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Energy saving at home

This WordPress post looks at ways to save energy in your home. It outlines the numerous advantages of energy savings, including financial savings and reduction of environmental impact. The post also provides guidance on how to incorporate energy-saving measures in your home. Ideas include opinions from a range of experts, from utility companies to architects and engineers. It also offers efficient energy solutions, such as selecting green products, installing solar panels, and making your home more energy efficient. These ideas are easy to implement and will make a real difference, leading to lower bills and a reduced carbon footprint.

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In this article: why you really need to save energy; day and night electricity metering rates; the main waste of electricity are lighting lamps; controllers for lighting control and budget saving; measures that will allow you to save on utility bills.

Energy saving at home

Despite clear signs of technological progress and an increase in the educational level of the population, many continue to believe that electricity comes exclusively from the outlet – just plug the plug into it and it will work forever. However, the rise in energy prices cannot be stopped in any way; with each year, the aforementioned electrical outlet will supply energy at an ever increasing cost. We are accustomed to wasting energy in vain, accustomed to low prices for it – we will have to urgently learn how to save without wasting kilowatts. How energy saving will help save the family budget and how savings can be achieved – we will study this issue.

Saving energy – reasons and goals

Traditionally, the population of the countries of the former USSR considers Europeans to be without exception rich, squandering sums of money right and left. That is why the “new Russians” from the 90s acquired expensive cars and multi-storey mansions, shining with electric light around the clock – they tried to be like wealthy Europeans, regardless of the costs. Meanwhile, even wealthy Europeans prefer to save on any communal benefits: they practically do not use the bathroom for bathing – only the shower; never wash clothes and do not wash dishes during the day – only at night, programming the washing machine and dishwasher for this (nighttime electricity rates are cheaper); do not use electrical appliances in the kitchen to heat food, etc., preferring to use a gas stove for this purpose. And yet – the Europeans will never support the electric lighting of the external illumination of the area near the house around the night, activating it only when necessary. It turns out that the situation with the level of wealth of the population of Europe and the CIS from the standpoint of utility bills is fundamentally reversed – the spenders here are not Europeans, but our fellow citizens!

Since the mid-90s, the Russian government has been taking steps in the field of energy conservation, but the complex of measures associated with it is perceived negatively by the population. Why do you need to save energy and energy carriers? Let’s consider this issue using the example of measures aimed at saving energy.

Energy saving at home

Since 1996, a system of electricity metering has been introduced in Russia at two tariffs – daytime (from 7 am to 11 pm) and night (respectively, from 11 pm to 7 pm); electricity consumption is recorded by a special electric meter programmed for two tariffs. Under the two-tariff system, a kilowatt of nighttime electricity costs about half the price of daytime. The need for the introduction of this accounting system is associated with the unevenness of the daily load on the electricity producer – the power plant. As a rule, peak electricity consumption occurs every day in the morning and evening, therefore the dual tariff system is designed to induce the population to transfer part of the load to the power system at night, since this will be beneficial to both the consumer and the supplier. Equalizing the load on the power system due to the use of electricity at night will reduce the cost of repairing power plant equipment, reduce energy consumption, and improve the environmental situation (each burned ton of coal gives about 2 tons of carbon dioxide).

Among the measures to save electricity is a ban on the production and sale of incandescent lamps with a power of 100 W or more in Russia; in the future, lamps of lower power will also be prohibited. By the way, in the European Union a complete ban on the production and use of filament lamps has been introduced since September this year..

How to curb household electric rangers

The main consumption of electricity on Earth is for lighting. Only replacing incandescent bulbs with energy-saving fluorescent and LED lamps will give 50% energy savings. For example, a 100 W incandescent lamp consumes 1500 kW of electricity for 15,000 hours of operation (about 4 years), and its analogue in power – a 20 W fluorescent lamp – only 300 kW for the same number of hours of operation. It should be noted that in 4 years about 5-7 incandescent lamps will inevitably fail and require replacement – among other types of modern lighting lamps, this type has the shortest service life and, among other things, low luminous efficacy.

Energy saving at home

To achieve complete energy savings, you will need various types of controllers designed to automatically turn on and off electrical appliances – dimmers (dimmers), thermostats, lighting control sensors.

Energy saving at home

Dimmers will allow you to control the intensity of lighting, dimming or intensifying the light of the lamps according to the needs of households at the moment. Programmable dimmer models allow you to set multiple light intensity options in advance for easy control.

