In France, each household has an average of around 100 power products of equipment connected to the electrical circuit. If you do not adopt the right actions, the invoice quickly becomes too important an expense item. DCpowercord gives you some advice to reduce your electricity consumption.
Table of Contents
- 1 Turning off the lights when you leave a room can reduce your electricity consumption
- 2 Do not leave all devices on standby
- 3 Cook covered
- 4 Optimizing the use of the washing machine and dishwasher
- 5 Check the energy label for each new purchase
- 6 Mastering electric heating
- 7 Keep the heat inside the home
- 8 Reinforce the insulation of the home
- 9 Use LED bulbs
- 10 Limit TV size
- 11 Adopt reasonable use of the dryer
Turning off the lights when you leave a room can reduce your electricity consumption
Common sense is the first step towards a lower electricity bill! Everyone knows this advice, but in practice, many of us forget to always turn off the light when we no longer need it. A simple gesture, which must become a reflex to save money.
Do not leave all devices on standby
European regulations require manufacturers to limit the power of devices on standby to 0.5 W. Unfortunately, devices connected to the Internet (type Box of access provider) are not affected, and their power often reaches 2 W. When you do not use them, especially at night or when you are away, switching them off completely can reduce your electricity bill by 10% (excluding heating).
Cook covered
Putting a lid on your pot makes food cook faster. By boiling 1 liter of hot water with a lid, you will use 25% less electricity.
Optimizing the use of the washing machine and dishwasher
Both the washing machine and the dishwasher are heavy consumers of electricity. To save money, we recommend that you use the “eco” program for these two devices. This program is based on a longer cycle time but less water heating. In this case, it is the heating of the water which consumes a lot of electricity, while the operation of the device requires less power.
In addition, it is not recommended to use the dishwasher and the washing machine in half-load mode. Contrary to what one might think, this mode does not consume half the electricity! It is, therefore, better to wait until your appliances are full to start the washing cycles.
Check the energy label for each new purchase
Far from being a marketing argument, energy labels provide important information on the consumption of household appliances. From one class to another, the energy savings achieved are of the order of 15 to 20%. Please note: since the introduction of the new energy label, certain equipment has been in principle excluded from class A.
Energy labels by the family of household appliances
| Equipment type | Energy label | Best possible class | Lowest possible class |
| Refrigerator, freezer, combination appliance | A to G | C | G |
| Washing machine | A to G | A | G |
| Dishwasher | A to G | B | G |
| Tumble dryer | A +++ to D | A+++ | B |
| Ampoules LED | A to G | C | G |
| TV (70 to 100 cm diagonal) | A to G | AND | G |
Mastering electric heating
In principle, not all rooms should be heated to the same temperature. Here are the recommendations that allow you to save on heating:
- The room used during the day as the living room or the office: 19 ° C
- Rooms: 17 ° C
- Bathroom when in use: 20 ° C
In addition, when you are away, there is no need to leave the heating in normal operation. For these different reasons, installing a programmable and smart thermostat will allow you to save significant amounts of electricity.
Keep the heat inside the home
The existence of thermal bridges between your home and the outside decreases the efficiency of the heating. In winter, when night falls early and temperatures cooler, it is advisable to close the shutters and draw the curtains from 6 p.m. This advice also applies when you are away for a few days.
Reinforce the insulation of the home
Significant energy savings can be achieved with a well-insulated home. The roof, walls, and low floors are important thermal bridges. In addition, the simple replacement of old windows by double glazing makes it possible to reduce the consumption of electricity linked to heating by 10 to 15%. The insulation work is supported by various support systems.
Use LED bulbs
LED bulbs represent a higher initial investment for lighting. Their lower consumption and lifespan (up to 40,000 hours of lighting) compensate for their purchase price and allow you to save money in the long term.
Preferably choose LEDs from 2500 to 3500 Kelvin for the bedroom and living room and opt for brighter lights in the kitchen and bathroom (from 3500 to 4500 Kelvin). However, avoid the trend of “decorative” LEDs that can be found on a lot of furniture: they consume as much electricity as others, and their usefulness for lighting is questionable.
Limit TV size
The fashion is for extra-large screens, but this type of equipment is not necessarily compatible with saving electricity. Indeed, the relation between the size of the screen and its energy consumption is exponential: a television with a diagonal of 160 cm consumes as much as 3 or 4 televisions of 80 cm.
Adopt reasonable use of the dryer
Despite the progress made by manufacturers, clothes dryers remain very energy-intensive devices with an average consumption of 200 kWh per year. Whenever possible, let your laundry air dry and use a good spin in the machine. Extracting moisture in this way is, in fact, 100 times less energy-intensive than that of the dryer.
Except for the 11 tips on how to reduce your electricity consumption, we also recommend you purchase good quality power cords for your home appliance.
Now It’s Your Turn
So that’s the tip to reduce your electricity consumption.
Now I want to turn it over to you: Through my article, do you understand how to reduce your electricity consumption?
Do you have a different point of view on how to reduce your electricity consumption? Or any other questions?
Let me know by leaving a quick comment below right now.
