home Boiler room How to save energy with an electric stove. Induction oven - how to save electricity with an electric stove

How to save energy with an electric stove. Induction oven - how to save electricity with an electric stove

If you have an electric stove, then this is probably the main item of energy cost in your household (except when you heat your apartment/house with electricity), so optimizing the use of an electric stove will save you up to ten percent on your electricity bills . I offer you some tips that are relevant primarily for conventional (non-induction) stoves:

Make sure the surface of both your stove and your cookware is clean and level.. Both dirt and air between the surface of the stove and the dishes significantly impair thermal conductivity, which means cooking will take longer and more energy will be wasted.
When cooking, especially boiling, close the lid of the pan.. You can experiment yourself and see that a pan with a closed lid will boil about a quarter of the time earlier, which means you will save the same amount of energy. And during the boiling process, keeping the lid closed will save money. I can say that with the lid open, the boil is maintained when the stove is turned on at 6 (adjustment from 0 to 9), and with the lid closed - at 5 and even 4. If we assume that energy consumption is directly proportional to the number, then we have energy savings of 20-50%.
Find the minimum power at which the pan boils and cook on it. Moreover, it is absolutely not necessary for everything to seethe powerfully! It will be enough even if it gurgles slowly from the side. Perhaps in some part of the pan the temperature will not be 100 degrees, but 98, but for cooking this is more than enough (and in general, at an altitude of 600 meters, water boils at 98 degrees, people in the mountains cook at a lower temperature, and that’s all Fine). Well, it will cook 2% slower, but you will save about 20% energy (again, if you set it to 5 and not 6).
remember, that your burner is heated to a temperature of more than a hundred degrees and will not cool down instantly, so you can often turn off the burner, and the dish will be served due to the residual heat.
Likewise, If you need to cook/heat several dishes, try to cook them sequentially on one burner: You use the current heat efficiently, rather than wasting time and energy heating up a second burner from scratch.
Place the cookware on the appropriate size burner. You can place large dishes on a smaller burner; in this case, there will be no waste of energy, it will just take longer to cook. But if you place dishes with a small bottom on a large burner, then a significant part of the energy will be spent on heating the kitchen.
A pressure cooker cooks food not only faster, but also more economically: a tightly closed lid reduces heat loss during evaporation, and shorter cooking times reduce overall energy loss due to the low efficiency of the stove.
If you have special heating devices, use them. An electric kettle, instead of heating a regular kettle on the stove, will save up to 50% of energy and the same amount of time. By the way, when cooking, say, pasta, you can boil water in a kettle, then pour it into a saucepan and continue cooking on the stove - more economical and faster. A portion for two in the microwave at a power of 850 W heats up for 2 minutes, on the stove at 1200 W for a couple of minutes and then reaches the same amount at 400 W, so we also have up to 50% savings.
A multicooker will save just as much.. The cooking time for, say, rice on the stove and in a multicooker is approximately the same, only my multicooker consumes no more than 500 W, while on the stove the water will reach a boil at a consumption of 1.7 kW and then the rice is cooked at 800 W. In addition, rice on the stove needs to be stirred, the power reduced, make sure it doesn’t run away, and don’t forget to turn it off in time (I have several burnt pans when you want to work a little while cooking without turning on the timer), so if you have multicooker - use it.

I hope these tips will help you save a little on electricity and, as it seems to me, not waste extra effort and time;).

Previously, the “lucky” owners of electric stoves paid for electricity at tariffs that were almost half as low as general tariffs. Now the difference in tariffs is practically insignificant, and several families live in one apartment for an hour, who, for one reason or another, want to eat separately. Thus, the presence of an electric stove in the apartment becomes a significant mechanism in increasing the cost part of the budget. But with some strategy, we can still reduce the amount of electricity consumed by an electric stove.
This strategy should include several areas:
The first is the serviceability of the stove and the proper quality of the dishes.
The fact is that with partial burning of the heater that heats the burner and oven, as well as with thick carbon deposits on the burner, almost twice as much electricity is required for heating. If the burner is swollen or the bottom of the pan is curved, then the contact area between the burner and the pan is significantly reduced, which means it will take more time to warm the pan and more electricity will be wasted. In addition, it should be taken into account that dishes with a thick bottom heat up faster and more evenly. It also holds the temperature longer, which also reduces the time required for cooking.
Second - optimal use of the stove and utensils
If you only need to boil a couple of eggs, then you should not take a large pan and pour a lot of water into it. The dishes must correspond to the volume of food being prepared and water must be poured exactly as much as this volume requires.
In addition, you should not place a tiny saucepan on a large burner, expecting that a more powerful burner will cook the contents of the saucepan faster. After all, how much heat generated by the burner in places free from contact with the dishes will go to nowhere, and along with it money for wasted electricity.
The container in which food is prepared must be tightly covered with a lid. It’s tight, because if the lid is slightly open, then the surface of the food in the saucepan cools all the time. And a closed lid will reduce the time required for cooking by three times.
It makes sense to turn on the burner at full power only at the beginning of cooking, until the liquid in the pan boils. After all, even when you reduce the power, it will take some time until the temperature of the contents of the cookware drops. For the same reason, you can turn off the burner on which food is being cooked 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking. While the burner cools down, the contents reach the desired condition.
Third - alternative devices
A modern electric kettle requires much less electricity to boil water than an electric stove. In addition, boiling water for tea and instant coffee can be poured into a thermos, where the water temperature will remain longer and you will have to resort to using a stove or kettle less often.
It is more economical to heat food in microwaves, electric grills, multicookers, and steamers. It is also more economical to cook some dishes in them. For example, in a double boiler or convection oven, you can cook several dishes at the same time using multi-tiers. It’s more convenient to cook croutons in a toaster.
To speed up the cooking process, a pressure cooker is also very effective, which, due to its tightness, reduces the energy consumption when using it by half.
On the one hand, the acquisition of these devices requires quite high costs, but on the other hand, they are already available in most modern homes, but we do not use them often.
Nowadays, induction cookers have appeared, which also require less electricity, although they require special cookware, and they are more expensive than ordinary ones.
So, just a little, drop by drop, we will be able to significantly reduce the amount of electricity used for cooking.

When purchasing an electric stove, consumers pay attention not only to the functionality of the product, but also to how much electricity will be consumed during operation. Currently, almost all manufacturers of household appliances have developed special stickers containing information about electricity consumption.

How is energy consumption determined?

Electricity consumption by an electric stove depends on the type of electric stove, classic or induction type. Electricity consumption is also affected by the saturation of the stove with functions and heating elements.

To calculate the electricity consumption of an electric stove, you need to know the power of the burners and the time allotted for operation.

A classic electric stove with conventional heating elements (tubular electric heaters) with a power of 2 kW in 15 minutes will consume energy from the electrical network equal to 2 kW ⋅ 0.25 h = 0.5 kW/h. Considering that the price for 1 kWh varies across Russian regions, the average value will be 4 rubles. That will turn out to be 0.5 kW/h x 4 rubles. = 2 rubles - the cost of operating an electric stove for 15 minutes.

By testing and the values of the passport characteristics, you can find out how much electricity an induction-type electric stove consumes. The Endever IP-11 induction hob is used as an example. Having a 2 kW burner, in 15 minutes of operation the stove will consume the same amount of electricity as a classic one. But there is a significant advantage: due to the absence of heat flow leakage past the dishes, the efficiency increases to 90%, and accordingly, the operating time of the stove decreases. Another plus in favor of saving energy is that when you remove dishes from the stove, the hob automatically turns off.

Testing the electricity consumption of classic and induction stoves

Both stoves are four-burner, with a power of 3.5 kW. A container with 2 liters of water is heated. In the first case, the pan is an ordinary 5 liter, without a lid, in the second case, the cookware for induction cookers is also 5 liters, and also without a lid. The initial water temperature is 21 o C.

Classic stove - water boiled in half an hour,

3.5 x 30 min /60 min = 1.75 kW/h.

Induction cooker, boiling time was 5.5 minutes,

3.5 x 5.5 min /60 min = 0.32 kW/h.

The second measurement will be the operating time of the burner.

In 15 minutes, the average electricity consumption of an induction cooker will be 0.175 kW/h, the total energy consumption is 0.5 kW/h.

In a classic stove for 15 minutes, the same 0.175 kW/h, but the energy consumption will be 1.93 kW/h,

Costs of an induction cooker.

Per month for 30 days the amount will be 156 kW x 4 = 624 rubles.

Classic type stove.

For a month: 463 kW x 4 = 1852 rubles.

An induction cooker is an analogue of classic cookers with various additional advantages.

You can use your own values in this calculation, because it is not necessary that the stove will work 2 hours a day, or that all 4 burners will be used, and the cost per 1 kW/hour is different in each region.

Electricity consumption of classic stove burners.

For 1 hour of operation, a classic electric stove, depending on the position of the power adjustment knobs, consumes electricity.

