Your energy savings
Efficiency how to: Some clever ways to save lots of electricity
and money (and by the way: also the planet)
'The clever way: better with less'
Heating and cooling
This web page concentrates on electricity use in households. It
should,however, be noted that in moderate and cold climate zones,
spaceheating takes up at least half of the overall energy use.
Therefore, proper insulation and ventilation is the first and
mostimportant energy saving measure. It can reduce heating needs
toone-third (about 50 kWh heat/m2/y) or even one tenth (less than
15 kWhheat/m2/y) of what an average house would need. Remarkably, a
properlyinsulated house, which only needs a third of the heat to
keep you warm,will not be more expensive to build. The extra
investments ininsulation, ventilation and high-efficiency glazing,
can be offset by asmaller and cheaper heating system. An efficient
house will also behealthier and more comfortable to live in - it
avoids 'cold radiation'(as from windows), the differences of
temperature between heated andnon-heated rooms is less, and it can
be more efficiently ventilated.
In hot regions, energy use for active cooling (air conditioning)
can beminimised or even avoided if the construction is well-thought
out. In amoderated climate, active cooling can always be
avoided.
Electricity
Electricity consumption in households differs immensely
throughout theworld. Even within the OECD (industrialised
countries), an averageEuropean household consumes 4,667 kWh,
whereas a household in the USconsumes 11,209 kWh and in Japan
5,945kWh per year . A US householduses three times more electricity
for lighting, and twice as much inrefrigerators than in the EU.
This does not necessarily reflect adifference in comfort. As we
will explain, there are high efficiencyappliances that consume two
to 10 times less electricity for an equalfunctionality, and that
are most often also of higher quality. Usingonly highly efficient
and money saving appliances can reduce theelectricity consumption
of an average household to as low as 1,300kWh/y, without any loss
of comfort. This is almost 10 times less thanthe US average.
Try to minimise electricity use: its generation needs a lot of
energy,mostly heat produced in coal, gas or nuclear plants. Using
electric hotwater heaters or space heating is extremely
inefficient. At the powerplant, some 60 percent of the energy is
lost as waste heat. Another 10percent is lost in electricity lines
and transformers before theelectricity even reaches your home.
1. Use efficient lighting
Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents (CFLs).
Compactfluorescents use four times less energy, and last eight
times longer(8,000h instead of 1,000h) than incandescent light
bulbs. For example,a typical 75W incandescent bulb will be replaced
by an 18W compactfluorescent. The compact fluorescent will be more
expensive to buy, butyou will need to replace it eight times less
often and it will use lesselectricity, which often makes it the
biggest electricity saver in yourhouse. At a minimum, we recommend
replacing the bulbs in alllamps that are used for 30min/day or
more.
Fluorescent tubes areeven more efficient than compact
fluorescent lamps, and last evenlonger (10,000-20,000h). Only use
tubes with a modern ballast starterthat avoids flickering and
lights immediately - good ones add another20 percent efficiency.
Another option is a CFL with a dedicatedfixture. The electronic
ballast which is part of the fixture lasts40,000 hours and bulbs
can be replaced separately at lower cost. Both CFLs and fluorescent
tubes are available in a dimmable fixtures.This can increase
comfort, save even more energy and extend thelifetime of the
bulb.
Especially avoid halogen floor lamps,which typically have a
power of 300W or more, produce lots of heat andare actually so hot
(some 500° Celsius) that they can cause seriousburns and start
fires. Besides, on hot summer days they are veryuncomfortable to be
around. A CFL floor lamp only uses 50-80W at 40°Celsius. They can
save loads of energy and even your life.
Also pay attention to the light fixtures. Clever use of
reflectors, anddirectional lamps to get the light where you need it
can save youanother 50 percent energy cost and improve your
comfort! Well thoughtout use of efficient lights can thus reduce
electricity needs up to 8times.
CFLs at the end of their operating life should bedisposed of
properly so the mercury inside can be recycled. To beclear, even
if not recycled, CFLs are still the better choice, sincethe
inefficiency of incandescent and halogen lights causes fargreater
environmental damage - including mercury emissions from coalfired
power plants. (But please do recycle the CFLs.)
Also, conversion to efficient lighting often leads to an
increase inthe use of light. To some degree, this can be a positive
effect, as itcan increase comfort and your well-being. But it can
also lead towasting light, such as leaving lamps on when there is
no need to (e.g.when you leave the room). This is reinforced by the
misconception thatturning CLFs on and off is expensive. As a
general rule, alwaysturn off the lights when you leave the room or
the house.
