Did you know that 6 out of 10 people increased their concern for the environment after the pandemic? (Infobae, 2021). If this is your case and you want to take care of the planet, a good measure is to save energy. Here we show you how to do it easily at home.
The importance of being able to save energy
Saving energy at home may be easier than you think. Mainly because many people unnecessarily waste some resources that imply a deterioration of the environment, such as electricity. Therefore, taking care of energy serves both to reduce the environmental impact and to save money (Repsol, n.d.).
It’s all about responsible consumption. In reality, just because you start lowering your energy expenditure doesn’t mean you have to live worse. After all, you can maintain your quality of life by reducing your impact on the Earth.
The important thing to know is that you can implement measures to save energy in your home and reduce your climate impact.
Top 8 tips for you to implement energy savings
Here are 8 very useful tips that will allow you to save energy in your daily life in a simple way.
Disconnect equipment when not in use
Surely, on more than one occasion you have left the charger plugged into the socket. Many people believe that this energy expenditure is really very little, since it does not translate into a substantial increase in the electricity bill. However, that is a blunder.
According to FACUA consumption data, leaving equipment connected when not in use translates into an individual phantom consumption of 1,168 kWh per year, which is nothing more than the consumption of kilowatt per hour (El País, 2021). Then, if you multiply that action by the number of people who have this bad habit on the planet, you will see that a lot of energy can be saved.
Organized ironing
A steam iron can consume between 0.10 and 0.13 kWh in the 10 minutes you use it. Therefore, it is best to use this product only when you need it. A good way to do this is to iron clothes on a scheduled basis, for example, once a week.
It is also advisable to use it only to straighten several garments in the same session. Therefore, if you have few wrinkled clothes, you can leave them on a rack and put on another one. Similarly, try to fold your clothes correctly so that they wrinkle as little as possible and you don’t have to iron them constantly (El Mueble, 2021).
Efficient cooking
If you cook several times a week, here too you can save energy and improve your personal finances. For this, it is key that you keep in mind that there are many actions that you can do to take advantage of the energy that is used in those moments.
For example, when cooking, try to cover pots and pans. In this way, the cooking process will be shorter, since you will take advantage of all the energy you emit. Consequently, if you turn on the oven, you can take advantage of the residual heat that remains inside after turning it off to heat some other product (Endesa, 2021).
Take advantage of energy-saving lighting
Of course, to promote sustainable development it is significant that the lights in your home are energy efficient. You can do this through LED bulbs, which are useful for you to save energy and have excellent lighting in every corner of your home.
Basically, these bulbs have a longer life, are less polluting and have a lower wattage. It can even be said that they consume 80% less energy than traditional light bulbs. Consequently, you should make a small investment to renew all the light bulbs in your home (BBVA, 2019).
Check refrigerator temperature
It is also a relevant action to avoid wasting money and energy. According to a Responsible Consumption report, this appliance is the one that spends the most in a household, with an average of 30.6%. For this purpose, it is necessary to defrost the refrigerator when the ice layer exceeds 5 millimeters and not to place it near a heat source.
On the other hand, you should also place foods that need more cold at the bottom. In addition, it is important that you regulate the temperature between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. When doing so, try to keep the door open as little as possible to avoid unnecessary consumption (AEG, n.d.).
Drying clothes in sunlight
It is worth mentioning that this does not mean that you should stop using some appliances, such as the clothes dryer. Well, with this appliance you can consume about 2.1 kWh on average in each drying program. For this reason, it is essential to make a rational use of it.
Thus, a good way to save energy is to take advantage of sunlight. When weather conditions are favorable (i.e. when the day is sunny) you can dry your clothes outside. In this way, you would only be making use of the dryer for those occasions when you need to dry it urgently (Smart Spain, 2020).
Use air conditioning at the right temperature
This does not mean that you will stop feeling the pleasure of a good temperature. In fact, you can achieve great results by avoiding excessive consumption. To do this, first make sure that doors and windows are closed to avoid unnecessary expense.
Now, once you turn it on, you should set it to the correct temperature to reduce light consumption. For every degree you lower the appliance will use 5-8% more electricity. If the air conditioning stays at 24 ºC, you will have the right balance between satisfaction and low consumption (Edesur, 2019).
Use energy reduction modes
Finally, the devices you have connected do not need to be wasting energy unnecessarily. For example, if you are working and cannot turn off the computer, try activating the power saving mode. Basically, you will program the screen to go black when you leave it unoccupied for a certain period of time.
This way you can avoid unnecessary energy consumption and save energy, but that’s not all. You also have the possibility of activating the sleep mode on some devices, such as video game consoles. This option is useful if you have to download a game, but do not want to leave the screen activated. By doing so, you will be able to reduce the expense and maintain the primary functionalities (PlayStation, n.d.).
In short, you have seen that it is entirely possible to save energy at home. We invite you to put these tips into practice in your daily life. We’re sure you’ll see the benefits when you get your next electric bill, and you’re helping the planet too!