A burner with a diameter of 145 mm, 1 kW in the 1st position consumes 0.10 kW, 2nd floor. – 0.17 kW, 3 poles -0.25 kW, 4 poles -0.50 kW, 5 poles – 0.75 kW, 6 floors -1 kW

A burner with a diameter of 180 mm, 1.5 kW in the 1st position consumes 0.14 kW, 2nd floor. – 0.22 kW, 3 poles -0.30 kW, 4 poles -0.85 kW, 5 poles – 1.2

How to save energy. Ways to save money and useful tips.

What can you do to reduce the amount of electricity consumed and pay less? First of all, everyone should learn to save energy through the rational use of household appliances available in the house. How? Yes, very simple! So, we present to your attention several simple, but very effective measures that will help you learn how to save energy.

Effective ways to save electricity in a house or apartment

How to save energy

How to use household appliances economically

Fridge

Since it accounts for almost 30 percent of all the electricity we use, it seems that to save money you just need to buy a refrigerator with the highest energy efficiency class - “A+++”. “If your refrigerator at home is no more than 20 years old, you don’t have to change it. It’s more important not to use it as an exhibition of food, which children love: open it, look, think, close it. And in five minutes again.” A decrease in temperature by a degree increases energy consumption by 5 percent. So you should only set the freezer to the lowest temperature if you need to store food for months.

Place the refrigerator in the darkest, coolest corner of the room. The closer the refrigerator is to heating (batteries, radiators) and heating (stove) devices, as well as to the sun's rays, the more electricity it will consume. In addition, to reduce energy consumption when using the refrigerator, try to observe a few more points: do not allow a thick layer of ice to form in the freezer, regularly defrost and wipe the refrigerator dry; Before placing food in it, cool it to room temperature; never place a hot pot or frying pan; close the refrigerator door tightly and do not keep it open for a long time; make sure that the door seal fits tightly to the body of the refrigerator, preventing even the slightest gap from forming; When installing a refrigerator, leave a gap between its radiator and the wall so that the unit can cool in a timely manner.

The most power-consuming household appliance in any home or apartment is the refrigerator. For efficient and therefore economical operation, it is necessary to periodically defrost it if there is no “No Frost” system. The refrigerator should be placed away from any appliances that produce heat, and especially from heating radiators. Necessarily it is necessary to ensure unobstructed natural ventilation at its back wall through which the refrigerator releases heat to the outside. Don’t even think about putting it in a niche or hanging it with cabinets on all sides. And the most important thing, do not place hot pots or dishes- wait until it cools to room temperature.

Place the refrigerator in a cool place, never near the stove. If the temperature in the room where the refrigerator is located reaches 30? C, then its electricity consumption doubles.

Do not put warm foods in the refrigerator; let them cool to room temperature.

Defrost the freezer promptly if ice forms in it. A thick layer of ice impairs the cooling of frozen food and increases energy consumption.

Electric stove and dishes

The surface of the stove and the bottom of the pan must be clean and flat: a frying pan with carbon deposits requires 60 percent more electricity. “You can buy the smallest and cheapest electric stove,” comments Kokorin. “The main thing is that it has a flat hob that will heat the dishes, not the air.” If you boil water without a lid, energy consumption triples. If the diameter of the burner is larger than the bottom of the pan, the stove uses energy to heat the kitchen, not the food.

When choosing cookware that does not match the size of the electric stove burner, 5-10% of energy is lost. To save energy when using electric stoves, use cookware with a non-curved bottom that is equal to or slightly larger than the diameter of the burner.

When cooking, cover the pan with a lid. The rapid evaporation of water lengthens the cooking time by 20–30%, and, accordingly, the energy consumption for cooking increases by the same amount.

After the food boils, switch to low-temperature cooking mode. After all, if the water has already boiled, then it will not heat up above 100? C, but will evaporate. The dish will not cook faster, and more electricity will be spent on its preparation.

Washing machine and dishwasher

For a family of four, a dishwasher saves about 7,800 liters of water per year. But here, as with a washing machine: you need to load it completely; if it is not fully loaded, the overconsumption is 10-15 percent. Or use half load mode if available.
A washing machine consumes the most energy when heating water. Washing at 90 degrees consumes three times more energy than at 40.

A washing machine consumes up to 15% of household electricity. Use all the possibilities for economical consumption of electricity, which are provided for in the instructions for your washing machine:

Fast and economical wash modes
Full load, but without overload (excessive load increases electricity consumption by up to 10%)
Lower temperature (don't always need to wash at high temperature)
Correctly selected operating mode of the machine.
Here you can also use the principle of residual heat, that is, turn off the iron 5-10 minutes before the end of ironing
Don’t over-dry your laundry: ironing it will take more time and, therefore, use more electricity
Under-dried laundry will also require additional electricity consumption.
Use irons with an automatic shut-off function
Correctly use modes for ironing different types of fabric.
Set the temperature correctly, enough to cool the room
Make sure all windows and doors are closed before turning on
When purchasing an air conditioner, be guided by the size of the room and the number of people who will be in it. A device designed for a large area will simply “eat up” electricity without any benefit.
Clean fans and filters regularly.

Economical lamps

Iron

Do not over-dry and do not even wait until the laundry is completely dry; start ironing it slightly damp. The drier the laundry, the more electricity (and time) it will take to iron. And before you start “communicating” with the iron, first sort your laundry by fabric type and start ironing with those items that do not require strong heating of the electrical appliance. Start and stop ironing items that require a lower temperature setting with an electric iron. For example, you can iron handkerchiefs well even with the iron turned off.

Vacuum cleaner

After each use of the unit, do not be lazy to immediately empty the dust container, be it a bag or a waste container. A vacuum cleaner with even a half-filled dust container works slower, consuming at least 40% more electricity. Empty your vacuum cleaner's dust container more often, which not only increases suction power, but also reduces energy consumption by up to 40 percent.

Electric kettle

If you have a gas stove in your house, first of all, try to use the electric kettle less often. Let the water boil on the stove a little longer, but you will have the opportunity to save on electricity. Do not fill the kettle with more water than you need - it takes much more energy to boil a kettle filled with water. If possible, use a thermos to keep the water hot so you don't have to boil the kettle again. Regularly descale the kettle, as it slows down the boiling process of water.

If you have old-style televisions (cinema tubes) in your home, try to replace them with LCD devices. Modern TV models consume electricity at least half as much as their predecessors.

Washing machine

If you are still wondering which model of washing machine to buy, opt for modern class A models. It is these models, according to experts, that consume energy 2/3 less than others. If you have already acquired a washing machine, approach its use rationally, having learned the following points: run the wash only with a completely filled drum of the machine (it is better to run a full machine once than twice with a half-empty drum); When washing, the most energy consumed is heating the water, so try to wash at a temperature no higher than 60 °C - this will reduce energy consumption by almost half; If possible, when choosing a mode, exclude pre-wash, which increases energy consumption by at least 15%. Descale your washing machine - this will extend its life and improve the quality of its operation. To finish, use a few packets of citric acid, as in the case of a kettle: pour the powder into the tank and run a short wash cycle idly (without laundry) (no spinning required either).

Electric stove

When using an electric stove, make sure that its burners are not deformed and that the bottom of the cookware you use fits tightly to their surface. The discrepancy between the size of the bottom of the cookware and the diameter of the burners also leads to excessive energy consumption. In addition, try to turn on the stove immediately before you start cooking, and turn it off a little earlier until the dish is completely ready, since when it cools down, the burner will also heat what is on it. Do not boil water on an electric stove, because an electric kettle will do this not only faster, but also with significantly less energy consumption. If you use an electric kettle, I recommend not boiling excess water, but only what is necessary for the given moment. And most importantly, descale it often.

Do not preheat the oven unless the recipe calls for it.
Use the residual heat of the burners (turning off 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking)
Cover pots with lids
Do not use excess water when cooking vegetables and eggs
Use good cookware with a flat, non-deformed bottom and the size of the burner.
Use pressure cookers
Use an electric kettle (it consumes less electricity than an electric stove), but buy an electric kettle large enough for the whole family and pour into it as much water as you use at a time
Use a microwave oven and toasters, in which you can cook in just a couple of minutes a dish no less tasty and crispy than in the oven. But it is much faster, and therefore more economical.

Audio-video equipment

When leaving home for a long time (or going to bed at night), turn off not only the lights, but also electrical appliances that are in standby mode: TV, stereo system, DVD player. This measure will also increase the fire safety of your home.

Try not to place household appliances close to devices that generate heat (for example, a radiator); it is also not recommended to install them in niches, move them too close to the wall and cover them with something when working. These appliances do not like warm places in the house because they generate heat themselves. Excess heat is always harmful to any appliance.

Place the TV in an evenly lit area, this allows you to set the brightness and contrast controls to a lower level. This also applies to computer monitors. This measure allows you to save up to 5% of electricity.

