Saving money in the household: the best tips
Saving electricity in the household is not magic, but can be easily implemented with simple tricks. In this article, we will tell you what to look for in order to reduce your energy costs.
Saving money in the household - tips and tricks
According to a representative online survey by Greenpeace Energy, three out of four Germans want to reduce their electricity costs. 78% want it to save costs or reduce expenses. 76% see this as a contribution to environmental and climate protection. You don't have to buy new or expensive equipment to achieve this. Your behavior also affects electricity costs.
- Defrosting the refrigerator or freezer regularly reduces your electricity consumption by up to 30% a year. Even if this activity is often unpopular and takes some time, the effort is worth it for your wallet. New devices have built-in automatic defrosting, which makes your work a little easier.
- Switch off the devices that you are not using and do not leave them in stand-by mode. For example, modern TV sets consume less than 0.5 watts. That is very small, but in total it still gives a good 4 billion euros a year across Germany. If the devices do not have a separate off switch, a plug connector or so-called radio-controlled sockets can help. On the bar, you simply disconnect the connected devices from the power supply using a switch. With the radio-controlled sockets, this is achieved using a small remote control. Advantage: The devices can be removed from the network individually. If you want to convert your apartment or house into a smart home, you can use WiFi sockets. However, you should keep in mind that these sockets and the necessary equipment also require a small amount of electricity for standby. In individual cases, you should check beforehand whether the savings will be offset.
- If you have not already done so, switch to LED lamps. These now generate the beloved warm white light and consume a fraction of the electricity costs compared to normal light bulbs. You can easily replace a 60-watt light bulb with a 9-watt LED lamp. This saves you a good 14 euros per year for a bulb - assuming a burning time of 3 hours a day. In addition, various LED lamps can be dimmed so that you can adjust the light intensity as required. In this way, you also save valuable electricity.
- Many manufacturers now not only specify the power consumption for their devices, but also the energy efficiency class. A look at these numbers is definitely worth it. A refrigerator with a freezer combination (300 l), for example, has an energy consumption of 129 kWh per year (efficiency A ++). A 60-inch LED TV with A + is 110 kWh per year. Also pay attention to energy efficiency when buying a stove.
- Heating water in a kettle also saves a lot of electricity and money compared to the stove. The power consumption to heat the water in the stove is about four times higher than in the kettle. If you want to heat up pasta water, simply use the kettle and then the pot. Always fill in only as much water as you really need. The more water you heat, the more electricity you use because it takes longer.
- Do you always have to wash all your laundry at 60 degrees? For example, separate the laundry not only by material, but also by the degree of soiling. Many stains can be removed at 40 degrees. In this way you can easily reduce your electricity costs.
- Comparing electricity prices from time to time can save you as much money. You can enter your key data on various portals and with a click you get a list of the currently cheapest providers. The change is now also taken over for you, so you do not have to worry about anything else. In this case, however, convenience often wins out. According to the service remind.me, the average German household can save 1, 700 euros. Since many people shy away from the effort and nine out of ten consumers are afraid of doing something wrong when changing, remind.me does most of the work.
In the next article we will explain how you can clean your washing machine.