How to save electricity correctly? 15 Great Tips for Saving on Electricity

Turn off the lights

Most likely, you have already noticed such a peculiarity as forgetting about the lights on in the rooms.
It may have happened that you returned home after some walk and discovered that you forgot to turn off the light in a certain room. At the same time, we often do not pay attention to such things even when we are at home. There is an excellent option that can help in this matter.
If a child lives with you (daughter, son, sister, nephew, etc.), then appoint him as a kind of electricity controller. If this observer notices that one of the other residents has not turned off the light, then the latter must pay a certain fine. The effect is amazing - the family vigilantly saves on electricity, and the child earns pocket money from inattentive relatives. But here the information on how to save energy is just beginning.

Installation of a two-tariff meter

Install a two-tariff meter in your apartment.
The fact is that the night rate is valid from 23:00 to 7:00. The price of electricity during this period is 2 times cheaper compared to the daily cost. Conventional meters read all consumed electricity into one balance. Therefore, it is unclear exactly how much was spent during the day and how much during the night. To split your usage into two different balances, you need to buy a two-tariff meter. Residents who use such a device say that the money spent on installation paid off after 2-3 years of use. To use this meter even more efficiently, it is good to have a delayed start mode on your home appliances - today such a function is by no means uncommon.
There are many washing machines, multicookers, bread makers, etc. Such equipment can be programmed in the evening, and in the morning you can hang out the washed clothes and have breakfast with porridge and pastries. Moreover, all the electricity used for this will cost you half as much as usual. But that’s not all there is to know about how to save on electricity.

Saving on a microwave oven

I estimate that the microwave runs for about 15 minutes a day. This is just for warming up. I can’t imagine how to cook in it; the dishes have no taste.

With this use, the cost of money is about 25 rubles. per month. It's just pennies, but we'll try to save even that.

How to reduce microwave oven consumption

1. Defrosting. It’s better to think through everything in advance and get the meat 3-4 hours before cooking. Or put it under running hot water. And exclude the use of defrosting.

2. Cook only on gas. It is cheaper, especially if the apartment does not have a gas meter.

3. Cook over a fire. Yes, yes, if you have a private house, a barbecue, and firewood has been stored, then you can get together with your family every day in the summer and cook dinner.

Light and purity

If you are going to do some renovations in the near future, then it is better to choose light wallpaper for your walls.
So, sunlight reflects well from white. Therefore, a white room will always be much lighter than an apartment with a dark interior, which will allow you not to turn on the lighting again. It’s worth adding here that cleanliness is the key not only to health, but also to savings. Did you know that a clean lamp is 21% brighter? At the same time, do not forget that clean windows also transmit sunlight better. For these reasons, it is better to devote time to proper cleaning than to overpay extra money for utilities.

How to save energy in offices

Here are the top ways to save energy in the office.

Low-cost activities

1. Setting up the operation of computer equipment - this includes all of the above for enterprises. If possible, replace desktop computers with laptops, which consume several times less energy.
2. Installation of rubber linings on doors that hide the gap between the door leaf and the floor. The linings allow you to keep cool air in the summer when the air conditioner is running.
3. The use of reflective films on windows, which reduce the heating of the room in the summer, which also reduces the load on the air conditioner. (how to choose an energy-efficient air conditioner).
4. Regular cleaning, maintenance, inspection of the ventilation and air conditioning system.

1. Cleaning premises during working hours, and not in the dark, after employees leave their workplaces. The temporary inconvenience caused by the cleaner will lead to considerable savings.
2. Mandatory switching off of lighting devices at the end of the working day or the use of modern lighting control sources, which were mentioned above. Also, an excellent solution for offices is the use of dimmers, which allow you to adjust the intensity of lighting devices.
3. Use of energy-saving lighting sources such as LED lamps.
4. If your office uses desktop PCs and a network connection, reducing the length of network cables can save energy. To do this, you need to correctly arrange the desktops and correctly position the switch.
5. Activities aimed at developing a culture of energy saving among the team. This will create a lean model of employee behavior. Such events include not only conversations and training in the use of electrical equipment, but also reminders in workrooms.

High-cost ways to save energy in the office

1. The use of modern windows with increased light transmission.
2. Replacement of old office equipment with modern ones. Old copiers, monitors, printers and other equipment can consume 50%-90% more electricity than modern ones. Therefore, replacing it will pay off over time.
3. Timely updating of PC hardware. Modern processors and video cards, with higher power, consume several times less energy than models of 5-10 years ago.
4. Refusal of high power computers. Office PCs do not require gaming graphics cards and super-powerful processors, unless the work involves 3D graphics, video editing, or other tasks that require high performance equipment. Using office hardware models will provide the best balance of computers between speed and energy efficiency.
5. Use of alternative energy sources, for example, solar panels.

Energy survey

from 15,000 rub.

Attention to the teapot

If you often use an electric kettle, it is important to understand that this device consumes a large amount of electricity. How to save energy in this case? A very useful recommendation here would be to descale your kettle. To do this, fill it with a small amount of water, add 15–20 grams of soda to it and boil it. Then the same procedure should be repeated with citric acid. The fact is that a cleaned kettle without scale will boil much faster than with a dirty surface.