Computer technology

All computers produced today support energy saving mode. When configured correctly, this mode can achieve up to 50% energy savings. In this case, the monitor first automatically goes into standby mode if no work has been done on it for several minutes. This mode is much more economical than the full operating mode. And after some time, if work has not resumed, the computer also goes into standby mode. This is an even more economical mode.

Reduce monitor brightness (this affects power consumption)
Turn off your computer if you don't use it for a long time
Turn on all peripheral devices (scanners, printers, modems) through a surge protector and always turn them off when these devices are not working
Use LCD monitors whenever possible
Use a laptop more often (it “eats” less energy than a desktop computer).

Mobile devices

Do not leave a charger for a mobile phone, camera, player, laptop, etc. plugged into the outlet when there is no device being charged.

The charger still consumes electrical energy, but uses it not for charging, but for heating. When the charger is plugged in constantly, up to 95% of the energy is wasted.

Air conditioner

The air conditioner should operate with the windows and doors closed. Otherwise, the air conditioner will cool the street or other rooms, and where coolness is needed it will be hot. In this case, the electricity spent on operating the air conditioner will be wasted.

Heaters

The cold outside and at home forces us to take out the heaters from the pantries. And now... Autumn is rainy and cold. But there is still no heat in the house. What to do? I don't want to be cold and sick. So you have to turn on the “eaters” of electricity - the heaters.

In order to somehow reduce the time the heater is used, you need to insulate everything you can: windows, walls, floors, etc. Of course, plastic windows cope well with this task. Well, if the windows are ordinary, try to seal all the cracks and cracks in the window frames. It is through them that up to 50% of the heat evaporates. The same needs to be done with the entrance doors.

What if the central heating is already on and you are still cold?

There can be many reasons (we won’t go into detail on this now). But in some cases, simply washing old batteries, replacing them, or increasing their heat transfer by adding additional sections can help.

During the renovation, we installed modern radiators in all rooms in as many quantities as we considered necessary. And we never regretted it. When central heating works well, the apartment is always warm.

Well, if possible, try not to use heaters, they are very “gluttonous.”

Also, as an option for an additional heat source in the apartment, you can consider a heated towel rail, which is connected to the hot water supply.

Lamps. Lighting. Energy-saving lamps.

Instead of multi-lamp ceiling chandeliers and lamps, try to “introduce” several small single-lamp light sources (sconces, floor lamps, table lamps) into your home. Such lamps consume significantly less energy than, say, a chandelier in which three or five lamps are lit simultaneously. Light bulbs. The famous Ilyich light bulb consumes much more electricity than its modern energy-saving or LED counterparts. Replace simple light bulbs at least in frequently used areas (children's room, kitchen, work or study area). In the bathroom and toilet rooms, as well as in the hallway, where the light is on for a short time, you can leave old-style light bulbs. Of course, the cost of energy-saving lamps is somewhat higher, but their service life is much longer.

Dirty lamps, like dirty windows, can reduce light output by up to 30 percent. Mosenergosbyt recommends fluorescent lamps, which are five times more economical than incandescent lamps, and, as they say, they can now be recycled not only at Ikea, but also at your management company. “Perhaps their danger is exaggerated,” says Kokorin. - Breaking a household mercury thermometer in an apartment is much more dangerous than breaking a fluorescent lamp. But the best thing is LEDs, which have recently become much cheaper and of better quality. At least no one complains about the blueness of lips under LED lighting, as before.”

At best, an incandescent lamp lasts about a year, or even less, because such light bulbs are very sensitive to various factors. For example, many are familiar with the situation when a light bulb “burns out” due to power surges, a power outage in the house, or even when a lighting fixture is turned on. But today a 100-watt incandescent lamp can be replaced with a 14-watt energy-saving one: it will last 5-10 times longer and will be less sensitive to changes in electricity (if we are talking about LED lamps). And energy consumption will be reduced from 25% to 80%, depending on which energy-efficient light bulbs you decide to use.

To choose the right energy efficient lamps, you need to figure out what they are, and what you should pay attention to when buying. The competence of Vladimir Oleynik, marketing manager of the Lighting Solutions sector at Philips in Ukraine, will help us in this matter.

Energy-saving lamps are divided into three groups: halogen, fluorescent and light-emitting diode (or LED). All of them last much longer than incandescent lamps and use electricity sparingly, but they have their own characteristics.

Halogen lamps

Halogen lamps- these are the same incandescent lamps with a buffer gas added to the bulb: halogen vapor (bromine or iodine). This allows you to increase the temperature of the coil, which in turn extends the “life” of the lamp. This light bulb will last you from 2 to 4 years. If you replace a regular 100 W bulb with a 75 W halogen light bulb, you will save 25-30% of electricity. And yet, halogens are less efficient than fluorescent and, especially, LED lamps.

Fluorescent lamps They consume energy economically and will last from 5 to 10 years. True, they do not heat up immediately; you need to wait a little until the light bulb lights up at full power (usually from 5 seconds to 2 minutes). It is better not to use such light bulbs in rooms where you often turn the lights on/off, for example, in the hallway or bathroom - this will shorten the life of the lamp. Another feature of such lamps is that they cannot simply be thrown away; they must be taken to special recycling points.

Fluorescent lamps

Light Emitting Diodes (LED)– today they are the most energy efficient and durable. High-quality LEDs last up to 15-25 years and save 85-97% of electricity compared to conventional incandescent light bulbs, although they are significantly more expensive. LED lamps also differ from others in that they do not “burn out” from power surges. No harmful substances are used in the production of LED lamps, so they do not require special disposal. Thanks to the variety of colors and shapes, using LED solutions you can implement interesting design solutions - spectacular curtain and ceiling lighting, accent lighting of individual interior items and much more.

LED bulbs

If you decide to buy LED lamps, pay attention to several indicators on the packaging that will help you find an adequate replacement for outdated light bulbs. In general, there are two numbers you should pay attention to: luminous flux level (measured in lumens “lm”) and color temperature (measured in Kelvin “K”). If you need an analogue to a 100-W incandescent lamp, then an LED lamp with a luminous flux level of 1400 Lm is suitable; and a 60-W incandescent lamp - an LED lamp of 600 Lm. At the same time, European manufacturers indicate a service life at which the luminous flux will decrease by no more than 30%, while lesser-known companies often indicate the service life of the lamp (even if the luminous flux decreases by more than 30%). The higher the color temperature, the cooler the light from the lamp. Thus, lamps with a color temperature of 2700-3100 K provide warm white light, and are best used in a nursery or bedroom; lamps with a color temperature of 4100-4200 K (natural white) are suitable for the kitchen, living room and bathroom, and for the study you can use lamps with a temperature of 4200 K; they will give cool white light, which helps to concentrate. Conscientious manufacturers indicate this information on the packaging. At the same time, the indicators on the packaging of cheap analogues often do not correspond to reality. Therefore, it is worth paying attention to the products of European manufacturers who work in accordance with international standards.

Attention! You must not throw away used fluorescent lamps (including energy-saving ones) in garbage chutes or street containers. Try not to break fluorescent lamps. Fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of mercury vapor, which are harmful to humans only if the lamp is broken.

Saving the family budget - choosing room lighting

When choosing lighting, divide the room into several zones. Use different lamps for general lighting and for individual areas. For example, create a cozy place for reading books using a sconce or table lamp - you don’t have to turn on a huge 7-lamp chandelier for this.

Natural light

Make the most of natural light: firstly, the windows should be clean, and secondly, do not cover them with curtains or blinds unless necessary.

When choosing lamps, pay attention to the manufacturer. Give preference to well-known international companies whose products have passed the appropriate certification. This means it will be of high quality and safe.

Keep the lamps clean - dirt and dust on chandeliers and lamps can reduce the efficiency of the lighting fixture by 10-30%, reducing the illumination of the room.

Local lighting (sconce, floor lamp, etc.) allows you to effectively use them to illuminate only the necessary places for work, needlework or reading without the need to turn on the general one (chandeliers or lamps).

Room lighting, especially one made from LED strip, will not only brighten up your room at night, but also help achieve a significant saving effect.

Always turn off the lights when leaving the room. Ideally, this habit should go into “autopilot” so that the hand itself reaches for the switch.

Know that replacing two adjacent light bulbs with one lamp of the same total power provides both an increase in illumination and energy savings.

It’s even better to replace incandescent lamps with light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, which will help save up to 90% of energy (just not harmful fluorescent lamps!)

You can use LED strips as background lighting: 15 meters of “lights” are enough to decorate a couple of rooms, and the energy consumption will be about 80 W, i.e. like a small incandescent lamp.

Use natural light wisely: do not close the curtains during the day, do not block the window with flower pots and do not move massive furniture close to it.

Equip the lamps in the entrance and on staircases with motion sensors - this will allow them to be used only for their intended purpose.

How to save energy in the kitchen and when preparing food

An electric stove is the most energy-intensive household appliance, accounting for more than half of all electricity consumed. By following simple rules and techniques when cooking, you can save a significant amount of energy.

