The need to save energy will never lose its importance. Who wouldn't want a lower electricity bill? And saving, it turns out, is not so difficult. You do not need household appliances and ultra-modern technology; simple and proven methods will suffice.
At the same time, it is important to know not only how to save energy, but also why it should be done. And it's not just about saving 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 they save energy. First, in this way you can save money in the family budget. Second, many irreplaceable resources are used up every day to produce energy: coal, oil, gas, and emissions from power plants pollute the atmosphere.
In recent years, the volume of greenhouse gases, which appear due to 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 all people on the planet think about how to save energy and start using resources efficiently, there is 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. Let's find out more about what allows you to save energy.
Using LED bulbs instead of conventional ones
LED lamps consume 6-10 times less energy than incandescent lamps. At the same time, their service life is up to 50 times longer. LED lamps are 1. 5-3 times more economical than energy-saving lamps and shine 10 times longer.
Types of energy saving lamps:
- Mercury lamp. They consume 4 times less electricity than incandescent lamps. After use, they cannot be thrown away, but must be disposed of in special containers.
- LED bulbs. These are consumables of the new generation. They work much longer than those with mercury, consume little electricity and do not contain toxins. The only disadvantage of lamps is their high cost.
Turn off the lights when you don't need them
The first way to save energy is to use the resource as needed. Sometimes the lack of a good habit of moving the switch leads to the fact that the light is 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 visible places. For example: "Check the electricity, gas, water! "You can also turn off the power in the whole apartment using a common switch before leaving the house.
Heat the water in a kettle on a gas stove, if possible.
This is another way to save energy at home. It takes many kilowatts to boil water in an electric kettle. This household appliance is quite powerful, some options have more than 2 kW. Compared to an LED bulb, it consumes about 10 watts per hour. That's 200 times less 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 motion sensors
If you have a large private house and an area that needs to be lit, you can install motion sensors. They will turn on the lights when someone enters the area. Devices do not react to animals. In a private house, a lot of electricity is spent on lighting the area.
It is worth positioning the sensors so that the light turns on according to the person's movement and turns off after he has moved on. 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 light in the room when a person enters it. The sensor detects changes in the capacitive component and the light turns on.
Zoning rooms as an excellent way to save energy
Organization of effective lighting of the premises through proper zoning of the space. Use different light sources in different functional parts of the room: chandeliers, table lamps, bedside lamps, lamps. Each area has its own lighting methods. For example, in the living room install:
- A large chandelier in the center 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 particular area, you can simply turn it on there, instead of always using the main lighting. To maintain normal vision, the room should not be dark when doing creative work or reading. Also, the lack of light negatively affects the nervous system, which leads to depression or headaches.
Saving electricity by using a multi-rate meter
If you are thinking about how to save electricity in your apartment, you can install a multi-rate meter. This will help reduce electricity costs. Ordinary consumers have access to two- and three-rate meters.
Dual-rate electricity meters calculate energy consumption for day and night separately. The night rate for electricity is lower than the day rate. To save money, you can turn on washing machines and dishwashers after midnight by setting them to a delayed start mode.
Not all areas have the option to switch to two rates. With this service you can save up to 70% of your energy consumption.
By having a dual-rate meter, you can use appliances such as a bread machine or multicooker, which will prepare delicious meals at night, saving energy.
For people who use a boiler to heat water, using a two-phase meter will be a good way to properly save energy. You can set a timer to use the device only at night from 11: 00 PM to 7: 00 AM.
There are meters that divide the day into three periods: "night" - from 23. 00 to 7. 00, "peak" - from 7. 00 to 10. 00 and from 17. 00 to21. 00, "half-peak" - from 10. 00 to 17. 00 and from 22. 00 to 23. 00. Electricity costs are lowest at night and most expensive during the hourspeak. Installing multi-rate meters has a number of advantages:
- Use of electricity when the cost is minimal.
- The cost of the device is justified if the proper load distribution in the network is observed.
- Tri-rate meters cannot be hacked and reconfigured.
- The possibility of broadcasting the readings via the Internet.
The possibility of using two-rate meters is often encountered. Devices with three charges should be purchased by those who spend a lot of electricity during daylight hours. 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 an electric kettle and boiler
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. Looks like the boards are going to be big. It all depends on your efforts.
It is necessary to carefully consider the heating and hot water supply system.
- Good insulation of the house. For this, various thermal insulation materials are used. Insulated walls, floors and roofs will retain heat better and you will have to spend less on electricity.
- Installation of an additional heat accumulator. The device is integrated into the heating system in order to accumulate thermal energy during the period of minimum cost of electricity and release it when the boiler is turned off during the phase of maximum energy consumption. The system operates using automatic on and off controls.
- Installation of recovery ventilation systems, which helps to store heat and return it to the room, as well as prevents the entry of cold air from the street.
- Maintaining the normal temperature in the apartment at the same level. To do this, it is necessary to install special devices that will automatically control the temperature in the room when the indicators change outside.
- Use of double circuit boilers, allowing you to heat the water in the boilers to a comfortable temperature without overheating it, as this increases the load on the electrical network.
- Installing a boiler with good thermal insulation that 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 in A+ class household appliances?
Household appliances for the home are divided into classes of energy efficiency. The ad says that an A+ class refrigerator or washing machine will help you save on electricity costs. Is it really?
It is worth comparing the actual energy consumption of devices of different categories to ensure that all models consume approximately the same amount of electricity during operation. The only advantage of higher class appliances is that for the same amount of kilowatts, the refrigerator freezes more and the oven heats up faster. Thus, replacing appliances will not globally solve the problem of how to save energy at home.
This means, with equal energy consumption, the high-end models use electricity more efficiently to do their job.
Let's look at an example. A Class B refrigerator uses 485 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. An equipment model with the same volume and number of rooms as A+ class consumes 272 kilowatt-hours per year.
To find out how much money you save if you install a high-end refrigerator, you need to multiply the kilowatt-hours by the average tariff rate, for capital it 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 purchased many years ago, but works as it should, buying another one will not bring you any savings. In case of serious damage and the need to replace the refrigerator with a new one, choose models taking into account your financial capabilities. Buying a more expensive option with high energy efficiency does not guarantee a reduction in electricity costs.
Consequences of illegal energy saving
Illegal actions can lead to problems:
- If the electricity meter is damaged or magnetized, the owner will be obliged to pay for the use of energy according to the rates and fees approved by the Resolution. As a result, the cost of electricity will be much higher than when it is paid by the meter.
- The owner will have to buy a new electricity meter that costs from one and a half to four thousand rubles.
- The violator 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 a criminal penalty.
- The owner will bear civil liability if the request of the energy supply organization is met and he will have to pay fines and interest.
Advertisements for special devices that help 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 real facts that confirm that this device will not help save electricity:
- This is not profitable for sourcing organizations; they will not allow this.
- According to the laws of physics, this is impossible - spend as much energy as one kilowatt is consumed by the network from your devices.
You must not be deceived and commit crimes in search of profit. Better use legal methods to save energy. This way you will spend less money on your electricity bills and also help reduce your harmful impact on the environment. To do this, you just have to be smart about resource consumption.