EcoInstruction: We save energy in winter and pay less for heating

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

How to save the planet's resources and at the same time pay less for utilities? What appliances are becoming "energy eaters" in the house? How to reduce consumption of home resources? Vadim Rukavitsyn, a professional geoecologist, an ecoanalyst in construction, a specialist in the system of eco-certification of residential buildings GREEN ZOOM, spoke about this at the webinar of the Ecowiki project.

According to him, in order to save electricity in the house, you do not need to give up the usual comfort, live by candlelight and deprive yourself of all the benefits of civilization!

First, you need to divide all consumed resources into categories:

Electricity

The first thing Vadim advises to do is to replace incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones, or with LED ones. They are more energy efficient.

“The appearance of LEDs in the house reduces energy consumption due to lighting by about 70%!”, The expert emphasized

But you need to make sure that they do not pulsate, as this negatively affects our nervous system and our eyes. The ripple can be checked using a mobile phone. If you point your phone camera at a light bulb and black stripes appear on it, it means that it pulsates too much and you need to replace it with another one.

Mostly mercury bulbs (fluorescent lamps) pulsate, as well as LED and energy-saving, sometimes halogen. Incandescent bulbs do not pulsate, but they consume the most energy.

Second, use A + certified household appliances in your home. He confirms that the technique uses a minimum of energy.

“If this is a refrigerator, then it is closed as much as possible and there are no cold leaks in it. The computer enters sleep mode when not in use. These are systems built into the equipment, allowing it to consume a minimum of energy and save it as much as possible,”explained Vadim.

He recalled that in cities mainly two-tariff meters are used, and this can be actively used: “We consume energy mainly in the morning and evening, when we go to work and when we return. Everyone basically consumes energy at this time, and this is not profitable for the city. We are encouraged to consume energy at a time when no one needs it, so as not to overload distribution networks, so the meters are two-rate, and in some houses - three-rate. And you can use it."

Thus, we will relieve power grids and reduce the impact on the environment, because during peak hours the stations work in an enhanced mode, increasing emissions into the atmosphere. By distributing energy evenly, the stations can operate in a quiet mode and pollute the environment less.

“We will pay less money if we start doing the main energy-consuming things after 11 pm: washing, running the dishwasher and dryer, and even ironing the clothes. You can also download films at night: the same amount of energy will be spent, but not at peak times, and we will pay less for it, and the city will be comfortable,”said Vadim Rukavitsyn.

According to him, the main “electricity guzzlers” in the apartment are a microwave oven, a kettle and an electric stove / oven.

Vadim told what needs to be done to save electricity:

- the kettle can be simply warmed up, and not boiled every time. You can also buy a kettle with the fastest possible water heating function and with minimum energy consumption;

- on the stove, you need to select the size of the burner to match the size of the pan and heat exactly as much water as you need, because the main electricity is spent on heating the container;

- it is necessary to critically review the real necessity and culture of using the microwave. For example, if you need to warm up a mug of water, it is better to use a kettle, which will cope with this task much faster than a microwave. You can also pour the rest of the hot water from the kettle into a thermos. Or use a thermo mug, pour tea or coffee into it. This will prevent you unnecessarily using the microwave to warm up your cup of tea.

- The refrigerator also consumes a lot of electricity and here you need to look at its energy efficiency. It is best to buy a refrigerator of category A + so that there is no flow of cold outside, so that it remains inside due to its tightness. This will make it possible to consume minimal electricity.

“In a city apartment, the savings may not be too big, but in a country house, utility bills will decrease by 25-35%,” the expert said.

Heating

The first thing Vadim advises to do is to eliminate as much as possible all heat losses in the apartment. The main source of heat leakage is the window. It is necessary to insulate the windows not only with double-glazed windows, but also with a transparent reflective film, which is glued to the glass and allows you to keep heat in the apartment. It does not serve as a tinting, but as a reflector of ultraviolet rays. Thus, the apartment does not overheat in the summer, and retains heat in the winter.