1. When cooking in a saucepan, you need to turn on the burner at full power only until the water boils. As soon as the water boils, immediately switch the heating of the burner to the minimum position, in this case the energy consumption will sharply decrease and the cooking time will not increase.

2. Be sure to tightly cover the pan with a lid. When cooking in an open container, energy consumption increases by 2.5 times. Even if the lid is slightly open, this is equivalent to the fact that there is no lid at all, because... heat is lost with the escaping steam.

3. Use cookware with a bottom diameter that matches the size of the burner. The diameters of the bottoms of the pans must be greater than or equal to the diameters of the burners of the electric stoves on which they are placed

4. Do not allow water to boil violently on a burner turned on at full power, because boiling on a heated stove is sufficient at much lower power.

5. If you turn off the electric stove burner a little earlier before the end of cooking, you will save electricity due to residual heat.

6. When cooking vegetables, use a minimal amount of water in pans.

7. Choose pots that are the right size for the amount of food you need. If you need to cook a small amount of food, it is better to do it in a small one. saucepan on the smallest burner.

8. The bottoms of pots and pans must be smooth and clean so that there is close contact with the burners. Dishes with a crooked bottom or with carbon deposits require 60% more electricity.

9. When purchasing cookware, choose frying pans and saucepans with thick bottoms and glass lids.

10. Use pressure cookers. They save a lot of energy and time.

The cooking time in them is reduced by three times, and energy consumption is halved. This is achieved thanks to the tightness of pressure cookers and a special cooking mode - the temperature inside the cookware reaches 120 degrees due to excess steam pressure.

11. Stainless steel cookware with a thick polished bottom ensures good contact with the stove and saves energy. Aluminum, enameled, and Teflon-coated cookware are not economical.

12. The condition of the electric stove burners is of great importance. If one or two spirals burn out in a burner or the burner swells due to overheating, electricity consumption increases up to 50%. It needs to be changed urgently.

13. Use special electric heating devices (frying pans, pots, grills, coffee makers, etc.), in which the dishes turn out more tasty and of higher quality, and much less electricity is spent. Use an electric kettle, which itself saves energy by automatically turning off when water boils in it.

Boil only as much water as required at a time.

14. Timely removal of scale inside electric kettles can significantly reduce energy consumption.

15. Use thermoses or potters to keep water and food warm for long periods of time.

16. Do not use the switched-on electric stove burners to heat the room; this is uneconomical, ineffective and dangerous.

17. Use microwave ovens to heat and cook food; they will save you time and energy.

What we usually do uneconomically:

¦ choosing the wrong dishes - energy losses 10% -15%

¦ Do not close the dishes tightly when preparing food. — losses 2% - 6%

¦ We use too much water - losses 5% - 9%

¦ We use dishes that do not fit the size of the burner - losses 5% -10%

¦ We do not use residual heat - losses are 10% -15%

And to reinforce the material, here is a wonderful infographic from

United Energy Company.

Temperature

Reliable thermal insulation and absence of drafts is the easiest way to keep your home warm or cool. This applies to both walls, doors and windows, as well as the door to the entrance and the attic (the upper floor loses heat through the ceiling).

Do not cover central heating radiators with curtains or obstruct furniture. If you use an electric heater, do not use it while away or sleeping at night. It is healthier to simply wear warmer clothes and pajamas.

Ventilate rooms properly during the cold season: open the window wide, but not for long. This way, the “used” air will quickly be completely replaced, but the furniture and other objects will not have time to give off heat - and after closing the window, the clean street air will quickly heat up.

When arranging a home

The efficiency of the energy we use also depends on how we arrange our home. With proper arrangement, we save energy and at the same time do not skimp on comfort. We don't often do renovations, rearrange furniture or hang lamps, so it's very important to do it right right away.

To improve natural light in the room, decorate the walls and ceiling with light colors. This is especially important in rooms where there is little sunlight. It will be brighter in such a room, because light walls reflect 70 - 80% of the light, and dark ones only 10 - 15%. In such rooms, windows usually face north or nearby buildings, trees, etc. interfere with natural light.

Modern apartments can be effectively equipped with combined lighting. All artificial lighting in our apartments can be divided into general and local. General lighting is designed to uniformly illuminate a room; usually in our homes this role is played by a chandelier. It hangs in the center of the room and is a powerful lamp whose task is to illuminate every corner, but it does not always succeed. It turns out that in the center of the room the light is too bright, and in the far corners of the room it is insufficient. This is why local lighting is done. In our apartments these are sconces, table lamps and floor lamps. They need to be arranged and hung so that those places where the chandelier does not illuminate enough are additionally illuminated by them. The power of a chandelier can be considered sufficient if there are 15 - 25 W of incandescent lamp power per 1 m2 of area (the power of fluorescent lamps, including energy-saving lamps, will be 5 times less). For local lighting, lamps 1.5 - 2 times less powerful than in pendant lamps are suitable. The combination of general and local lighting is called combined. What does this give us? The room is lit evenly. We no longer need an overly powerful chandelier. We can illuminate only that part of the room that we need, and turn it off where we don’t need it. The apartment will become cozier and more comfortable. As a result of the installation of combined lighting for a room of 18 - 20 m2, up to 200 kWh per year is saved.

It is convenient and profitable to equip your home with dimmers. They allow you to smoothly adjust the lighting in the room. A dimmer, as the name suggests (also called a dimmer), can smoothly regulate the level of lighting in a room. If the lighting in the room is too bright, you can turn it down, which also saves energy. Dimmers can be manual or automatic.

We also recommend using various automatic lighting control systems. These systems are able to independently turn on and off lighting or even change its intensity depending on a given scenario using sensors that respond to light, sound or movement.

If possible, give preference to fluorescent lighting. There are now compact fluorescent lamps (they are also called energy-saving). They are as economical as the tubular fluorescent lamps known to us, but do not require special lamps, because Almost always suitable for installation in a regular socket for a regular incandescent lamp. Meanwhile, fluorescent lighting is approximately 5 times more economical than incandescent lighting.

When rewiring the house, ask specialists to assemble a wiring diagram so that the general lighting in the room can be turned on not all at once, but separately, using several switches, i.e. in groups. Then the light can be turned on only in that part of the room where it is needed at that time and turned off in the same room where it is not needed at the same time. Or you can turn on not all the light bulbs on your chandelier at once, but as many as you need now for comfortable lighting.

There is no need for excessive lighting in those rooms where you are infrequently and do not perform any work that requires bright light: these are corridors, toilets, bathrooms, utility rooms. It is enough to use incandescent lamps with a power of 20-30 W per 1 m2 (the power of energy-saving lamps will be 5 times less).

By saving heat, we save electricity

During the cold season, it is especially important to remember about saving heat in our homes. After all, when we lack the heat of central heating radiators, we heat ourselves with electrical appliances. And at the same time we waste electrical energy that we could not waste

Heating

Heating radiators will effectively heat the room if heat-reflecting screens are installed behind them and not covered with thick curtains.

Currently, there are many modern heating technologies that have clear advantages over traditional ones: long-wave heaters, heated floors, heat storage tanks.

Insulation of premises

It is known that in most of our houses heat losses exceed the norm by 3-5 times. Very often these losses are compensated by heating with various electrical appliances. Experts estimate that 40% of heat loss occurs through windows. Their additional thermal insulation or replacement with modern double-glazed windows can increase the room temperature by 4-5 °C. And, perhaps, the operation of electric heating devices will not be needed or reduced to a minimum. The same applies to the insulation of doors, walls, floors and ceilings.

1.Insulate door and window openings with special insulation.

After all, the main heat leaks occur through windows and doors.

2. Install new energy-efficient windows, preferably double-glazed.

If you have a balcony or loggia, then glaze them too.

This is the most effective way to save heat in the house.

3. It is necessary to properly ventilate the room.

Ventilate with the heating off!

Full ventilation for 2 minutes every 3-4 hours retains much more heat than constant partial ventilation.

In winter, 2-3 minutes of complete ventilation is enough. In spring and autumn - up to 15 minutes.

4. Do not cover batteries with curtains or decorative slabs and panels.

Useful devices

Today, modern electrical devices help save on electricity. Thus, there are devices that automatically turn off electrical equipment when it is not in use. For example, in the entrances of our houses the lights are on all night, but at three to five o’clock in the morning, as a rule, there is no one in the entrance and the electricity “burns out” in vain. A time delay switch will help us here. Simultaneously with turning on the light, a temporary relay is switched on, which extinguishes the light itself after a specified period of time (from 10 seconds to 10 minutes). Thus, 14-20% of electricity can be saved. For the same purposes, an infrared detector (motion sensor) is used, which is triggered directly when the object moves. When you enter a room, the light turns on automatically, and when you leave, it goes out.

