The need to save energy will never lose its relevance. Who doesn't want to reduce their electricity bill? And it turns out saving isn't so difficult. You don't need ultra-modern home appliances and technology; Simple, proven methods are enough.
At the same time, it is important to not only know how to save energy, but also why to do it. And it's not just about saving the family budget. By turning off rear lights and using energy-saving solutions, you will contribute to nature conservation. But let's talk about everything in order.
The importance of saving energy
Many people do not understand why it is important to save energy. Firstly, this way you can save money in the family budget. Second, many irreplaceable resources are used 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 appearing due to carbon emissions into the environment is increasing rapidly. Their accumulation leads to global warming and natural disasters, affecting all inhabitants of Earth.
If everyone on the planet thinks about how to save energy and start using resources efficiently, there will be a chance to preserve nature for future generations. Let's look at the best ways to save energy at home.
4 simple ways to save energy
Anyone can take care of nature, it just takes a little bit. Let's learn more about what allows you to save energy.
Use LED lights to replace conventional lights
LED lights consume 6-10 times less energy than incandescent lights. At the same time, their service life is up to 50 times longer. LED lights save 1. 5-3 times more electricity than energy-saving light bulbs and last 10 times longer.
Types of energy saving lamps:
- Mercury bulb. They consume 4 times less electricity than incandescent lamps. After use, do not throw it away but put it in a specialized container.
- LED light. These are new generation consumer goods. They operate longer than mercury, consume less electricity and contain no toxins. The only disadvantage of light bulbs is their high cost.
Turn off lights when not needed
The first way to save energy is to use resources when needed. Sometimes the lack of habit of turning on the switch leads to a situation where the lights stay on even during the day or when everyone has left the house. To remember to turn off the power, you can stick a reminder paper in easily visible places. For example: "Check electricity, gas, water! " You can also turn off the power to the entire apartment with a common 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 a lot of kilowatts to boil water in an electric kettle. This household appliance is quite powerful, some options have a capacity of more than 2 kW. Compared to LED bulbs, it consumes about 10 watts per hour. This is 200 times less than a pot of tea.
If your apartment has a gas stove, you can heat the kettle on it. This will reduce electricity consumption.
Use motion sensors
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 devices do not react to animals. In a private house, a lot of electricity is used to illuminate the area.
It is necessary to position the sensors so that the lights turn on according to the person's movements and turn off after the person moves further. The device works at a distance of three meters. Motion sensors are one of the effective ways to save energy in a private home.
Similar devices are also available for indoor use. They automatically turn on the lights in the room when someone enters. The sensor registers changes in the capacitance component and the light turns on.
Room zoning is a great way to save energy
Organize effective lighting of premises through appropriate zoning of space. Use different light sources in different functional parts of the room: chandeliers, table lamps, bedside lamps, wall sconces. Each area has its own lighting method. For example, in the living room install:
- A large chandelier in the center of the room has a two-key switch for adjustment.
- Floor lamp in entertainment area.
- Table lamp on the desktop.
If you need light in a separate area, you can simply turn it on there instead of always using the main light. To maintain normal vision, the room should not be dark when doing creative work or reading. In addition, lack of light also negatively affects the nervous system, leading to depression or headaches.
Save electricity with 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. Typical consumers have access to two-tariff and three-tariff meters.
Electric meters with two tables calculate electricity consumption day and night separately. Nighttime prices for electricity are lower than daytime prices. To save money, you can turn on your washing machine and dishwasher after midnight by setting them to delayed start mode.
Not every region has the opportunity to switch to two tax levels. With this service, you can save up to 70% of your energy consumption.
When you have a two-tariff meter, you can use appliances such as a bread maker or a multicooker, which will prepare delicious meals for you at night while saving energy.
For those who use a boiler to heat water, using a two-phase meter will be a reasonable energy-saving solution. You can set a timer so that the machine only operates at night from 11 pm to 7 am.
