Save energy: 30 quick and easy tips for your home

Written by Kerstin Lakits, Dec 16, 2021

You are moving out and for the first time you see your energy bill. It’s important to save energy to avoid unpleasant surprises. Saving energy is not only important for the environment, but also great for your wallet. Each watt that you save is a small contribution to your budget. Mobile phones, notebooks, TVs – our power consumption constantly increases. We have some easy tips to save energy in your home.

Save energy in your flat

Here are some general tips for your home.

1. Heating and cooling

It gets colder in autumn and winter and we turn up the heat (too much). On hot summer days, we switch on the AC. Both consumes a lot of power, but you can easily minimise your power consumption:

  • Whether you have an electric or gas heating system: Put on some thick socks and a sweater before turning up the temperature in autumn and winter. A cute winter outfit, so that you don’t have to heat as much.
  • Instead of turning on the AC, open your windows during the night, put down the blinds throughout the day and wear shorts and tops at home. Here are some tips on how to cool your flat in the summer.

2. Lamps and lights

LED and energy efficient lights are very common nowadays and that’s great because they require less power than incandescent light bulbs.

  • Buy LED and energy efficient lights.
  • Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
  • Use the daylight instead of lamps.
  • When you’re working at your desk, use your desk lamp. The room lamp needs more energy. In general, it’ better to use more smaller lamps than one big one.

3. Turn it off (no standby mode)

Devices on standby mode use more energy than when they’re turned off. Seems logic, doesn’t it? Still, most devices are on standby.

  • Turn your devices off, the standby mode uses power.

Save energy in the kitchen

Stove, oven, fridge, freezer, microwave, kettle, toaster, fryer – the machines in your kitchen are consuming a lot of power. Here are some tips:

1. Fridge and freezer

Fridge and freezer are the sinners when it comes to energy. The use gigantic amounts of energy.

  • When buying them, look for an energy efficiency seal.
  • Don’t put the fridge and freezer next to machines that radiate heat (e.g. oven) because they need more energy for cooling.
  • Don’t leave the refrigerator door open for too long, but close it quickly to keep the cold inside and heat outside.
  • If you notice a lot of ice in your freezer, you should defrost it because the ice makes it harder for the freezer to cool.

2. Baking and cooking

Many recipes require a preheated oven, but this consumes a lot of energy.

  • Therefore, try to reduce or even leave out the time of preheating your oven.
  • When cooking at the stove, you can save energy by cooking with residual heat. The stove will remain hot long after turning it off and heats your meals this way.
  • The fewer cooking areas on your stove you use, the more energy you save. How about some one-pot pasta? Here are some delicious recipes.
  • Always use a lid for your pans when cooking. This way you contain the heat inside and can turn down the heat of the stove.

3. Cooking water

  • The most efficient way to cook water is by using a kettle because it requires less energy than a pan on the stove. Kettles are cheap and easy to store.
  • It’s best to only cook as much water as you actually need. Every unnecessary litre of water increases power consumption and costs money.

Save energy in the bathroom

Whether you have an electric or gas heating system: Heating water requires a lot of energy and is quite expensive. That’s way you can easily save a lot in the bathroom.

  • Use cold water for brushing your teeth and washing your face.
  • Don’t take too hot showers. It’s not only bad for your skin, but also requires a lot of energy. Also, shorter showers are more energy efficient than longer ones.
  • Wash your clothes, if possible, at max. 40°. Generally speaking, the shorter and hotter your washing machine works, the higher the energy consumption.

Save energy in everyday life

Many small changes in your behaviour can already make a big difference. Here are some ideas:

1. Full machines

Before turning on the dishwasher or washing machine, ask yourself if it’s worth it. This way, you will save energy and money.

  • Don’t turn on a half empty dishwasher, but wait until you have enough dishes to fill it up.
  • Wait a few more days until you have enough laundry to properly fill up your washing machine.

2. Improve battery power

Mobile phones and notebooks have a lot of elaborate functions that improve usability. But all these functions require energy and therefore you have to recharge them more often.

  • Turn off the GPS tracking (location), Bluetooth, WIFI, data on your phone when you don’t need it.
  • Delete unnecessary apps and photos because the full storage influences the energy consumption of your phone.
  • The dark mode on your phone not only saves energy, but also looks really cool.
  • Reduce the brightness of your notebook and phone display.

3. Unplug

Most people unplug their device, but leave the charger plugged in the socket. Few people know that the plugged in charger still consumes energy.

  • Unplug your charger after charging your device.

Save energy with the right devices

In many cases, we can’t avoid energy consuming devices, but there are still some tricks:

1. Rechargeable batteries

Reusable batteries are more environmentally friendly and save you money. You also avoid the problem of not having the right type of battery at home.

  • Use rechargeable batteries.

2. Energy efficiency seal

The next time you buy electronic devices (e.g. fridge, freezer, TV, radio…), look out for an energy efficiency seal.

  • Electronic devices with an energy efficiency seal A or more are better.

3. Power saving mode

Many devices have a power saving mode, which turns of unnecessary functions to prolong the battery time.

  • Always turn on your power saving mode.

Tips for measuring your power consumption

Do you actually know how much power you use? Only few people think about their power consumption. But knowing how much energy you need is not only interesting, but also helps you save energy. So, we have a few easy tips for measuring your power consumption.

1. Smartmeter

Many Austrian homes already have smart measuring unit for power. Until 2022, 95% of households should have one. This digital measuring tool sends your data regularly to the headquarters, which allows for accurate descriptions and forecasts. This is beneficial because the power supply remains stable and additional costs are avoided.

  • Ask your power provider if you already have a smartmeter.

2. Ammeter

  • With an ammeter, you can find out which machines and devices in your home use how much power.

That way, you can identify machines that consume extreme amounts of power and save energy more efficiently. You can get ammeters in every electronic shop (e.g. Mediamarkt, Conrad) or online for approximately 15-25€. If you don’t want to spend money on that, you can also borrow them from energy saving associations in Austria.

Bonus-Tip: Green power

We have a bonus tip for you. Technically, you don’t save energy, but switching from normal power to green power reduces CO2 emissions drastically. A short example for illustration purposes: A three-person-household saves up to 1,570kg Co2 per year using green power. It would take 127 trees to compensate for that.

Green power is not necessarily more expensive than normal power. In many cases the costs remain the same or even sink.

  • It’s best to compare offers and providers with a price calculator. You can filter the results for green power.

You can easily implement these tips into your everyday life. This way you can reduce your power consumption and nature will thank you for it. In addition, you help us, if you live at STUWO, to make our dorms greener.

Questions?

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