How to save energy in a private home

In a private home, as in any other facility, it is extremely important to organize the efficient use of energy resources.

The most effective ways to save energy are:

1. Use of electrode or induction boilers.
2. The use of thermostats and timers to optimize the operating mode of electrical equipment.
3. Implementation of “smart home” and Internet of things systems that allow optimizing the operating time of electrical equipment, as well as managing them remotely.
4. Refusal of a bath in favor of a shower if an electric water heater is installed in the house.
5. Timely cleaning of water heater and electric kettle from scale.
6. Using sinks with a valve to save warm water.
7. Using a wood-burning summer stove instead of an electric stove. This is especially true for houses located near a forest.
8. The use of a solid fuel heater with a hob to save energy during the heating season.
9. Use of a refrigerator and other household appliances of class A+++.

1. The use of an induction cooker, which heats not the burner, but the food itself. The efficiency of such a stove reaches 90%, since heat does not escape into the air.
2. Operate the air conditioner only with the windows and doors closed.
3. The use of LED lamps, zoning of space with lighting devices, as well as the use of dimmers and elements that detect the presence of a person.
4. The use of low-power lamps where high brightness is not required.
5. Using photovoltaic lamps to illuminate the yard.
6. The use of sockets with timers, which allows you to program the time when electrical equipment is turned on and off.

About the washing machine

Continuing the topic of fighting scale, we should also mention such energy-consuming household appliances as a washing machine. As in the case of a kettle, a cleaned washing machine will cope with its task much easier and faster than with a large deposit of scale. To clean it, you can use the same recommendations as in the case of an electric kettle, but in this case you will need more citric acid. You can also use cleaning products specially designed for this, which is more preferable.

Home computer

It is more rational to choose a laptop as a computer for home use.
The fact is that a mobile computer consumes an average of 60 Watts per hour, while a personal computer (system unit, monitor, acoustics) consumes about 250 Watts. As you can see, laptops are much more economical. Keep your computer free of dust. As mentioned above, all electrical appliances overflowing with dust, scale or other dirt work in increased mode. The computer is also no exception. Therefore, do not forget to clean your system unit from dust in a timely manner. In addition, if it overheats too much, which is greatly facilitated by dust, then the equipment may completely deteriorate.

Choose LCD monitors. LCD monitors consume three times less electricity than their CRT monitor counterparts.

Saving electricity on lighting

Lighting fixtures are the most common electrical appliances in our home, so we’ll start with them.
And not only at home, but also on the street:

How Taganrog utility workers save money

To begin with, an anecdote on the topic.

A Jew looks across the street in the evening; in the neighboring house the light comes on and goes out every two minutes. He went to a neighbor to find out what was the matter. He answers him: “I’m reading a book. And when I turn the pages, get up and turn off the light, what will burn in vain?”

This is an example of insanity and extremes. Let's calculate how much we save.

Let's take a standard 60 W incandescent light bulb.

At the end of the article I will post a file where everyone can check what I calculated.

Let's analyze the table by columns.

1. Bulb power – 60 W.
2. The lamp works approximately 5 hours a day. For example, an hour in the morning and 4 in the evening.
3. A month with this mode of operation is 150 hours.
4. The cost of burning a light bulb per hour is 21 kopecks!
5. Cost per day (5 hours!) – ruble!
6. Cost per month (for 5 hours a day) – 31 rubles!
7. 20% is the operating time over the entire life of the lamp
8. If the light bulb stays on all day long (24 hours), it will spend 5 rubles!

Why did I put exclamation marks? Because in a real burning mode (and even then, I took 5 hours too much), the light bulb will spend a meager amount per month - 31 rubles, a ruble per day! Isn't that a penny?

This is 31x12=372 rubles per year. If you change such a light bulb every year, the cost of lighting will be about 400 rubles.

Let's estimate what the costs will be when using an LED lamp of the same brightness . Manufacturers claim that this corresponds to a power of 6W. Let's believe it.

Costs decreased by 10 times.

If such a light bulb burns around the clock, it will “wind up” only 50 kopecks. We are interested in the real mode (5 hours a day), the monthly consumption will be 3 rubles 15 kopecks. Per year 3.15x12=37 rubles. With the average cost of such a lamp being 250 rubles, the cost of lighting will be less than 300 rubles. in year.

Well, an LED light bulb really saves money. The downside is that it pays off in the long term (a year), and requires capital investment. With a profit of 100 rubles per year on one light bulb, I think this is reasonable, but not critically necessary.

Another disadvantage of LED bulbs is a gradual decrease in brightness (incandescent bulbs always burn evenly), and a spectrum that is unusual for the eye.

Replacing old wiring

Quite often, increased energy costs are caused by outdated electrical wiring.
If this is true in your case, then it would be wise to replace it with a new one, which will allow you not only to save money in the future, but also to significantly improve the overall fire safety in the room. Now you know how to save energy using simple and effective ways. Try to put these recommendations into practice, and then your utility bills will make you much happier.

Author: Alexey Piven