It does not matter if you are rich or poor, a little frugality will not hurt anyone. After all, who likes to throw out extra money to pay bills for electricity, when there are so many more pleasant ways to spend them? Perhaps, sometime your grandmother advised you to dress warmly instead of turning on the heaters? Well, that was a wise advice, and we should learn the thrift of the older generation.

With the capabilities of modern technology and the variety of energy-saving devices, it is absolutely unacceptable to be too wasteful. The economical use of electricity is well reflected both in our wallets and on the environment. Take a look at ten tips on how to save on electricity consumption, which we prepared for you: you can use them already today, and the result will make itself felt in the next bill for paying electricity.

You probably already know that to save energy in winter it is necessary to seal windows and doors with seals or special sealants, so we will not talk about it, but simply advise what else you can do to save the situation (both in our wallet and on our planet).

1. Saving money with an "intelligent" house

Make your life more comfortable and save money by turning your home into an "intelligent" one. There are many ways to convert a house into an intelligent, energy-efficient, flawlessly working machine, simply using modern technology.

Programmable thermostats are a great first step, which will help your house to consume more energy. Modern thermostats are able to adapt to the temperature conditions familiar to your family, and work in accordance with them. They disable heating / ventilation when you are not at home, or turn them on or off during the coldest / hottest time of the day when climate control is required. It is estimated that by installing a good programmable thermostat, the average family can save a round sum on the electricity consumed per year.

You can make your whole house "smart" using one of the many automation systems that are now available. Such automation systems allow you to control lighting, temperature, alarms and even window blinds remotely, using your phone. A great modern opportunity that will allow you to save a lot of money on electricity. Do not spare money for modern technology and make your home a genius energy-saving mechanism.

2. Install the ceiling fans

Often the house is stuffy due to poor ventilation. Ceiling fans contribute to more efficient air circulation and You can save a round sum on air conditioners. You can even raise the temperature of the air conditioning when the fan is running, sending cool air to you - and by the end of a hot summer find that you saved a round sum on expensive air conditioning.

Of course, the ceiling fan can not significantly affect the air temperature in the house, but you will really feel the coolness, being under such a fan during sleep or wakefulness. Why? Because the flow of air causes sweat to evaporate from your skin, which gives a feeling of coolness.

In addition, a ceiling fan will help reduce energy costs in the winter. Just find a switch on the fan that will make the blades move in the opposite direction, pumping warm air up to the ceiling, down.

3. Replace the light bulbs with LED

Now everyone knows about this: replacing conventional light bulbs with much more efficient LED lights is more than a reasonable solution. Initially, the LED lamps were a nightmare of the decorator: acid-bright, twisted spiral, they could hopelessly spoil the look of exquisite lamps and, in addition, made the lighting unpleasantly sharp, and the interior of the room - extremely uncomfortable.

Nevertheless, the appearance of LED lamps has changed greatly over time - there are many of their varieties, including those that look like ordinary bulbs (with a spiral inside the glass bulb) exuding a pleasant, soft light.

Given the fact that lighting costs are 11% of total electricity costs, it's definitely time to move on to LED lighting sources that reduce energy consumption by 50-75%, in accordance with the results of the research. Take care of the warm lighting for your home and save money with modern LED lamps - a double benefit!

4. Unplug electrical appliances from the mains

Let me tell you a little-known fact: Even when you do not use electrical appliances, they continue to consume energy if they are connected to a network. Look around, how many electrical appliances are not connected to the network? Your computer? Toaster? Lamps? TV?

All these electrical appliances, not used, but consuming electricity, add 10-15% to your annual electricity bill. Just pulling the plugs out of the sockets, you can save a pretty decent amount.

The problem is that daily bypassing the house with disconnection from the network of all kinds of electrical appliances can be a difficult task. This problem can be solved by turning off those devices that you rarely use, or by simply using network filters that just press one button to turn off several electrical appliances at once. In any case, disconnecting from the network is a reasonable energy-saving solution, which everyone should keep in mind.

5. Replace the storage water heater with a flow-through

This step will take time and cost, but let's still consider it - after all, the time and money spent on such a device will be worth it if you have a large family that uses a lot of hot water every day. This is much better than screaming constantly under the door of the bathroom. "Hurry, and get out of the shower!".

