Constantly rising energy prices, threats by the government to introduce restrictions on energy consumption per person, insufficient capacity of the Soviet legacy in the field of energy and many other reasons make us think about saving. But which way to go? How in Europe - to walk around the house in a down jacket and with a flashlight?
There are many other ways that will not limit comfort and do not cause inconvenience. We will not allow us to take even more money from us (for connecting additional capacities to the house). Let's go over the main criteria for energy consumption (both heat and electricity) and see how you can save resources using energy-saving devices.
Heating and hot water supply
Water heating, as well as space heating (especially in winter) is the most energy-consuming criterion for consumption. It would seem that one can save money here, because no one has yet succeeded in breaking the laws of physics, and sooner or later, any energy turns into heat. Is it possible to improve thermal insulation (which, of course, is worth doing) or lower the temperature (so the heat loss will be less), and if you have nowhere to improve, and you don’t want to shiver under the rug, freezing?
There are several real ways to save a lot.
Tricky option
Recently, simple, but nonetheless effective, energy-saving devices were invented in England. The principle of their action is elementary - it turns off heating for 20 minutes several times a day. According to studies, none of the household has time to notice or freeze in such a short time, and after turning on the temperature returns to normal. Naturally, using such a device, you get less heat, but also pay the same amount less.
Of course, this method will be effective only if there are meters of heat received, otherwise its use is pointless. Yes, and using an energy-saving device, the price of which depends on your requirements and starts from 300 rubles, you can hardly avoid inconvenience in the northern regions. Moreover, this is such a kind of compromise, and not a cardinal way to solve the problem.
Heat pump heating
Already no one is surprised by air conditioning. In summer, he gives such a welcome coolness. But where does the heat removed by him go? That's right - to the street, so there are special radiators with fans. What does this have to do with heating, because the task is quite the opposite? Everything is simple. Air conditioning is a heat pump. And where to get heat if (when heated by electricity) 100% of the energy in any case goes into it, and, for example, 150% cannot be in principle? Take it from the street using other energy-saving devices - heat pumps. Or from the ground. In the earth (at shallow depths) in winter and summer, one temperature is about +5 degrees. If you dig a sufficient amount of pipe to the desired depth and fill it with coolant, then a large amount of heat can be pumped out of the ground. In Germany, this method has already gained quite a lot of popularity among owners of private houses.
The heat pump is the so-called air conditioning vice versa. It happens that more modern technologies are used - Peltier elements. They exclude a pressurized system with expensive compressed gas, much more compact, but so far very expensive.
Heat pump savings
The savings resulting from this method of heating (which, by the way, no one bothers to use for hot water supply), goes 1 to 3. Having spent 1 kW of electricity, we pump 2 kW of heat into the room and the same 1 kW spent on heat the pump will also be indoors. Total, spending 1 kW, we get 3 kW. Given the high cost, it will not pay off immediately, but such a system is put in place for many years, and over time, the savings will come out solid.
The method described above is applicable to your own home. Is it possible to do something similar for an apartment, because no one will allow you to bury pipes in the yard just like that, and I would like to use energy-saving devices?
There is another way. True, it is suitable for not very cold climatic zones. Simply, ordinary air is used as a coolant, which walks outside the window with the wind. But the effect of it will be (when using the principle of air conditioning) only at a temperature outside the window above -7 degrees. Or you have to use expensive Peltier elements, which can afford a slightly larger temperature difference.
True, with the "air" method there is a drawback. The heat capacity of the air is quite small, so it needs to be pumped through a radiator, a fan is required. And the presence of a fan is noise, the neighbors may be against it. On the other hand, they use air conditioners with a similar device ...
Lighting
There is room for lighting in the economy. Especially if it uses energy-saving devices for the home, such as typical incandescent bulbs. Here, no violation of the laws of nature is required. It's just that an incandescent lamp has an efficiency (efficiency) of about 10%. That is, the lamp, consuming 100%, shines by 10%, and the remaining 90% goes into heat, which means nowhere. But you still have to pay for it. But there are many types of much more economical appliances. We’ll talk about some of them.
Fluorescent lamps
Since ancient times, many static energy-saving devices, such as fluorescent lamps, which are usually long, luminous tubes, have functioned in factories and offices to save on lighting.