“When replacing windows, firms often offer people to install energy-saving windows, they already have this film. There is such a service - Green board, which allows you to make the window as energy efficient as possible. In addition, there is an aluminum edge inside the glass unit, if you replace it with a plastic one, there will be less cold, and the window will stop freezing,”said Vadim.

Replacing windows - this is 30-40% of heat retention, but it can go through the cracks in the walls, so they also need to be insulated. At the same time, the expert advises to insulate the house from the outside, and not from the inside. If you insulate the walls only inside the apartment, then mold may appear, therefore, to eliminate the cracks, it is better to call specialists from the housing and communal services.

Furniture can be placed against a ventilated wall in the apartment, and it will serve as a good shield from the cold. The second option is a carpet on the wall or on the floor. Curtains keep warm well: when we close the curtains tightly, the heat is better retained in the room. This is not done for heating, but to preserve existing heat.

“For example, before going to bed, we warmed up the apartment and closed the curtains tightly. They will help keep 2-3 degrees of heat in the room. You can also put a reflective screen behind the battery, for example, with foil, or an iron sheet on the insulation, which will return heat back to the apartment. All this can also add a couple of degrees,”Vadim shared, noting that these tips will be more useful for country houses. In urban apartments, the batteries are often much hotter than they should be, especially in newer homes. Because of this, the air dries up, and more energy is spent than necessary.

Therefore, in the apartment, he advises to put the meter on heat (now this can be done individually): “It will show how many kilowatts of heat is spent on heating the battery. It looks like a water meter, only it is attached to the battery."

But by itself, this sensor, of course, will not be able to reduce heating consumption. In order to spend less kilowatts and keep warm, not to open windows when the battery is hot, ventilation must be done in the apartment: either a valve in the window, or a valve in the wall so that air does not enter the room through the window. The second step is to install regulators on the batteries that will reduce the temperature of the battery: there are now many of them, from simple levers to complex systems that indicate the temperature in the room.

Thus, if the windows are not blown out and retain heat, let air pass through the ventilation, then the heating consumption can be reduced by reducing the power of the battery. The meter will show how much heat is actually consumed, and less money will be spent

“Our main bills in utility bills are hot water and heating, so the savings will be good. It will amount to 1500-2000 rubles per month. Investments for the installation and maintenance of individual meters will amount to about 20 thousand rubles, they will pay off in about 5-6 years. If you understand that you will live in your apartment for a long time, then such investments make sense, and if you have a temporary option and in a few years you move to another home, then there is no need for them,”the expert explained.

In addition, battery power regulators and ventilation in the apartment are also needed for personal comfort, he is sure: “When the room is heated too much, the air becomes very dry, the required humidity level decreases and because of this, health problems arise, dry mouth appears. and in the nose. Therefore, by installing regulators and ventilation, you will be less sick. This must be done in order to feel better in the apartment."

How to spot and repair heat leaks

If you have a suspicion that the wall of the house is freezing and mold forms because of this, you need to find the cause and eliminate it, for this it is better to contact specialists from environmental laboratories who have special equipment. The service is called "energy audit", said Vadim Rukavitsyn.

You can independently study the topic of energy and thermal efficiency, read about "green standards", for example, the Green zoom system, all information is freely available.

“In the“green standards”, point by point, the main methods are spelled out to reduce energy consumption. They allow you to look at your home from an environmental and energy efficiency point of view. All information there is verified and it is convenient to use it,”explained Vadim.

If you understand that your walls and ceiling are of different temperatures, for example, the floor is too cold, and the ceiling is too warm, this indicates that there is poor heat exchange in the room and something needs to be done about it. Unfortunately, this is a frequent occurrence in apartments with radiator heating.

“In such a situation, we either make a warm floor or ventilation so that the air can circulate better, and we free up the space behind the battery so that the air can flow better. All this allows you to evenly warm up the room. In addition, you need to look at the humidity so that the walls do not freeze anywhere and mold does not appear,”the expert advised and reminded that each person is a good sensor for himself, we have many receptors that can be actively used.

Evaluate your well-being in the apartment, your instinct will not let you down!