For more information see the
Rocky Mountains Institute.
2. Buy efficient electric appliances.
They use two to 10 times less electricity for the same
functionality,and are mostly higher quality products that last
longer than the lessefficient ones. In short, efficient appliances
save you lots of energyand money.
In many countries, efficiency rating labels aremandatory on most
appliances. In the EU, models are labelled A++ forthe most
efficient, then A+, A, B, C, D for subsequently less
efficientmodels. Look for the A++ or A+ models. In the US, the
Energy Star labelis used.
The label gives you information on the annualelectricity
consumption. In the paragraphs below, we provide someindication of
the consumption of the most efficient appliances to useas a rough
guide when shopping. Lists of brands and models and where tofind
them are country-specific and so cannot be listed here, but
checkthe links on this page for more detailed information.
Averageconsumption of electric appliances in different regions
in the world,compared with the high efficient models on the
market
3. Refrigerators:
Buy a high efficiency refrigerator that consumes around 100
kWh/y. Thisis 10 times less than the average in the US, and four
times lessthan the EU average.
Remarkably, energy consumption bythe most efficient refrigerator
models is largely unrelated to theirsize. The most efficient
400-litre fridge on the market today onlyconsumes 106kWh/y.
These efficient refrigerators are about5-15 percent more
expensive to buy, but will save you loads of moneyand energy in
use. In general, they are also high quality products thatwill last
longer, will need less repairing and make less noise.
Avoid refrigerators with a built-in frozen food compartment, if
youhave a separate freezer. These models are less efficient and you
loosecooling space.
4. Freezers:
For most home consumers it is better to buy a two
doorrefrigerator/freezer combination with separate compartments,
than aseparate refrigerator and freezer. Refrigerator/freezer
combinationswhere the freezer is at the top or bottom of the unit
aregenerally better than ones with side by side doors. Of course,
youshould always compare energy consumption ratings, pay attention
toenergy efficiency labels (see above), and look for
Greenfreezetechnology.
This award-winning two door refrigerator/freezer only consumes
137kWh/year.
Chest type models are more efficient than uprights.
Unlike refrigerators, with freezers size does matter. Larger
freezersdo need more electricity. So don't buy a freezer that is
larger thanyou need, especially if you live close to the store.
Themost efficient models on the market will only use 180 kWh for
a 300litre chest, and 240 kWh/y for a large 450 litre freezer
chest. The best upright models range from 170 kWh for a 190 litre
model to 220kWh for a 310 litre model.
5. Clothes washing machines
Buy a high-efficiency model with a power consumption of less
than 0.9 kWh/washing cycle.
Consider a 'hot fill' model which connects directly to your
efficientgas-fired water heater. Using gas to heat the water almost
halveselectricity consumption.. Installing a hot fill appliance
needs to bedone correctly, so good advice is required.
Check the energy label. The EU A+/A/A label will guarantee you
the best energy efficiency and washing and drying result.
If using a clothes dryer, make sure that your washing machine
can spin at 1600 or even 1800 rpm.
The most efficient washing machines save some 1,500 litres of
water per year - a double gain!
6. Clothes dryers
Traditional clothes dryers are very energy intensive.
So-called'condensation' models - without an exhaust tube - use even
more energy.
Consider drying the natural way (i.e. on a clothes line
outdoors) if practical, this will save you 3-4 kWh/washing
cycle.
If line drying is not an option, first make sure that your
washingmachine can spin at 1600 or even 1800 rpm. This will almost
halve theenergy needed for drying. Drying through spinning is 20
times lessenergy intensive than with heat.
There are two clothes-dryingtechnologies that use far less
energy: the gas-fired clothes dryer andthe dryer with an electric
heat pump. The gas-fired dryer is the bestalternative, especially
for more intensive use: it uses 60 percent lessenergy (including
the gas) and dries 40 percent faster. If gas is notavailable,
consider a dryer with a heat pump. A heat pump dryer willuse half
the electricity of a traditional dryer. However, heat pumpscan be
rather expensive.
7. Dishwashers
An efficient dishwasher consumes no more than one kWh/washing
cycle, compared with 1.4 kWh for an average model.