This type of lamp allows saving on two criteria - energy and the cost of replacing the devices themselves. The electrical efficiency is quite impressive - they are three times more energy efficient compared to incandescent lamps. Such a product shines like an incandescent lamp at 100 watts, and consumes electricity at about 30 watts. In addition, they are much more durable. If the incandescent lamp works for about 1000 hours, then the fluorescent lamp is already about 8000 hours.
But they also have significant disadvantages. Reviews about energy-saving devices of this type are contradictory. Firstly, they contain mercury, which means that you can’t break them up and just throw them in the trash. Waste lamps must be taken to specialized places. Secondly, they do not burn with a constant constant light, they very often blink (with a network frequency of 50 times per second), which can affect vision. Thirdly, they require for their work special lighting fixtures that cannot boast of a variety of designs. The lamp for such a lamp will not be easy to choose so that it fits into the interior.
Compact fluorescent tubes
This is the development of traditional fluorescent lamps. The electronics that control their work are enclosed directly in the base. The base itself has become similar to incandescent lamps. In addition, the glass bulb is thinner and curled to take up less space. And the electronic unit, built-in, recall, into the lamp itself, eliminates a noticeable blinking of such. Now flashes occur 30-40 thousand times per second, which is completely invisible to the eye. The characteristics of energy consumption and durability have not changed, therefore, these are all the same popular energy-saving devices for the home, as before.
But the disposal problem has not gone away. They still contain mercury, they can not be broken and must be taken to special points. Which in many ways, apart from some danger, determines the inconvenience of use.
LED lightening
Today, perhaps the most effective energy-saving device that anyone can do with their own hands is the device that provides LED lighting. The efficiency of such luminaires is close to 100% - lighting similar to 100 W in an incandescent lamp gives a 7 W LED lamp. They are very compact. As a rule, they pick up tapes or collect lamps (including searchlights) from them. There are a wide variety of designs as lamps, and directly luminaires based on LEDs. For the designer, there is an absolute expanse here - the presence of both standard devices and an unimaginable number of rare types of products untie their hands.
Very high durability (more than 25 thousand hours of constant work - almost three years) allows you to make them fixed. They are devoid of the disadvantages of fluorescent lamps - they burn constantly, without blinking. They do not have mercury. They do not need a special lamp (excluding design refinements), they are much more compact than any other types of lamps. In addition, they come in any glow colors, so you can not only switch the brightness of the light, but also the color (colder tones are suitable for work, and warmer tones for relaxation).
Their main drawback today is the cost. But due to mass production and market saturation, it seems that the price will fall significantly in the near future.
Daylight Constructions
In distant warm, but poor countries, where most of them just heard about electricity, there are ways to illuminate rooms without the energy of electric current. Use natural street light. Nothing prevents us from using it, if lighting is required only in the daytime.
Like all ingenious, this method is the simplest. A light-conducting and light-diffusing device is mounted in the ceiling and roof of the room. In the case of poor countries, this is an ordinary bottle. We can use a special design of aesthetic appearance.
Among the advantages of this method, two main ones are the absolute absence of electricity consumption and endless durability.
But the minuses are no less significant - to use this option will work out only if there is fresh air over the ceiling of the room, and not neighbors. And when the sun does not shine, there is no sense in it either.
Appliances
A considerable share of energy consumption is taken over by various household appliances. By choosing the right one, you can also significantly reduce the use of energy resources of a single house. For example, the energy-saving device Energy Saver can significantly save energy spent. In this case, you just need to plug it into a power outlet.
If you have an old TV with a very voluminous (for modern times) body, there is a good reason to update it, since a modern flat device will not only show better, but also consume significantly less. Also, a laptop instead of a desktop computer will save hundreds of watts of consumption. In addition, there is an opportunity to save some money by purchasing the energy-saving Ekonomich device. Various appliances in the kitchen (refrigerators, dishwashers, multicookers, etc.), and in general household appliances (washing machines, vacuum cleaners, etc.) must be purchased with energy class “A” or, even better, “A +” . This approach can add many more saved kilowatt hours.
Conclusion
We examined only devices that consume energy. But there are also generating it - solar panels, wind generators, etc. There is also Power Saver - an energy-saving device that can significantly reduce energy consumption in the apartment. If you combine both approaches, it is quite possible to completely disconnect from external (paid) sources of energy, which will give high autonomy (no one will turn off the light, etc.) and unprecedented savings. But that is already beyond the scope of this review.