They exist in every household: the small, inconspicuous energy guzzlers in the form of electrical appliances. They consume a lot of electricity passively and most homeowners don't even know it.
As a real estate agent in Tyrol and energy consultant, I would therefore like to give you 5 tips on how to optimise your usage behaviour and thus reduce your energy costs for electrical appliances. This will save you around 60 euros of electricity per year.
Tip #1: Buy energy-efficient appliances.
When it comes to electrical appliances, the motto for many seems to be "the bigger, the better". In my experience as an energy coach, however, it is precisely these huge appliances and machines that drive up energy consumption. Therefore, choose the size of appliance that you actually need and look for the energy efficiency label when buying new appliances.
Tip #2: Avoid standby consumption.
No matter whether it's a television, computer or notebook: Almost every electrical device today has a standby mode. Yes, this means that laptops and the like consume less power than in full operation, but they still need energy.
So that you can roughly classify how much energy you consume through standby modes of different devices: About 8 per cent of your electricity bill is standby costs.
PC monitors are a classic example of this. Most people leave the monitor on and just shut down the computer. In standby mode, however, a monitor still consumes 10 watts and so you can save 40 kWh of energy and 25 euros in electricity costs per year.
Additional tip: There are TV standby switches for televisions. With these you have a savings potential of 26 kgCO2 per year and reduce your electricity bill by another 10 euros.
Tip #3: Get yourself an electricity cost consumption meter.
With a meter, you can identify the biggest energy guzzlers in your home. To do this, plug the energy meter between the electrical appliance and the socket and the energy consumption is displayed. Once you have found the biggest electricity consumers, you can save up to 20 euros and 46 kg ofCO2 annually.
Tip #4: Use switchable (multiple) sockets.
You are certainly familiar with those power strips with the toggle switch for switching on and off. But honestly, how many of you actually switch the strip off? You should, because this alone can reduce your electricity bill by 25 euros a year.
Tip #5: Use a timer.
Switching off sockets and electrical appliances in the evening or at night, only to have to switch them on again in the morning? That might work for the first few weeks or months, but over a long period of time it becomes tedious - I can absolutely understand that.
But if you still want to turn off small energy guzzlers when you don't need them at the moment: How about a timer? This way you can deactivate the Wi-Fi router or your under-sink boiler at night.
By the way: You can also save another 15 euros per year on lighting costs. With LED lamps, you need 80 percent less electricity than with conventional light bulbs!
I hope these tips help you to find and eliminate the small energy guzzlers in your home.
Do you still have questions about the energy saving tips series? Or do you want to know how energy costs affect your house sale? Then don't hesitate to contact us. We are available to answer your questions by phone(+43 512 580 242), by e-mail(immobilien@arealita.at) or also via our contact form(click here).
With kind regards
Yours Tamara Bacher
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Photo: Racle Fotodesign - stock.adobe.com
My name is Bernhard Großruck. I work as a real estate agent and appraiser in Innsbruck and would like to give you helpful tips about real estate in this blog.