Saving energy at home is possible and easier than it seems. All you need to do is adopt certain habits. Consistency is the key to success and the following tips can help you save a few euros on your energy bill.
Take advantage of natural light!
Opening up the windows and taking advantage of natural light is a great option to avoid wasting energy all year round. For hot weather, lowering awnings allows you to reduce the need for air conditioning.
In winter, the use of blacked-out areas allows you to benefit from the heat inside the house. Unsurprisingly, one of the most efficient ways to save energy at home is to turn off the lights when leaving a room. It may be a good idea to install movement sensors that turn the lights on or off when you enter or leave a room. On the other hand, it should be taken into account that LED or low-energy lamps use less energy, which will lead to significant savings.
How about cooking?
Covering pots and pans to speed up the cooking process and save electricity is a good idea. Note that once switched off, ceramic plates remain hot for a few minutes, so one of the smartest ways of saving energy is to use this residual heat to finish cooking your food. It is then essential to choose the right cookware so that the latter is suitable for the amount of food and the size of the ceramic plate. Quality cookware with a domestic base is most efficient and pressure cookers only allow energy savings of 75%.
Avoiding leaving household appliances on standby
Electrical appliances continue to consume power even when they are switched off. This is called "silent consumption" or "phantom consumption". That little red light that appears on TVs, computers, electric toothbrushes or radiators when they are switched off but connected to the grid, may result in extra energy consumption and thus significant expenses.
One of the best ways of avoiding this is to use a multi-purpose device to connect and disconnect various appliances. This way, it is more convenient to turn them off with a simple gesture. Note that cold or low temperature wash programmes use less energy, which helps you reduce your power bill. You can also save money if you go for shorter programmes and thus run appliances at full load.