At home, some appliances seem to use little energy, but frequent or uncontrolled use directly affects the amount of your electricity bill, which reduces the family budget.
Whenever possible, when buying or replacing electrical appliances for your home, look for the most efficient ones (check for A+, A++ or A+++ energy labels) and service them on schedule.
Unplug devices when they are not in use. TV standby, phone chargers, microwaves, radios and routers left permanently plugged in waste energy when we are not using them.
Turn on appliances only when you use them (studies show that 40% of the time the TV is on, nobody is watching it).
Air Conditioning:
Each degree lower on your air conditioner increases the consumption on your bill by 8%. Eco mode can save up to 30% in consumption. The ideal air conditioning temperature is 22 to 24 degrees.
Take advantage of the coolest hours of the day to lower the temperature at home by ventilating the house at night and early in the morning.
Whenever possible, use fans, which cool the room using less energy. It also helps a lot to protect the house from the sun by lowering awnings, closing windows and tinting glass.
Check doors and windows. That is where most of the cool air escapes. Weatherstripping all of them is recommended.
Use the timer on your remote control.
Use the air conditioner and a fan at the same time. This improves thermal efficiency and reduces consumption.
Refrigerator:
Check the refrigerator’s rubber seals so it closes properly and stays airtight. Don’t stand thinking with the door open. Place it away from the stove or other heat sources.
Avoid opening the refrigerator door constantly: every time you open it, cold air escapes and the motor has to work harder to bring the temperature back down, which considerably increases energy use. When you cook, take out all the food you need at once, and if you are hungry and don’t know what to eat, decide before opening it.
Don’t put hot food in the freezer or refrigerator: doing so raises the inside temperature and forces the refrigerator/freezer to work at full capacity.
Use a refrigerator suited to your needs and how you will use it.
Cover your food: most foods contain moisture, and when left uncovered they release it into the air, so the refrigerator’s compressor has to work twice as hard to remove it. Covering food also keeps it from absorbing other odors, so it keeps better.
Keep the back of the refrigerator clean: clean it at least once a year to prevent dust buildup, which reduces performance and increases electricity use. It is also important to place the refrigerator in a cool, ventilated spot (10 cm from the wall) and away from other heat-generating appliances.
Set the thermostat to the ideal temperature. This keeps food in the refrigerator compartment from freezing.
Water Heater:
Heating water for showers is the biggest energy use in a home (37%). If it has a thermostat, set it to 45°C and use an electric timer that ensures no more than 20 minutes per use.
Iron:
Only use the iron when you have a large amount of clothes to iron. It is better to iron once than several times a week.
Before heating the iron, organize and sort your clothes. Some garments can be smoothed out even with the iron turned off!
Ironing uses a lot of energy. Don’t use it to dry clothes.
Unplug the iron if you stop using it for a while.
It is better to iron outside peak hours.
Washing Machine:
The washing machine is one of the appliances that uses the most energy. It accounts for 11.8% of the energy and 14% of the water we consume.
Set the wash cycle according to the amount of clothes you load.
Whenever possible, use cold cycles to reduce energy use; hot water for washing clothes is one of the largest electricity uses in a home.
Clothes Dryer:
Choose an energy-efficient dryer, that is, one with an A energy rating or higher.
Clean the filters every time you use it to make sure they are free of lint and keep it working efficiently.
Learn to sort your clothes so you can choose the right cycle. Cotton needs high heat, while shirts, dress pants and synthetic fabrics do fine with medium heat. Delicate fabrics can’t take too much heat, and wool and sneakers can’t take it at all.
If your dryer has an auto-dry option, turn it on. The machine will stop when it is done. Most current models include this feature or a sound alert.
Fill it completely and plan your washes so you can. You will make the most of the heat it generates.
Spin clothes well before putting them in (at more than 600 revolutions per minute); it will save a lot of drying time.
Once it is running, resist the temptation to add more wet clothes; it is worth waiting for a new cycle or hanging them outside.
On sunny days, try not to use the dryer, since it uses a lot of electricity. Take advantage of the sun.