Dimmers also help save electricity. These devices are mounted instead of a regular switch and regulate the brightness of the lamps. For example, if you are watching TV and do not need bright lighting in the room, then turn the dimmer control knob and dim the light. There are also dimmers, with the ability to control from several points or remotely using a remote control. Please note that the built-in smooth on and off mode eliminates the harmful effects on the eyes from a sudden and bright flash of the set. Another benefit of dimmers is that they extend the life of lamps, but some energy-saving lamps are not designed to work in dimmable fixtures.

Using pulse relays, lighting is controlled from several places. Of course, it is very convenient, upon entering the apartment, to turn on the light along the way you are walking: in the corridor, kitchen, living room. And you don’t have to spend a lot of time turning off the lights in the entire apartment (house) - just press one button.

Multi-tariff meters

The question of using multi-tariff meters is, of course, not straightforward. But if you consider that some household appliances operate around the clock (refrigerator) or almost constantly in “sleep” mode (TV, computers, etc.), then taking into account their operation at night, perhaps this is still beneficial not only for amateurs work at night.

In addition, modern multi-tariff meters take into account electricity much more accurately than induction meters.

Household wattmeter

What is it for? It will help us save energy. With the help of this small device (by the way, it costs about $30) you can learn a lot of interesting things about the operation of your household appliances and, in general, about the electricity consumption in the house.

Home wattmeters have been freely sold for several years now to measure the electrical power of any electrical appliance in a modern apartment. They are inserted into the gap between the plug and the socket, and measurements are taken automatically. Visual information is displayed on the display when the device is turned on in display mode. This method is available to any adult.

For example:

How much are you paying for a computer that doesn't turn off all day?
How much electricity does your refrigerator consume and is it time to replace it with a new one?
How much electricity is consumed when you wash dishes in the dishwasher, wash clothes, iron or dry your hair?
How much energy does your TV use when turned off?

You will get an answer to all these questions and many others using a wattmeter, and you will also find out how much electricity was wasted without benefit and where you can really save.

I think this will really help to find weak points in electricity consumption, which is especially important in light of the introduction of social norms for electricity consumption soon.

To do this, you need to carefully study the energy efficiency label that should be on household appliances. It has letter indicators from A (the highest energy efficiency class) to G (the lowest).

Modern devices consume much less electricity, even in standby mode, than in outdated models. For example, with 19 hours of operation in “sleep” mode, an energy-efficient TV will consume less than 1 kWh of electricity per year, and a conventional TV will consume 69 kWh.

