need to vacuum less often. Proper use of household appliances, selection of energy-saving lamps and appliances, calculation of tariffs are the main resources for spending money wisely.
Proper use of electrical appliances
Knowing secrets will save you a lot of money. How to properly use household appliances so as not to overpay for electricity?
- Appliances that do not require uninterruptible power supply, such as refrigerators, are better off at night. For this it is convenient to use surge protectors with switches.
- Do not leave your computer, laptop, printer, or other equipment on standby. This will reduce the cost of paying 200 kW per year.
- Only place the refrigerator away from the heater. To distract the family from looking just like that - the consumption of cooling energy, after opening the door, increases by 5%.
- Only operate the washing machine, dishwasher at full load. Use high-quality household chemicals and low temperature conditions.
- Iron things that require gentle handling, after turning off, with the refrigerator. Iron clothes only after collecting a few sets, so as not to heat the iron many times. The bedding is easy to straighten after washing and folds neatly.
- Refuse to buy unnecessary equipment - electric fireplaces, coffee makers, thermo pots, decorative lamps do not contribute to savings. Their functions are often duplicated by other techniques.
Device shutdown control is a hassle, but cost savings will appeal to the responsible owner. Saving energy in your home is as simple as creating new habits.
Purchase of energy-saving household appliances
Buying the right devices is an important part of saving. Modern technology will save money on electricity. What is important to consider?
- Energy efficiency class. It is better to choose A or B. A Class A refrigerator consumes from 130 to 300 kWh, categories D and C will increase this figure 2-3 times.
- Size. It is unlikely that a family of three will need a large refrigerator, it will stand half empty and you will have to pay for energy consumption.
- Modern technologies. Induction hobs cook only the bottom of the pan, their efficiency reaches 95%!
Solar-powered portable batteries will charge your smartphone, such batteries are also used to charge the lamps used instead of the night light. Energy saving methods are built into modern computers, tablets, it is important not to be lazy and understand how to use them properly. Disabling and removing unnecessary applications will increase the running time of your smartphone by 15-20%, which means that you will have to charge it less often.
LED lamp applications
Light is an affordable way to save money, many people know how to do it. Incandescent bulbs need to be replaced with energy-saving ones. The incandescent bulb consumes 60 W, the fluorescent bulb - 15 W, and the LED - 8 W. The choice is obvious. You need to buy LED lamps from reliable manufacturers, they are more expensive, but due to long-term use they justify the costs and give tangible savings. What other benefits do they have?
- Turn on now.
- Base and ceiling do not heat up.
- Sockets E27 and E14 correspond to most luminaires.
- You can choose warm or cold light - this is indicated on the package.
Replacing all light bulbs is the fastest way to save energy. Within a month, the kilowatts saved will reduce electricity costs by 2 times.
Set up a two-tariff meter
Schedules of measuring devices with two tariffs: from 7. 00 to 23. 00, from 23. 00 to 7. 00. Installation will pay off in a year if there are many electrical devices at home that can be turned on at night - washing machineand dishwashers, underfloor heating, air conditioning, and also if the owners return home late or work on the computer at night.
Savings in the kitchen
Appliances with the most energy consume the kitchen. This is a stove, kettle, refrigerator, microwave. How can energy costs be reduced here?
- Defrost the refrigerator regularly if it is not equipped with a frost-free system.
- If possible, connect a gas stove.
- Buy dishes with thick sides and a bottom - the food in it simmers when the heating is turned off, it will have time to cook and it will stay warm longer.
- Boil water without reserve - as many cups as you plan to drink.
- Use a thermos. If you fill it in the morning with boiling water, it will be enough for the whole day.
- A steamer or multivarka allows you to cook several dishes at the same time.
A wise housewife knows how to save energy without compromising quality of life. Regular descaling from the kettle, closing the pot during cooking using a pressure cooker are simple recipes for home savings.
Other ways to save
There are various methods on the Internet to reduce the cost of paying bills. Confused how to save electricity in the apartment folk remedies, you can find tricks in the household that residents use to avoid paying for electricity. This is the use of a magnet, a wire to block the meter. When asked about how to save energy in the house, recommendations for grounding the zero contact and other illegal methods may appear. The consequences of using them can be too unpleasant to seriously advise such experiments.
Energy saving devices
What technique will help you consume less electricity? All energy-saving devices are designed to turn off equipment or lighting in a timely manner. 
Owners of apartments and private houses are considering whether money can be saved with their help and how to do it. What should be done?
- Install motion and presence sensors in places where the person stays for a short time: storage, hallway, toilet.
- Use pass-through switches: at the beginning and end of the stairs, a long corridor, they put buttons to turn off the lights when leaving the room.
- Use a time relay. It is convenient to program flower lamps, fan heaters, and even boilers with a volume of 30-40 liters for work in a certain period. You no longer have to monitor their timely shutdown.
- Configure the thermostats. You can save electricity at home by adjusting the water temperature in the boiler, underfloor heating mode or electric boiler.
You can save money by installing useful devices in your apartment or house. If there are no owners during the day, the heating for that period can be reduced by a few degrees, so that the thermostat raises the temperature an hour or two before the arrival of the owner.
How to save electricity in a private house
All methods listed for apartments work for individual residential buildings, but due to the larger area they can have their own characteristics. Saving electricity in a private home is no harder than in an apartment, you just need to know how. Heating is responsible for most costs. Warm floors, electric boiler is better to replace by heating with gas or solid fuel. Well-insulated walls will limit heat loss. A Russian stove and fireplace will warm the room and add originality to the interior.
Thrifty homeowners know how easy it is to save electricity in a private home. During the construction phase, they are planning a basement or cellar to replace the refrigerator, as well as an outdoor kitchen where they cook using an oven or barbecue. You must install solar-powered lanterns in the local area. The sun will heat the water in the summer and the outdoor shower is without energy.
Cottage owners know how to save energy in a private house - installing solar panels gives 120 kW of 1 square meter. m. The system requires investment, but can become a serious help in reducing resource costs.
Economy and environmental friendliness are current priorities. Smart energy consumption will save you money on vacation or study. Many people around the world are concerned about saving electricity, which means conserving the planet’s resources.