Lighting:
Lighting accounts for 5% to 25% of a home’s total energy use. It depends on whether you use incandescent lamps or high-efficiency or LED bulbs. Using low-energy lamps keeps lighting at around 5% of monthly consumption.
Turn off the light when you leave a room.
Use natural light when it is enough.
Use the wattage required for the space you are lighting.
Light colors are more efficient. Use light colors on walls and ceilings to make better use of natural light and reduce the use of artificial light.
Whenever possible, when buying or replacing electrical appliances for your home, look for the most efficient ones (check for A+, A++ or A+++ energy labels) and service them on schedule.
Unplug devices when they are not in use. TV standby, phone chargers, microwaves, radios and routers left permanently plugged in waste energy when we are not using them.
Turn on appliances only when you use them (studies show that 40% of the time the TV is on, nobody is watching it).
Each degree lower on your air conditioner increases the consumption on your bill by 8%. Eco mode can save up to 30% in consumption. The ideal air conditioning temperature is 22 to 24 degrees.
Take advantage of the coolest hours of the day to lower the temperature at home by ventilating the house at night and early in the morning.
Whenever possible, use fans, which cool the room using less energy. It also helps a lot to protect the house from the sun by lowering awnings, closing windows and tinting glass.
Check doors and windows. That is where most of the cool air escapes. Weatherstripping all of them is recommended.
Use the timer on your remote control.
Use the air conditioner and a fan at the same time. This improves thermal efficiency and reduces consumption.
Check the refrigerator’s rubber seals so it closes properly and stays airtight. Don’t stand thinking with the door open. Place it away from the stove or other heat sources.
Avoid opening the refrigerator door constantly: every time you open it, cold air escapes and the motor has to work harder to bring the temperature back down, which considerably increases energy use. When you cook, take out all the food you need at once, and if you are hungry and don’t know what to eat, decide before opening it.
Don’t put hot food in the freezer or refrigerator: doing so raises the inside temperature and forces the refrigerator/freezer to work at full capacity.
Use a refrigerator suited to your needs and how you will use it.
Cover your food: most foods contain moisture, and when left uncovered they release it into the air, so the refrigerator’s compressor has to work twice as hard to remove it. Covering food also keeps it from absorbing other odors, so it keeps better.
Keep the back of the refrigerator clean: clean it at least once a year to prevent dust buildup, which reduces performance and increases electricity use. It is also important to place the refrigerator in a cool, ventilated spot (10 cm from the wall) and away from other heat-generating appliances.
Set the thermostat to the ideal temperature. This keeps food in the refrigerator compartment from freezing.
Heating water for showers is the biggest energy use in a home (37%). If it has a thermostat, set it to 45°C and use an electric timer that ensures no more than 20 minutes per use.
Choose an energy-efficient dryer, that is, one with an A energy rating or higher.
Clean the filters every time you use it to make sure they are free of lint and keep it working efficiently.
Learn to sort your clothes so you can choose the right cycle. Cotton needs high heat, while shirts, dress pants and synthetic fabrics do fine with medium heat. Delicate fabrics can’t take too much heat, and wool and sneakers can’t take it at all.
If your dryer has an auto-dry option, turn it on. The machine will stop when it is done. Most current models include this feature or a sound alert.
Fill it completely and plan your washes so you can. You will make the most of the heat it generates.
Spin clothes well before putting them in (at more than 600 revolutions per minute); it will save a lot of drying time.
Once it is running, resist the temptation to add more wet clothes; it is worth waiting for a new cycle or hanging them outside.
On sunny days, try not to use the dryer, since it uses a lot of electricity. Take advantage of the sun.
Lighting accounts for 5% to 25% of a home’s total energy use. It depends on whether you use incandescent lamps or high-efficiency or LED bulbs. Using low-energy lamps keeps lighting at around 5% of monthly consumption.
Turn off the light when you leave a room.
Use natural light when it is enough.
Use the wattage required for the space you are lighting.
Light colors are more efficient. Use light colors on walls and ceilings to make better use of natural light and reduce the use of artificial light.