Ways to save energy at home

The most significant and simplest way to save electricity in everyday life is to uniformly consume electricity throughout society throughout the day, so unless absolutely necessary, do not plug in additional electrical appliances into the network during peak electrical load hours: in the morning from 8 to 10 a.m. and in the evening from 8 to 10 p.m. The task is not easy, but still get used to it. Keep in mind that any prudent housewife in a civilized country will never turn on a washing machine or electric heater during peak hours.
Know that economical energy consumption is determined not so much by the quality of household electrical appliances, but by the quality of care for them.
It is known what anxious feelings people experience when at work they remember that in a hurry they forgot (often it only seemed to them) to turn off the lights and electrical appliances at home. You can get rid of such troubles forever, as well as prevent unnecessary waste of electricity and ensure fire safety in the house as follows: in the main electrical wiring line, immediately after the electric meter in the phase wire, make a circuit break by connecting a single-pole switch there. Install the switch near the exit door (of course, draw the electrical outlet of the home refrigerator with a separate line and connect it to the power supply before the mounted switch). Now, when you leave the house, you use the switch to remove the electrical voltage from all electrical wiring in the house (except for the refrigerator). Remember, installing a switch requires appropriate knowledge and must be carried out in accordance with the current Electrical Installation Rules and safety regulations.
Force yourself to tighten the screws and nuts of all accessible contacts in the electrical network and electrical appliances at least once a year. This will ensure not only long-term, reliable and economical operation of electrical equipment, but also its safety, as well as fire safety in the house.
If there is hidden electrical wiring in the house, dowels and nails are driven into the walls only if they know the wiring diagram. Otherwise, you risk damaging the wiring or causing electrical injury.
Each family in the house should have, along with other power tools, a voltage indicator (current detector) in case of carrying out preventive or repair work on electrical equipment.
Systematically ensure that the bottoms of the pans fit tightly to the burners of electric stoves, and for this purpose, try to find and use special soft ring pads, with the help of which they fill the gap between the bottoms and the burners and thereby minimize energy losses in this unit.
Please note that the diameters of the bottoms of the pans must be either equal to the diameters of the burners of the electric stoves on which they are placed, or larger.
Remember that it is more economical and faster to heat a large dose of water on an electric stove burner than to heat the same amount of water in smaller doses.
. Immediately change the electric stove burner if its surface is swollen, since such a burner will work extremely uneconomically. Keep in mind that a stingy person pays twice (in this case, “stingy” and “thrifty” are clearly inadequate concepts).
When cooking, do not allow heat loss through escaping steam; each pan should have its own tight-fitting lid.
Considering the thermal energy of the burners of electric stoves, turn them on a little earlier than you put the pans on, and turn them off before the end of cooking.
Do not allow water to boil violently on a burner turned on at full power, because boiling on a hot stove is sufficient at much lower power.
Use the economical "tower method" of steaming, in which pots are stacked on top of each other, with the top pan heated by steam rising from the bottom pan.
15. Strive to have dishes with a thick bottom in the kitchen, which are specifically designed for cooking on electric stove burners.
16. When operating an electric oven, use its entire working volume. Agree, baking a couple of pies in a large oven is both ineffective and uneconomical.
17. Be sure to purchase pressure cookers, as they save both time and energy.
18. Know that tubular electric stove burners with stepless heating power control are much more economical and durable than cast iron burners with step control.
19. Do not use the burners of electric stoves to heat rooms - this is of little use, and the risk of damaging a burner that is idling is great.
20. If you want to organize ultra-fast and high-quality cooking at home (heating throughout the entire thickness of the product), purchase microwave ovens or microwave ovens.
21. When cooking potatoes and vegetables, use a minimal amount of water in pans.
22. A significant reserve for saving energy when cooking is the use of specialized electric heating devices (frying pans, pots, grills, coffee makers, etc.), in which the dishes are of higher quality and much less electricity is consumed.
23. The industry produces electric kettles of different designs, so try to buy an electric kettle with a thermal release and a whistle that signals when the water is boiling.
24. To heat a small amount of water, use an electric kettle, and boil as much water in it as is needed at the moment, since hot water in an electric kettle cools quickly.
25. An electric kettle is perhaps one of the most frequently repaired electrical appliances in the house, therefore, in order to increase its efficiency, improve the safety of the thermal electric heater (TEH) and ensure fire safety, try to equip the electric kettle yourself with a simple device that ensures reliable disconnection of the electric kettle from the network when boiling free of water, that is, long-term operation without repair.
26. Scale inside electric kettles significantly reduces their efficiency, so do not forget to remove scale in a timely manner (for example, using the Anti-scale product).
27. Use thermoses to keep water and food warm for a sufficiently long time.
28. The industry produces a wide variety of lamps, and if you have the opportunity to choose, give your preference to lamps with fluorescent lamps or lamps with incandescent electric lamps equipped with individual semiconductor dimmers.
29. Maximum use of natural lighting is one of the ways to reduce energy consumption for artificial lighting. Keep this in mind and keep the window glass in your apartment clean.
30. Skilfully combine all three types of artificial lighting in the house: general, local and combined. General lighting is designed to uniformly illuminate the entire room using ceiling lights. Local - to illuminate a certain separate area in the room and is carried out with ceiling lamps such as “sconces”, floor lamps and table lamps. Combined lighting is the simultaneous use of general and local lighting.
31. Try to purchase and use incandescent light bulbs at home that are marked 230...240 V on the base or bulb, since such light bulbs last longer than those labeled 220 V (although the former shine a little worse).
32. Know that replacing two adjacent light bulbs with one light bulb of the same total power results in both increased illumination and energy savings.
33. Saving energy with artificial lighting should not come at the expense of illumination of the workplace, so use local lighting with the light source as close as possible to the workspace.
34. Keep in mind that the luminous efficiency of fluorescent lamps is 4...5 times higher than that of incandescent light bulbs with the same power consumption, so try to use fluorescent lamps without restrictions in all rooms (except, perhaps, the bathroom and shower room). The use of fluorescent lamps with silent starting devices in the house is a real energy saving. The prevailing idea that modern fluorescent lamps are harmful to health is unfounded; on the contrary, they create greater comfort when the premises are skillfully decorated. (In fairness, it must be said that the fluorescent lamps of the first releases had too narrow a spectrum of light emission.)
35. Train yourself to regularly, about once a month, wipe dust from lamps, which will ensure both cleanliness and improved lighting in the house.
36. Do not use fabric lampshades, as they collect dust and are a fire hazard.
37. To control lighting in rooms, use semiconductor dimmers; their use improves comfort and at the same time reduces energy consumption.
38. The industry produces two types of household refrigerators - compression and absorption. The most widely used are economical compression single- and multi-chamber refrigerators operating in automatic mode (by the way, they have approximately the same energy indicators).
39. Install the refrigerator away from heating and heating devices in the house.
40. Always leave and maintain a gap of 5...10 cm between the refrigerator evaporator and the wall of the room.
41. Avoid direct sunlight heating the refrigerator body.
42. Install the refrigerator with a slight tilt back (up to 5°) and be sure to adjust the position of the compression unit so that it makes as little noise as possible during operation.
43. Do not put hot food in the refrigerator.
44. Arrange food in the refrigerator without cluttering to ensure adequate air circulation in the compartment.
45. Do not open the refrigerator door without reason or keep it open for too long.
46. When storing food, try to set the thermostat to the minimum or medium position.
47. Do not forget to defrost the refrigerator approximately once a month (at the same time, God forbid, do not poke metal objects in the freezer to pick out the ice), as well as clean and wash it with warm water.
48. And in general, know that systematically following the basic, well-known rules for operating a refrigerator will not only save energy, but also prolong the trouble-free operation of such a vital device in the house.
49. Buy small-sized washing machines, as they consume less electricity and take up less space in the house. Do not use the washing machine to wash 2...3 handkerchiefs; it is better to accumulate enough laundry for a full load.
50. If possible, buy an electric iron with a thermostat and a switch on the handle - these are perhaps the most economical irons, since they work when they are ironed (if you wish, you can easily make such a switching device yourself).
51. When using an electric iron, try not to twist the electrical cord and regularly check its integrity.
52. Iron items that need to be ironed at low temperatures first, then increase the heat of the iron as needed.
53. Do not forget to clean the working surface of the electric iron, as this makes ironing easier and saves energy.
54. Remember, a vacuum cleaner works economically and reliably only with clean filters, so every time after cleaning the premises, not only empty the dust container, but also thoroughly clean it with a brush.
55. Please note that radios with overly powerful speakers, as well as televisions with overly large screens in small apartments not only look ridiculous, but are also energy hogs and even cause harm to health.
56. Do not place radios and televisions near heating and heating devices, make sure that there is always space for air circulation around them.
57. Use timer devices to automatically turn on and off radios (TVs) according to the program you set, which will save energy and ensure longer operation of the equipment.
58. Remember that a household voltage stabilizer is an additional consumer of electricity and that its use is justified only when there are too sharp voltage fluctuations in the electrical network. Where there are no such fluctuations, it is better to do without a stabilizer, but try not to use the TV at night, when the network voltage is high.
59. Be aware that the latest model TV designs have voltage stabilizers built into them.
60. Please note that to listen to local news programs, it is enough to have a device powered by a radio broadcast network.
61. When listening to the radio, try to use headphones, which will not only ensure silence in the house, but also save energy.
62. Buy power tools and electrically driven mechanisms for your home, electrified sewing machines, electric drills, small-sized electric welding machines, electric soldering irons, etc. Of course, all of them are additional consumers of electricity, but indirectly contribute to saving other types of energy and generally stimulate people’s business activity.
63. When purchasing electrical household appliances of “secondary importance” (immersion boilers, heating pads, fireplaces, fan heaters, convectors, etc.), remember that they are all additional consumers of electricity, and try to use them sparingly.
64. Do not use electric heating units in the house unless absolutely necessary. It is better to carry out targeted work on insulating windows and doors.
65. Do not cover central heating radiators with curtains or clutter furniture.
66. Save water, remember that water does not flow into houses on its own, but the water pressure is maintained by powerful pumps driven by electric motors. Therefore, the more economically you consume water, the less loaded the electric motors at pumping stations will be.
67. Every month, on the same day of the month, take readings from the electric meter, compare the electricity consumption in the current month with the previous one, analyze why there were savings (or overconsumption) of electricity, and draw appropriate conclusions.
68. Do not try to steal electricity. Firstly, this is immoral, and secondly, know that there is no way to steal electricity that an experienced electrical expert would not reveal. Keep in mind that, if necessary, it is easy to determine through laboratory tests whether the worm gear of the electric meter has rotated in the opposite direction.
69. For all questions, comments and suggestions related to the publication of these practical recommendations, as well as for all kinds of technical and methodological consultations, please contact: Always turn off the lights when leaving the room for a long time. When leaving home, unplug all household appliances except the refrigerator. Even if you have a TV or PC of the latest model, they consume 0.2 kW and 3.6 kW per month in standby mode, respectively, and outdated models are several times more.
Try to decorate your home in light colors (curtains, wallpaper, furniture) - this will allow you to make maximum use of natural light;
do not be lazy to wash the windows more often, since it is on them that a huge amount of dust and dirt accumulates, refracting the flow of sunlight into the room;
when leaving the room, even for a few minutes, turn off the lights and do not leave the TV on for a long time unnecessarily;
do not save money on purchasing high-class energy-saving household appliances - class A;
do not turn on several lighting fixtures where you can get by with one lamp;
do not leave electrical appliances (microwave ovens, televisions, stereo systems, computers) turned on for a long time in standby mode - they also consume energy;
Disconnect all kinds of chargers that supply electricity to phones, laptops, cameras from the device and from the network immediately after the charging process is completed, since they continue to consume electricity.
Use extension cords with a power switch Some devices, such as printers, are constantly plugged in and consume electricity (2-3 watts in standby mode is normal). Is it necessary, for example, to keep a DVD player that is used once a month always on? To connect such consumers, it is advisable to use extension cords with their own switch, turning on devices only as needed. There are even smart power strips with Master-slave technology that automatically turn on devices when the “main” device is turned on (for example, a printer will automatically turn on only when you turn on your computer). By the way, is 2 Watts of consumption a lot or not? A device that constantly consumes 2W from the network will consume about 18 kWh of electricity in a year, which will cost about 50 rubles. The amount is, of course, small, but if there are several such devices, the overall savings will be more significant.