There are clocks that divide the day into three time periods: "night" – from 23: 00 to 7: 00, "peak" – from 7: 00 to 10: 00 and from 17: 00 to 21: 00, "half peak"" – from 10: 00 to 17: 00 and from 21: 00 to 23: 00. Electricity costs are lowest at night and most expensive during peak times. Installing meters at a variety of prices has several advantages:
- Use electricity when costs are minimal.
- The cost of the equipment will be justified if the load distribution on the network is properly observed.
- The three-tariff clock cannot be hacked and reconfigured.
- Ability to transmit readings via the Internet.
The option of using two tax meters is often encountered. People who consume a lot of electricity during the day should buy a three-price device. By avoiding network load during peak hours, you can save electricity, because morning and evening hours are the most expensive according to the tariff - costs increase by 70%.
People in private homes heated with electric boilers must reduce the power of the device during peak hours, otherwise it will not be possible to reduce energy costs.
Ways to save energy with boilers and electric boilers
All owners of small houses and private houses are interested in the question of how they can save electricity if heating is carried out by an electric boiler, and water is heated by a water heater. It looks like the tables will be huge. It all depends on your efforts.
It is necessary to carefully consider the hot water supply and heating system.
- Good house insulation. For this purpose, various insulation materials are used. Insulated walls, floors and roofs will retain heat better and you'll spend less on electricity.
- Install an additional heat accumulator. This device is integrated into the heating system so that it accumulates thermal energy during the period of minimum electricity costs and releases it when the boiler is turned off during the period of highest energy consumption. The system operates using automatic on and off control.
- Install a recovery ventilation system, helps retain heat and bring heat back into the room, while preventing cold air from coming in from the street.
- Maintain 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 external indicators change.
- Use a double-circuit boiler, allows you to heat water in the boiler to a comfortable temperature without overheating the water, as this increases the load on the electrical network.
- Installing a boiler with good insulation will keep the water warm for a long time. Thanks to this, water can be heated at night, saving on energy costs.
Is it possible to save energy on class A+ appliances?
Appliances for the home are divided into energy efficiency categories. Advertisements say an A+ refrigerator or washing machine will help you save on electricity costs. Is that really so?
It is necessary to compare the actual energy consumption of different types of equipment to ensure that all models consume the same amount of power during operation. The only advantage of higher-end appliances is that for the same amount of kilowatts, the refrigerator freezes more and the oven heats up faster. So replacing appliances won't solve the problem of how to save energy at home globally.
That is, with the same power consumption, high-end models use electricity more efficiently when performing their work.
Let's look at an example. Class B refrigerators use 485 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. A model with the same volume and number of Class A+ chambers consumes 272 kilowatt hours per year.
To find out how much money you will save if you install a high-end refrigerator, you need to multiply the number of kilowatt hours by the average tax rate, for a capital of 5. 38 rubles. It turns out that you can save 1146 rubles per year.
If a new refrigerator costs 30 thousand rubles, it will pay for itself in 30 years. If you already have a device you bought years ago that works fine, buying another device won't bring you any savings. In case of serious damage and the need to replace the refrigerator, choose refrigerator models that take into account your financial ability. Purchasing a more expensive highly energy efficient option does not guarantee a reduction in electricity costs.
Consequences of illegal energy saving
Illegal actions can lead to problems:
- In case the electricity meter is damaged or magnetized, the owner is obliged to pay for energy use according to the price schedule and norms issued by the Resolution. As a result, electricity prices will be much higher than when paying by meter.
- The owner will need to purchase a new electricity meter costing from one and a half to four thousand rubles.
- Violators 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 will face criminal punishment.
- The owner will be held civilly liable if the energy supplier's compensation claim is met and must pay fines and interest.
Advertisements for special devices that reduce energy consumption by 25–30% are posted on various information sources. But you should not think that there is a device that can do this using legal methods. There are confirmed facts that this device will not help save electricity:
- This is not profitable for the organizations providing the resources; they will not allow this.
- According to the laws of physics, this is impossible - you spend as much energy as one kilowatt your device consumes from the network.
You should not be deceived and commit crimes in pursuit of profit. It's better to use legal methods to save energy. This way, you will spend less money on your electricity bill and will also help reduce your harmful impact on the environment. To do this, you just need to be smart about resource consumption.