Energy saving at home

Lighting control sensors will allow to de-energize light sources in the absence of household members without their direct participation in this process. Such sensors differ in their principle of operation; they can be optical, infrared, acoustic, inductive, capacitive and combined. The last four types of sensors are equipped with a timer, which allows you to set the time period during which the lighting will be active.

The operation of an optical sensor (its second name is a twilight sensor) is based on a change in natural light, recognized by a light relay built into the device – during daylight hours, such a sensor will turn off the lighting and reactivate the lighting devices it controls at dusk. Such devices allow you to set one more operating mode in addition to daytime – night or midnight, which turns off the lighting late at night in order to save energy.

The infrared sensor detects the presence of a person in the room by analyzing the thermal radiation in the area of ​​his action – this device will turn on the lighting when the household appears and will keep the lighting devices working as long as someone is in the room. If households leave the room, then, in response to changes in thermal radiation, the infrared sensor will de-energize the lighting. IR sensors are designed for use inside a house or apartment.

Perceiving sound waves characteristic of a person – ringing keys, footsteps, voice, sound of opening and closing doors – the acoustic sensor activates the lighting for a short time specified during its programming. Short-term illumination will be enough for a person to pass to the elevator shaft and from it to the apartment door, open the door lock, descend or climb a section of the staircase. After a certain period of time and in the absence of “human” sounds in the area of ​​the acoustic sensor, the staircase lighting will be turned off. Accordingly, lighting control with the help of such controllers is carried out in stairwells and in the entrances of multi-storey buildings..

Energy saving at home

The principles of operation of inductive and capacitive sensors are similar. The first device reacts to changes in the magnetic, the second – to the electric field in the area monitored by them, the intensity of which changes when a person appears. Due to the design features – inductive sensors are equipped with inductors, and capacitive sensors are equipped with directional antennas – such devices are designed to control lighting outside the house.

The combined sensor employs several methods of detecting people, which makes it possible to increase the speed of reaction to a human presence in the monitored area.

In addition to independent lighting control sensors, there are complex systems that provide strategic control of lighting in the office and home, which allows you to achieve the highest possible energy savings without any harm to consumers..

How to save electricity yourself

A few simple recommendations will allow each of you to significantly save on paying electricity bills, however, this will be somewhat more difficult than entrusting this matter to the controllers – personal participation is required.

Energy saving at home

So, you need to unconditionally perform the following actions every day:

  • turn off the light in rooms where there are no household members;
  • turn off household appliances that have been in stand by mode for a long time;
  • set the PC to automatically go to sleep mode by setting a convenient interval for you;
  • do not wait until the sensor for filling the dust container in the vacuum cleaner informs about the need to empty it – the more often it is cleaned, the less electricity the device needs to operate;
  • fill the drum of the washing machine only with the amount of laundry specified in the instructions for the device;
  • warm in the electric kettle only the amount of water that is needed at the moment (but not less than the “min” level!);
  • do not put containers with food that need to be cooled to room temperature in the refrigerator – leave it on the table or place it in a container with cold water;
  • do not install the refrigerator next to heating devices, not maintaining the distances required by the instructions;
  • using an electric stove, try to place pots and pans on burner “pancakes” that are equal in diameter to the bottom of the cookware or slightly smaller than it. As soon as the food being cooked comes to a boil, lower the heating temperature of the burner (water boils at 100 ° C, heating the burner to a higher temperature will not speed up the cooking process).

If you adhere to the rules aimed at saving electricity, it will be difficult, then it is much easier to entrust this set of tasks to controllers – they do not need rest and are never wrong, because not capable of it.

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Comments: 3
  1. Skylar

    How can I reduce my energy consumption at home without sacrificing comfort or convenience?

    Reply
  2. Colton Watson

    What are some simple and effective ways to save energy at home?

    Reply
    1. Owen Stevens

      There are several simple and effective ways to save energy at home. First, make sure to turn off lights, appliances, and electronics when not in use. Using energy-efficient light bulbs can significantly reduce electricity consumption. Adjusting the thermostat by a few degrees, using ceiling fans, and properly insulating windows and doors can help save on heating and cooling costs. Unplugging devices that are not frequently used or using power strips with switches can prevent energy loss from standby mode. Additionally, regularly cleaning and maintaining appliances, such as refrigerators and air conditioning units, can enhance their energy efficiency. Finally, using natural light during the day and maximizing natural ventilation can reduce the need for artificial lighting and air conditioning.

      Reply
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