Use energy-saving lamps Everything is obvious here, these lamps are really more profitable. If a 9W lamp replaces a 60W incandescent lamp, then within 100 hours of burning the savings will be 5KWh, or 15 rubles. If such a lamp is lit at home for at least 5 hours a day, then within six months it will fully pay for its cost. LED lamps are even more profitable, but their price is very high.
Use instantaneous water heaters instead of storage heaters. This is logical; a storage heater always keeps the water hot, which requires additional energy. You just have to keep in mind that a flow-through heater consumes a lot of power and requires good quality electrical wiring.
Replace your old refrigerator Each refrigerator has an energy rating rating. Now refrigerators of classes A+, A++, A+++ are sold, their consumption is about 150 kWh per year, while old refrigerators can consume 500 kWh per year. Of course, it’s unlikely that anyone will change their refrigerator for this, but when buying a new one, all other things being equal, you should choose a more economical model - an extra few hundred rubles a year won’t hurt.
Replace the dishwasher Of course, hardly anyone will change a dishwasher just like that. However, new machines can be 30% more efficient than older models, which is also worth considering when purchasing.
Pay attention to the TV The TV is a device that is turned on quite often, so when choosing a new model, you can also pay attention to power consumption.
Install a water sprayer on the tap Installing a sprayer on the tap will reduce water consumption, which saves both the water itself and the cost of heating it when using electric heaters.
Use the optimal tariff for electricity Electricity at a night tariff is slightly cheaper than at a day tariff, which can be used to turn on powerful consumers - for example, a washing machine or a water heater.
Cook with the pot lid closed It is estimated that cooking time and energy consumption increases by up to 30 percent when the pot lid is not closed.
Adjust the temperature of the water in the washing machine and in the boiler. Is it necessary to have water in the tank with a temperature of 80? (It almost feels like boiling water). It is quite possible to set the temperature to 50 or 60 degrees. For washing, 40 degrees is enough, while 40% less energy is consumed than at 60 degrees.
Adjust the temperature of the refrigerator. Do you need a temperature in the freezer of -18, or is -16 enough? Setting the optimal mode will both save energy and increase the service life of the refrigerator.
Disconnect the second refrigerator Many summer residents have a second refrigerator. Check whether it is really full and whether it makes sense to keep it on all the time.
Set up your computer's power saving mode Many users don't even think about the fact that their computer has several power consumption modes (this is especially true for laptops). Many tasks (for example, typing this text) do not require high performance, and the user will not even feel the difference between the “maximum” and “medium” modes. At the same time, choosing the right mode will not only save energy, but also extend the operating time of the laptop. As you can see, many of the tips are quite logical. Of course, in Russia electricity is quite cheap, so no one will bother with many things. However, saving energy means not only reducing bills, but also reducing the burden on the environment. Well, if you manage to save even 1000 rubles. per year, they obviously won’t be superfluous, so studying your electricity costs is useful and interesting in any case.
When purchasing new electrical appliances and household appliances, pay attention to their energy efficiency class. For example, an A++ washing machine allows you to save up to 20 percent of energy compared to similar class A models.
Turn it off if you do not use a computer, TV or other equipment in the house for a long time, which is in standby mode, in which a decent amount of Kilowatt can accumulate from above in a month.
In second place in terms of energy consumption in a house or apartment is an electric stove. Replace faulty burners and use only pots and pans that are suitable for their size and have a flat bottom. And most importantly, use lids that reduce heat loss almost threefold. Try to turn off the burners 6-10 minutes before the end of cooking.
If you are leaving your apartment for a long time, turn off everything from the power supply except the refrigerator.
Do not forget to turn off the lamp or chandelier when leaving the room for a long time.
Use a photo relay, timer or motion sensor to automatically control street lighting near a private house or in common areas for apartment buildings.
Try to switch and use, if possible and without discomfort, in economy mode, a computer, TV, washing machine and
Turn on the air conditioner only after all windows and doors are tightly closed, which increases its efficiency.
For heating in the off-season (spring or autumn), if possible, use not an electric heater, but the appropriate mode of the air conditioner. The difference will be 2-3 times with the same efficiency
Recently, a two or three tariff electricity metering system has been introduced using special models of electronic meters. The night rate is 30% cheaper than the day rate. It is very effective to use night time for washing, heating water with a boiler and other energy-consuming operations.
Consider the daytime and nighttime electricity tariffs. The latter (from 23:00 to 7:00) allows you to pay 30% less for electricity. True, for this you will first have to install a multi-tariff meter.
Without special need, do not connect additional electrical appliances to the network in the morning from 8 to 10 o'clock and in the evening from 20 to 22 o'clock - these are peak hours of electrical loads, so the risk of short circuits with subsequent breakdown of expensive electrical appliances increases.
Take readings of the electric meter on the same day every month and compare the electricity consumption in the current month with the previous one. Analyze why energy savings or excess consumption occurred - all this will definitely be useful for developing new, more economical and “green” habits.
Replace incandescent lamps with energy-saving ones. They not only save electricity, but also last 5-8 times longer. The cost of purchasing energy-saving lamps pays off in less than a year. When purchasing energy-saving lamps, pay attention to the light they emit—warm or cool. Warm light is closest to incandescent light or natural sunlight, while cool light is similar to fluorescent light and can sometimes hurt the eyes. Cold light lamps can be used in a common area or to illuminate a balcony. The only drawback of energy-saving lamps is that they reach full brightness after switching on in 1-2 minutes, so for the hallway it is advisable to buy a lamp of higher power; it will provide lighting even in heating mode, but will consume little, because in the hallway it is only used when you enter or leave the house.
Buy household appliances of class A, A+, A++. Thanks to this, energy savings at the end of the month will be obvious. Compared to devices of a lower energy consumption class, they consume 30-40% less electricity.
Use the electric kettle correctly. It consumes 2 to 3 kW. To save energy, follow simple rules: boil as much water as you need at the moment, and promptly descale the kettle. If you have an electric stove, then for preparing soups, pasta and cooking vegetables, it is more advisable to boil water in an electric kettle and pour it into a saucepan on the electric stove, because Water in an electric kettle boils faster and uses less electricity.
Do not expose the refrigerator to direct sunlight and do not place it near a stove or radiator. Also, to save energy, it is necessary to defrost the refrigerator in a timely manner and never put hot food in it.
Load the washing machine according to the instructions. Too large or too small a load does not allow you to use electricity economically. Overconsumption of electricity can be up to 30%.
When ironing, try to start and end the process by ironing items that require a low temperature setting. Then the last scarves and scarves can be ironed with the iron already turned off.
Do not forget to change or clean the filters of the vacuum cleaner, because otherwise they will hinder its operation, reduce air draft and, as a result, increase its energy consumption.
Choose the right size utensils. Pots and pans must match the diameter of the burner on your electric stove. Use the heat of the burners rationally, accustom yourself to the fact that the electric stove can cook even when it is already turned off.
Set your computer to power saving mode, which can save up to 50% of energy. All computers produced today support this mode.
Turn on the air conditioner only when all windows and doors are closed, otherwise the air conditioner will cool the street or other rooms.
Place lamps in all key areas of the apartment. Spot lighting is much more economical than illuminating the entire room from one point.
Clean lamps, shades and windows frequently. Dirt and dust reduce indoor illumination by 30%. Also, do not forget to remove large plants from the windowsill and do not close the curtains during the day; use natural light wisely.
Use night and day electricity tariffs. This way, you can heat the boiler, turn on the heated floor or washing machine - at night, when you can pay 30% less for electricity. This is exactly the difference that exists between night (from 23:00 to 7:00) and day (the rest of the day) tariffs. Two-zone tariffs were approved by NERC Resolution No. 309 of March 10, 1999. To be able to save electricity at home, you must contact your energy supplier (these are district or city power grids) with an application to install a multi-tariff meter. Your second step is to obtain technical specifications for installing the meter, taking into account the power consumption. The third step is to purchase the necessary counter and reprogram it. Prices for meters depend on the selling company, on average they are about 2 thousand hryvnia. The fourth step is to install a meter (employees of distribution networks or other electrical installation organizations can do this). Then contact the RES and call an inspector to seal the device. After installing the meter, changes are made to the electricity payment agreement, and you begin to pay differentiated tariffs.
Install a smart home system, which is actively used in Europe. It involves the use of modern remote automatic devices, room light sensors, motion sensors, etc. Thanks to such a system, your energy costs can be reduced by 8 to 10 times. Unfortunately, such a system requires a considerable initial investment, but in the long run this investment is fully recouped.
Using energy-saving lamps One way to save light is to simply replace conventional incandescent lamps with energy-saving ones. And although the cost of such lamps ranges from one hundred rubles and more, they last much longer. Due to the fact that these light bulbs practically do not heat up, the energy expended is spent only on lighting. On average, their service life reaches three years, and the annual savings from use for a family of three people average 600 rubles. 2
When using any household appliance, follow the instructions supplied with it. For example, if you place a refrigerator next to a stove or heating system, energy costs will increase several times, since the device will have to work in increased mode to maintain the required temperature. The same applies when you put hot food in the refrigerator. In addition, do not forget to defrost it during defrosting, since due to the presence of ice on the walls of the freezer, electricity consumption increases by 15-20 percent. Yandex.Direct Leather sofas Leather upholstered furniture: folding and corner sofas. Delivery in Ukraine eurodivan.com.ua
When leaving, turn off the lights. Perhaps this rule is the easiest way to save energy. If you don't rely on your memory, write a reminder note and post it near your front door. This advice is one of the most effective.
Wipe the light bulbs When thinking about how to save electricity in an apartment, few people remember the need to wipe the light bulbs. Very few people listen to this advice, since it is much easier to replace a dim lamp with a more powerful one. It is worth knowing that dust can “eat up” up to 20 percent of the light emanating from the lamp. In addition, do not forget about the lampshades. Yandex.Direct Tired of overpaying for water? Save up to 60%! With a new faucet attachment! Order now bigsell.com.ua
Make cosmetic repairs at home Small cosmetic repairs will also help you save on electricity. To do this, you just need to hang light wallpaper and paint the ceiling white. Light walls can return up to eighty percent of the rays. The darker the wallpaper, the less light output will be; for example, black gives off only nine percent of the light.
Use heat-reflecting screens. A lot of electricity is absorbed by heating devices used in the autumn-winter period. Heat-reflecting screens made of foil or foam foam installed behind the batteries will help reduce their use. This measure will help increase the temperature in the room by 2-3 degrees.
Insulate the room In addition to all of the above, you can save energy by taking simple measures to insulate the room. First, insulate the windows by plugging all the cracks or replace wooden double-glazed windows with higher-quality plastic ones. Up to 50% of heat can escape through windows. Secondly, hang warm, thick night curtains on the windows. Thirdly, insulate the front door and loggia, as well as the floor in the room.
Buy Class A household appliances Modern energy-saving household appliances consume much less energy than any other. Moreover, the difference can sometimes be up to fifty percent. In addition, there are devices of class A+ and A++. Accordingly, their energy-saving capabilities are even higher.
Replacing old wiring Sometimes, increased electricity consumption occurs due to old wiring. In this case, it is enough to replace it, giving you not only the opportunity to save money, but also increasing the fire safety of the premises.
Do not leave electrical appliances in “standby” mode. Televisions, computers, and stereo systems are actively used only for a few hours a day. The rest of the time, they are in standby mode, while absorbing electricity. Also, very often people think that by turning off the device with the main button, its consumption of electricity also stops. In fact, this is not always the case, and therefore, a more effective solution would be to turn off the device from the network. Devices for saving energy With the development of modern technologies, devices have appeared that help to significantly save energy. This includes various remote and automatic switches, relays, transformers and much more. These technological wonders were created specifically to reduce utility bills. Thanks to these devices, energy savings increase by 8-10 times. Their job is to be able to program lights out for a specific time. Typically, the timer has limits from ten seconds to ten minutes. In addition, such devices are often equipped with microphones, and they are activated by a specific sound. It is also possible to install twilight switches that respond to the onset of darkness. Today, saving energy is not difficult at all and depends only on your desire. In addition to the above methods, there are also a lot of other tips used by the people. The most important thing is to remember why you are doing this. And the use of all methods together will help reduce cash costs for utility bills several times.

