With these few tips for the household you can save a lot of money and energy and also protect the environment. It is a win-win-situation like playing Casino Bizzo. These steps will help you to avoid getting a huge bill at the end of the month.
AVOID STANDBY
The computer screen is black, and so is that of the smart TV – yet these devices can still consume electricity, 24 hours a day. But there is a solution: Switching off devices completely instead of leaving them in standby mode when not in use saves an average of 100 euros a year in a three-person household.
But “switching off” is sometimes not so easy: Some devices do not have a power switch or it is difficult to access. Therefore, use power strips with switches or radio-controlled sockets. A master-slave socket is suitable for the computer, for example: as soon as the connected main device (the computer) is switched off, the socket also disconnects all other connected devices (e.g. speakers, monitors) from the power supply.
PROGRAM ROUTER
When we sleep, we don’t need wifi. Nevertheless, a standard router still supplies the apartment with Internet at night – and in the process it eats up energy and produces emissions. According to the Öko-Institut e.V., a router in continuous operation produces an impressive 53 kilograms of greenhouse gases per year. Power consumption varies from device to device, and annual costs range from around 26 to 52 euros.
You can save a considerable amount of this by switching off the router at night. You can do this either by pressing the off button on the device or by using a timer, which is built into many modern routers. Keep in mind, though, that if you have a landline and turn off the router, the phone won’t work either.
SWITCH OFF HOT WATER DURING THE NIGHT
You can do the same with hot water as you do with the router. In many homes, a circulation pump ensures that hot water is available around the clock. However, we rarely use this at 3 a.m. You can easily reprogram modern circulation pumps so they don’t operate at night. If the pump does not have a timer, you can connect a timer – this costs around five euros.
TURN DOWN THE HEATING AT NIGHT
The most obvious tip comes last: At night we stay in the bedroom, the other rooms then do not need to be heated strongly. Stiftung Warentest recommends 16 degrees as the minimum temperature to protect against mold. In the bedroom, 17 to 18 degrees is sufficient for a good night’s sleep.
Each degree of room temperature less reduces heating costs by about six percent. Lowering and closing shutters and window blinds at night should also help save energy. With curtains, you should be careful that they don’t cover the heating’s regulating valves.