Flowing water heaters supply hot water as needed. They do not spend much energy on constantly heating the water stored in the tank - they heat the water only when you turn on the tap. Flowing water heaters can save you a year to $ 100 from the amount you usually spend on electricity bills.

Despite the fact that such boilers are more expensive than their less efficient counterparts - storage boilers, they tend to last longer (usually such a water heater can "live" to 20 years), which makes such investment very profitable. If you do not want to spend money on buying a new boiler, simply turn the thermostat on your water heater down for a few divisions - it's better to do it than not to do anything at all, and any small change will help in saving.

6. Open the windows at night, curtain the windows during the day.

It can do everything, and you will not spend a penny on it. Simply opening the windows at night and letting in the fresh air, you will help the temperature in your house to cool by 10-15 degrees. Add to this a working ceiling fan - and even in the middle of July you will feel cool.

In the daytime, bright sunlight coming through the windows can significantly raise the temperature in the house, causing the air conditioners to work at the limit of possibilities. Hang blinds on the windows or install special dimming screens. Closing windows in the hours when the sun is most active, you block access to bright, hot sunlight in the house - and no need to turn on the air conditioner.

This brings us back to the modern convenience of the smart home automation systems that will allow us to control the lowering / raising of window curtains at the touch of a button, even if you are not at home. Here it is, efficiency - at its best!

7. Subjugate the energy of the sun

Despite the fact that the possibility to place solar panels may not be the easiest solution, now more and more homeowners resort to using this very environmentally friendly energy source.

Solar panel systems can be very expensive, but, according to recent studies in the field, the use of solar panels equates to planting 88 trees per year, which not only reduces your carbon footprint in the planet's ecology, but also helps save a significant amount on the electricity bills . It sounds like a win-win option - for both you and the environment.

In addition to the funds that you will spend on purchasing solar panels, you will also have to pay for the services of specialists who will install them - this will result in a very round sum. So now many rent solar panels. Given the small amount that you will have to pay regularly and a huge benefit for your home, this option should be noted.

8. Study local energy saving programs

Are your electrical appliances obsolete? Do you still use the washing machine and dryer that you bought more than a decade ago, after the wedding? These old good household appliances consume a huge amount of energy and cost you a large amount!

Worldwide sales of household appliances with Energy Star certificate of energy efficiency continue to grow steadily. By purchasing energy-efficient household appliances, you not only save on electricity bills, you also spend less money to buy them. Given that there are so many products with the Energy Star certificate for sale now, it will be difficult to buy an energy saving appliance in the near future that will almost make us acquire more environmentally friendly habits. Study energy saving programs in your city - and you really will save money on purchasing energy-efficient appliances!

9. Replace the ventilation filter

Ventilation filters can be expensive: the most affordable ones cost up to $ 20, and they will have to be changed every 3 months. We can forget about the need to replace filters in time and use the same for six months, but this error can be expensive.

The use of old, contaminated filters reduces the efficiency of the ventilation system and the heating system in the house - this increases the load on the system and accordingly, makes us pay more. The ventilation system, which works under load, will not last long, and the repair of the suddenly broken heating system will certainly cost more than buying and changing the ventilation filters every three months.

You can purchase and reusable ventilation filters, which can be removed, cleaned and reinserted. Such filters will cost more, but definitely you should think about buying them if you do not want to update the filters every three months. Today, take care of replacing contaminated ventilation filters - and let your home breathe more deeply.

10. Use cold water

B-rr-rr! Nobody will like to take an ice shower, so we will not advise this - even though it can save you a lot of money.

Nevertheless, your clothes will feel very good in cold water. In fact, in this case, most likely, it will even last you longer. In view of the fact that various detergents designed for rinsing in cold water are available now, clothes can be washed well, if, of course, it is not too dirty.

The best way to save on electricity bills is to wash most of your things in a cold water wash cycle in your washing machine with an energy efficiency certificate. Wash in cold water whenever possible - and your things, and your wallet will be grateful to you.

Thrift is great, especially if you think that the money saved on paying bills for electricity can be spent on more pleasant purchases. There are so many ways to cut energy costs - and we've brought to your attention only a few of them, although there are a lot more.

Invest in your future (and the future of the planet), saving money and reducing the harm caused to the ecosphere, with the help of our simple tips. When the next electricity bill comes, you will be happy.

And what do you do to save on electricity bills?