Saving electricity with initial financial investment

This category includes technologies called “Smart Home”. The use of modern scientific developments improves the management of life support technological processes with a reduction in energy costs.

The following are considered promising areas:

transition to alternative energy sources (sun, wind, water);
geothermal energy (heat pumps).

Irradiation of the Earth by the Sun

Solar energy is very attractive to homeowners. It is used by all countries of the world, and the expected effect from the implemented technology, taking into account the finances spent, sometimes brings disappointment.

In order for a home solar station to operate correctly, its characteristics must be accurately determined at the design stage. Many homemade designs do not take into account the emerging complexities of technology and are often doomed to failure.

Wind energy

In many cases, home wind generators can significantly reduce energy costs. However, they, like solar stations, require accurate design calculations and compliance with installation technology.

Many owners of such power plants are disappointed due to incorrect accounting of the power of wind flows, leading to frequent equipment downtime. Pay attention to the possibility of high-rise structures falling under non-design storm loads.

Energy of moving water

The creation of a home hydroelectric power station is justified if there is a water source located near the house that can transfer sufficient power to the water wheel. The most effective designs are those that can work under ice in any frost.

Geothermal energy

The use of thermal energy from the outer core and surface layer of the earth is increasingly being used to heat buildings. Devices that can “raise the heat” of the soil are called heat pumps. Their work uses thermodynamic principles described by the Carnot cycle.

The efficiency of using such structures is high, and energy costs are reduced to ensuring constant operation of the compressor electric motor to circulate the refrigerant (click on the picture to enlarge).

However, this method requires large investments in planning and installation of the entire structure.

To save energy in your home, at the project stage you need to consider the most suitable options for you, taking into account local and climatic conditions, natural lighting and heat conservation.

Every month we receive a payment for electricity, and when we see a huge amount accrued, we don’t understand how this happened and where these terrible numbers come from. It’s all very simple - we don’t monitor our energy consumption and waste it left and right. The upcoming holidays are especially frightening in this sense. Especially New Year.

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In this article, you will learn five basic ways to achieve significant energy savings.

Installation of two-tariff electricity meters

The first and, perhaps, main way to save your budget on electricity is to install a multi-tariff meter. Their main distinguishing feature from single-tariff ones is that they calculate electricity consumption at two different tariffs. From 23.00 to 7.00, electricity will cost you twice as much. Previously, the “economy mode” was turned on from 19.00. Those. just from the time people come home from work and do household chores (cooking, washing, cleaning, watching TV). Now everything has changed. Many began to consider two-tariff electricity meters as a useless device in terms of savings. But that's not true.

Firstly. If you have appliances that can be programmed for a specific time (washing machine, multicooker, dishwasher), then do not neglect them. You program the equipment for a certain time, and it will work at an economical rate.

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The operating principle of these counters is as follows. At different times of the day, electricity is supplied at different voltages. The so-called “ragged work schedule”. The meter has a built-in microprocessor chip. It compiles energy consumption statistics using a closed loop principle and operates using the pulses it receives. Thanks to this chip, daytime and nighttime energy consumption is taken into account.

Such meters will save you up to 30% of electricity, which, with constantly rising tariff prices, will be a significant bonus.

The price range of two-tariff electric meters varies from 500 to 20,000 rubles. Depending on the model and type.

Sockets with electronic timers

These are not exactly ordinary sockets. They are equipped with special timers to automatically turn on or off electrical appliances. This is very convenient, for example, in using aquarium lighting equipment. By programming an outlet with an electronic timer for a certain time, you don’t have to worry about the water inhabitants. The light will turn on and off on its own. Or, for example, you are leaving the apartment for a long time. Not everyone wants to give the keys to their home to their neighbor so that she can water her indoor plants. Using timer sockets, you can program automatic watering of flowers. In addition, some sockets have a random switch function. With its help you can easily create the effect of presence in your home. And this is additional protection.

There are two types of outlets with timers.

Mechanical. They are not only cheaper than electronic ones, but also simpler and easier to use. The principle of their operation is based on a clock mechanism. Turning on and off can be adjusted by pressing the sectors around the dial. Each segment is 15 or 30 minutes. This depends on the socket model. Thus, you can set 96 or 48 on/off programs per day.

There are also mechanical sockets that only have a shutdown timer. And in order to set the device to turn off, you just need to turn the ring with the indicator to the desired segment.

Electronic. These timer sockets, unlike mechanical ones, allow you to set much more programs for turning on/off devices. On average up to 140 programs. Another distinctive feature is that they can be programmed up to a week in advance.

Electronic sockets can be installed almost anywhere - on the street, in the garage, in the apartment, and so on. For the most part, they can withstand temperature loads from −10 to +40 degrees. In addition, some models are waterproof. Which is also very practical and convenient.

When used correctly, these outlets can save up to 30% of your electricity.
The price range of such sockets varies from 300 to 7000 rubles.

This energy saving option is suitable for people who use or are planning to switch to using an electric stove instead of a regular gas one. An induction electric stove is the same stove with a glass-ceramic hob, but unlike all other types of stoves, it heats food simultaneously. The operating principle of these cookers is essentially the same as that of other induction appliances. Thanks to the copper coil and electric current, heat is generated in the bottom disc of the cookware and heats the food. The stove adjusts to the size of the pan being heated and heats only the required area. Thus, the stage of transferring heat from the burner to the cookware is skipped, and the heat is not wasted. It is not the burner that heats up, but the pan itself. More precisely, the hob heats up, but, as a rule, by no more than 60 degrees.

Due to their technology, induction cookers not only save energy and space in the kitchen, but also your time. For example, 1.5 liters of water can be boiled on such a stove in 3 minutes. While on a conventional stove this amount of water will heat up in about 15 minutes.

Induction hobs save up to 30% of annual energy consumption.

The price range of induction cookers is from 5,000 to several hundred thousand rubles.

We've all probably encountered these devices at least once. Nowadays they can most often be found in the entrances of residential buildings and in some parks or city streets. But the breadth of their application is not fully exploited. The sensors are convenient and economical to use in residential apartments. Especially when everyone around you always forgets to turn off the lights. These devices control the automatic switching on and off of lights. The sensors detect movement or presence using a built-in photocell that responds to the appearance or disappearance of infrared radiation. Thus, the light automatically turns on or off depending on the presence or absence of a person within the range of the sensor.

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The viewing angle of motion sensors ranges from 120 to 360 degrees. They can be installed on the ceiling or walls of almost any room and at any height. And thanks to their small size, they will not disturb even the most sophisticated interior solutions.

A fairly large number of lighting devices can be connected to one such device.

Energy savings due to motion and presence sensors will be up to 50%.

Their price range is from 300 rubles to several thousand rubles.

These lamps are found more and more often in everyday life. Many of us have already switched to using energy-saving lamps rather than conventional incandescent lamps. Firstly, it is noticeably more economical (despite the relatively high cost of the lamps themselves). Secondly, the service life of energy-saving lamps is much longer. They last from 6,000 to 15,000 hours. While incandescent lamps will last on average no more than 1000 hours. Energy-saving lamps can be many times more powerful than conventional lamps, but they will absorb up to 90% less energy.

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Their operating principle is the same as that of conventional fluorescent lamps. The spiral tube of the lamp is filled with mercury vapor and inert gas. Under the influence of high voltage, the electrons of these substances are set in motion. Ultraviolet radiation is generated and a glow visible to our eyes appears.

As for power, all comparative data is usually indicated on the packaging. Well, or at least the original power of the lamp itself. If you didn’t find comparative power on the packaging, then you can simply multiply the power of the energy-saving lamp by 5 and you can clearly understand how brightly it will shine.

Energy lamps also differ in glow temperature.

Warm light- the lamp will shine at the same temperature as the incandescent lamp we are used to. Yellow light.
Cold light- the lighting will have a blue tint. If this suits you, better buy more powerful lamps, otherwise the illumination will be quite dim.
Daylight- the illumination temperature will be approximately the same as that of a very high power fluorescent lamp.

Energy savings due to energy-saving lamps will be up to 90%.
Their price range is from 20 rubles to 1500 rubles.

Conclusion

And in conclusion, I would like to say that there are many such devices. When planning to reduce costs, you can use different tricks. From energy-saving lamps to installing a small solar panel outside the window. However. The costs of purchasing these devices can be significant, and before purchasing them in full, consider whether they will really save you money. After all, if you have a shady side of your home, do you really need a solar panel? But if you calculate all possible options in advance, this will allow you to save a significant amount on electricity every month.