Consider a 'hot fill' model which connects directly to your
efficientgas fired hot water heater. That way, gas is used to heat
the waterinstead of electricity, thereby reducing electricity
consumption by 50percent, or even up to 90 percent for the top
models. This is becausegas is almost twice as efficient for heating
water as electricity. Notethat installing a 'hot fill' needs to be
done properly so good adviceis required.
8. Computers and IT
Buy a laptop instead of a desktop, if practical. It consumes
five times less electricity.
If you buy a desktop, get an LCD screen instead of an outdated
CRT.
Enable the power management function on your computer, the
screensaver does not save energy.
Check if your computer supports the more advanced Speedstep™
power management.
Switching off a computer extends its lifetime, contrary to
somemisconceptions. Leaving a computer running the whole year will
cost youmore than 1,000 kWh/y, or almost as much a the total
electricityconsumption of a high-efficiency household.
Use one largepower strip for your computer, broadband modem,
scanner, printer,monitor, and speakers. Switch it off when
equipment is not in use. Thisis a practical way to cut 200 kWh/y or
more of standby losses (seestandby).
Minimise printing. Laser printers use more electricity than
inkjet printers.
For more information see Greencampus
Harvard and the
Rocky Mountains Institute.
9. Cut off standby losses ("The vicious energy-suckers")
Most modern electric appliances consume electricity even when
turnedoff. For TVs, VCRs, faxes, HiFis, computer screens, cable
boxes, andbroadband modems this is on average some 40 - 120 kWh/y.
In total,household losses can reach several hundreds kWhs/y, all
for doingnothing useful.
The best solution is to buy appliances thathave a very low
standby energy consumption. Standby power consumptionis mentioned
in the product manual and can be checked before buying. Oryou can
look for it on specialised websites (see links). For
mostappliances, it should be around 0.5 - 1 watts/hour or 4-8
kWh/year.Keep in mind that the cost of wasted standby energy over
amodel's lifetime can be higher than the cost of buying it!
Apower strip is also the most practical way to switch of VCR, TV
andDVD-player stand-by losses (you can cut off all three devices at
once).
The multi socket power strip: a practical way to combat
stand-bylosses. This model costs only 1.8 euro and can save you
more than100kWh/y!
In the 15 countries of the EU in 2000, the totalenergy lost to
standby in households was estimated at 94 billion kWh,or the
equivalent of 12 large nuclear or coal power plants. The fastgrowth
of inefficient ICT and multimedia applications could nearlydouble
this in 10 years.
10. Do not use an electric boiler (hot water heater) for hot water ("Heat the water, not the sky!")
An electric boiler consumes about 3,200 kWh/y (average OECD).
Butproducing that electricity in highly inefficient gas, coal or
nuclearplants, and then transmitting that electricity down the
power line toyour home costs some 9,600 kWh in electricity wasted
as heat - soroughly 2/3rds of the energy is lost before it even
reaches yourhome. Using gas or oil directly to heat water reduces
energy use to3,800 kWh.
A solar boiler can further halve that figure to1,900 kWh in a
moderate climate zone (and even less in sunny regions) -for a total
energy savings of about five times what the electric boileruses.
However, do not use a solar boiler combined with an
electricheating, as this will be less efficient than a gas boiler
alone - theenergy cost of the electric heating usually wipes out
the savingsgained by the solar boiler.
11. Use a water-saving shower head
The water-saving shower head delivers high comfort for only half
of thewater use (5-7 litres/min. Instead of 10-18 litres/min.).
Hot water is the second most important area of energy use in
ahousehold, after space heating, and thus needs extra attention.
Anefficient shower head can save almost 1,500 kWh electricity/y if
anelectric boiler is used, or 1,900 kWh heat if a gas or
oilboiler/geyser is used. All this for just a few
dollars/eurosextra when you buy the showerhead. Over its lifetime
of 10 years, ashowerhead will also save some 70,000 litres of
water.
Using awater-saving showerhead, combined with a solar boiler
reduces energyneeds to some 950 kWh heat (gas or oil), or almost 10
times less thanwhen an electric boiler is used with a traditional
shower head!
12. Do not use electric space heating
Same reasons as for the electric boiler. Instead add insulation,
and(ideally) heat your house using a renewable energy solution like
solarthermal. However, gas heating is still far better than
electricheating.
Interested in doing more? Check out more green living tips from Greenpeace in Canada.
Or download our handy booklet: "How to save the climate".