Biggest impact in reducing energy consumption in households is achieved by simultaneous implementation of reasonable saving and rational use of electricity.
Rational means premeditated, deliberate and reasonable. Rational use of electricity means to achieve maximum benefit with the smallest possible costs. Biggest impact in reducing energy consumption in households is achieved by simultaneous implementation of reasonable saving and rational use of electricity.
Selection of new devices
Knowing that a choice of a suitable device allows rational use and decrease of cost of electricity consumed during the lifetime of such device, it is necessary to take account of the following when you purchase a new device:
- Size of a device with respect to the number of users (household members)
- Type of a device in terms of frequency of use,
- Energy efficiency class - products are labeled with energy efficiency class - the letters A, B, C, D, E, F, G
Use of devices
Refrigerator/Freezer
When placing refrigerator and freezer, leave enough space for ventilation between the back of the machine and the wall (about 10 inches) for the refrigerator to be able to loose heat in optimal conditions, and not to increase electricity consumption. Do not place it near heat sources (radiators, heaters) or electric stove. Regularly clean the plaque and keep in mind that the refrigerator/freezer full of ice deposits will spend 30-50% more energy, compared to ice-free. Regularly defrost your freezer and fridge. When buying a device, purchase equipment with self-defrosting or without ice formation (aka No Frost)
Washing machine and Dishwasher
Always select the wash program service with the lowest water temperature that still provides good quality washing. It is much more energy efficient to wash full loads of laundry, compared two half-filled washing drum. Use the dishwasher only when it is maximally filled with dishes, regularly check the amount of salt and clean the interior.
Oven and Electric Stove
Open oven doors only if necessary, because otherwise every time you open the oven it cools down and you waste electricity. Turn off the oven 10 minutes before the end of baking, because the heat created in the oven is sufficient to finish baking of food. Maintaining a clean oven reduces consumption of electricity. Same goes for the top. Finish cooking meals with switching-off 5-10 minutes before the end.
Lighting
Use natural light as much as possible, always turn off the light when no one is in the room, and replace the incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones in rooms where you mostly reside. Remember that incandescent bulbs have lifetime of 1,000 hours, with about 1,000 switching, while energy efficient ones have lifetime of at least 8,000 hours and up to 10,000 switching. Price of one energy efficient bulb is equal to the price of 8 incandescent bulbs! Remember that energy efficient light bulbs with 21 watts (candles) replaces regular incandescent bulb of 100 watts, which means that you will spend up to five times less electricity. Pay attention to the quality of energy-saving light bulbs. Some immediately achieve the required quality of lighting; some are delayed up to 10 seconds. Remember - the more expensive bulb is often/very likely a cheaper buy.
Influence on the amount of bill
The table below shows a sample calculation of power consumption for customers from the household category. For example, the monthly electricity consumption shows how the final amount of the electricity bill changes depending on whether a customer has a single tariff meter or two-tariff meter. In case of two-tariff meters, calculation is given with different volumes of consumption in the period of higher and lower daily tariffs. The total amount of the bill, in addition to the cost of electricity, includes a fee for renewable energy and value-added tax.
Monthly consumption (kWh) | One-tariff | Two-tariff VT:MT= 80%:20% | Two-tariff VT:MT= 60%:40% | Two-tariff VT:MT= 50%:50% | Two-tariff VT:MT= 40%:60% | Two-tariff VT:MT= 20%:80% |
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100 | 20,62 | 22,49 | 20,61 | 19,67 | 18,74 | 16,86 |
200 | 35,62 | 39,36 | 35,61 | 33,73 | 31,86 | 28,11 |
300 | 50,62 | 56,23 | 50,60 | 47,79 | 44,98 | 39,36 |
400 | 65,62 | 73,10 | 65,60 | 61,85 | 58,10 | 50,60 |
500 | 80,62 | 89,97 | 80,60 | 75,91 | 71,22 | 61,85 |
800 | 125,62 | 140,58 | 125,58 | 118,09 | 110,59 | 95,59 |
1000 | 155,62 | 174,32 | 155,57 | 146,20 | 136,83 | 118,09 |
So if you are a customer that has a single tariff meter and spend 400 kWh of electricity per month, switching to two-tariff meter and spending 60% of electricity during the period of lower daily tariffs, you can save 7.5 KM per month.
For details about the period in which lower daily tariffs are applied, and the price of electricity during the period higher and lower daily tariffs, you can look the section Tariffs.