A reluctant experiment
In recent years, energy-saving lamps have practically replaced the usual “Ilich bulbs”. Photo: airworksrentals.com
I will say right away that the experiment was largely forced: after eight years of wandering around rented apartments, the time came for a mortgage and, with it, a new apartment. Almost everything was bought from scratch, from the iron and microwave to banal lamps and light bulbs. In addition, now it is almost impossible to find a chandelier for old incandescent bulbs: it is written everywhere that the maximum load is 20 watts. And the instructions for the LED chandelier in the hallway are even stricter: they say: “MAXIMUM 5 W!”
At the same time, in the rented apartments I used what they gave me. They usually gave away chandeliers and floor lamps that were older than me. And with a clear conscience, I twisted “Ilyich bulbs” with a spiral inside; They were simply cheaper, although they lasted as long as the new energy-saving lamps. It is true that each year it became more difficult to find them and now it seems more like a search. And in price they are close to modern ones. But they still have admirers: it is easy to find forums on the Internet where people deliberately search for sources of light from their pioneering childhood.
If there is no need to keep the equipment under voltage, then there is no need to do this.
Well, I had to get used to buying low-consumption lamps: with a power of 15 watts they shine the same as an incandescent lamp of more than 100 watts. In addition, you can select the light temperature, intensity, direction and other characteristics. The main thing is to understand what all these designations like “1300 lm” or “4000K” mean.
I quickly realized that instead of 250 kWh, I now consume between 120 and 130 kWh per month. In other months, savings reach 1,000 rubles. I even mentioned an old correspondence with the landlady to whom I sent the meter readings: was she confused? No, that’s right: I used to burn between 200 and 250, but now I sometimes reach 100! What’s happening? Suspicion immediately fell on the light bulbs.
The calculator confirmed it. I will share the calculations. Let’s say you have 15 80-watt incandescent light bulbs in your apartment. If on average everyone burns 4 hours a day, then they burn 144 kWh per month. But low-consumption bulbs, which consume 10 watts but shine at the same 80, burn only 18 kWh per month! The difference is eight times greater than the energy needs of the light bulbs.
I didn’t manage to save that much because my wife and I lived together in a rented apartment and only came home at night, and in a mortgaged apartment we had a child and now there is almost always someone at home. That is, they started turning on more lights and energy consumption went down!
After that, I began to look more calmly at the price of energy-saving lamps. Yes, they rarely cost less than a hundred rubles, and sometimes they can cost 200-300 each. But the electricity savings will eventually cover the overpayment and save you a lot. In addition, it is not necessary to change old chandeliers and lamps with new lamps: the bases have not changed.
Watch the counter
The Moscow Housing Inspectorate was not at all surprised by my story. They only clarified that the new equipment in the house also influences, and now almost everything corresponds to the energy efficiency class “A” and even higher. Therefore, a refrigerator, an electric stove and even a kettle can also save energy. Then I remembered that in my last rented apartment I had a domestic electric stove from the 90s. At first it took a long time to heat up, then it heated everything around it except the frying pan, and it also cooled down for a couple of hours, exuding heat. If your oven and at least one burner were working at the same time, then the electric meter began to go crazy: the consumption grew so much that you lost your appetite.
But in the new apartment, the new stove works like clockwork: I turned on the burner and it heated up instantly, transferred energy to the pan, and after turning it off, it immediately cooled down. And the counter reacts more calmly to these manipulations. I will simply remain silent about the fact that using this technique makes cooking much easier and more efficient.
“However, to save, it is not necessary to upgrade all appliances,” the home inspection says. “For example, it is better to wash clothes when the machine is fully loaded; it will consume approximately the same amount of water and electricity, but will bring more benefits. The refrigerator should be installed maintaining optimal air circulation, it should not be too close to the wall or furniture. It is also worth monitoring the condition of the electric kettle, as the scale also increases resource consumption.”
It’s also a good idea to unplug appliances when you’re not using them for a long time. For example, a harmless backlit power button on any device consumes an average of 0.5 kWh of electricity per year. When there is a complete set of such equipment, it will “devour” more.
Also, do not leave your phone charger plugged in when you are not using it. And it’s not even about meaningless waste of energy, but about safety rules: if you don’t need to keep the equipment energized, then you don’t need to do it.
By the way
Where does the money flow?
Plumbing fixtures can also help reduce utility costs. For example, single-handle faucets allow you to quickly adjust water to the desired temperature without wasting it. “It is also important to eliminate leaks in the water supply system,” notes the housing inspection. “In our practice, there are often cases when, during the examination of a complaint about the increase in water tariffs, it turns out that the “extra” cubic meters were formed due to a banal malfunction of the taps the toilet cistern. “The water comes out slowly, the meter registers it, but the person doesn’t realize it.”
