Saving electricity, quality of life, what for?
Kotishka
Veteran
It seems we would continue consuming and consuming if not controlled. Climate change or the limited nature of our resources has not been understood -or ignored- until recent by some big corporations, nations, and their citizens.. Tragically, it is the middle and the lower segments of society that are paying this by seeing an increase in prices, without mentioning the war in Ukraine which has caused a huge spike...and a much more serious tragedy of course...
In Spain, electricity prices has caused many discussions. A lot of people are, however, not willing to "lower their quality of life". What does that mean to you?
I mean, if I can save money and help the planet by not using a microwave in the morning -I drink this powdered chocolate / protein with milk- I don't see a big fuss. The same with cooking and warming up meals the next day. Or filling up the dishwasher to optimise its use.
I've also turned my PC's setting to the famous "dark theme", as well as installing the addon to make all websites -even this forum- dark. Apparently it is better for the eyes too. I will see about that in a month....
What are your advices to reduce consumption? I'm consuming the same amount of electricity but it has gone for 130euros to... drums 240 euros per month.
Have a great day.
Comments
Well, I have looked a bit at all the devices we keep on standby in the house, consuming electricity, and it turns out the old television digibox was consuming a relatively large amount of electricity in its standby mode, which it is in for about 20 hours out of 24. So we are getting that replaced.
Further this winter we have kept the central heating thermostat at 18 degrees, instead of 22, in an attempt to bring down our gas use.
I’ve bought a new Apple iMac this year, which has a peak energy usage of 140 watts and a sleep mode of 0.5 watts. Compared to a gaming PC (which can use 500-800 watts while powered up) its very energy efficient.
I’ve been looking at replacing our lighting with LED bulbs, to further reduce the power usage.
@Jeroen
I've downloaded an app called Localcooling to check my consumption and it is 190 watts. But it says I could optimise it to reduce it to 77 watts.... Let's see how that goes! Thanks
Edit: Followed the advice from this video -->
Computers are a good thing to keep an eye on, if they don’t go into sleep mode they can use a surprisingly large amount of power if just kept switched on. Game consoles and TVs can also use quite a lot of power so if you use them a lot.
There are various small electricity monitoring devices you can get which can measure the electricity usage at a socket in the home. Make and model vary by country and plug type.
Has everyone switched to energy-efficient LED lightbulbs? That can make a significant difference. Also, unplug appliances you only use once or twice/day. Even when not in use, they're drawing power. The microwave, the TV...
Edison tells me I'm doing a good job compared to my neighbors when they send me my bill. I don't think Edison is doing a good job though.
If I'm looking for ways to save energy, I usually see some. Admittedly it is not a common thought for me, though examining my use does not reveal too many egregious indulgences. My biggest luxury by far is my use of the AC and stems more from denial of use of the AC as a child and a weird anxiety around stagnant air I should probably meditate on at some point. Other than this, I usually run my PC 24/7 including while I sleep, for the white noise. I am working on this behavior and turning off my PC at night now.
@Dakini Unplugging stuff not in use is big. I really enjoyed the savings on my bill when I started doing this on a regular basis and the time it takes to plug most things back in is so trivial vs the benefits.
https://technologystudent.com/enerflsh/ensave1.html
I am one of the worst minimalists possible. Surrounded by unused items. Hence junk.
Looking forward to more tips …
Aha! Hence your enthusiasm for Freecycle.
Thinking of setting my place up as a halfway house for wayward home goods. I rescue them from the retailers, and when they're ready, they make their way to the street for pick up to their new home.
My neighbors have mentioned Nextdoor and Offer Up as options. Nextdoor is kind of nice because it is your local community but the company might be a little money hungry. I have not looked into freecycle yet and usually just take stuff to Salvation Army or Goodwill due to tradition.