Reducing the energy consumption of our home should be one of our goals. Improving energy efficiency helps us improve comfort at home, reduce monthly heating and/or air conditioning consumption, and makes us more sustainable.
For some time the concept of energy efficiency is much more present in our day to day, not only for economic reasons -and more so in recent months- as it implies significant savings, but also because it represents a commitment to a more sustainable future, which is something that Housing Healthy we are very committed.
Energy efficiency translates into a optimization of energy consumption, so that it allows us to achieve better levels of comfort inside the home and, in the long run, have an impact on our quality of life.
To achieve a balance between energy consumption and the use of the basic services that we need, we encourage you to follow the following advice:
- Check the insulation of your home: to avoid any unwanted air infiltration, it is important that there is good insulation, which allows a comfortable temperature to be maintained without the need to use heating or air conditioning excessively. How is it achieved? One of the key elements is to have windows with high thermal performance, such as those manufactured with Kömmerling systems, which allow energy losses in the home to be reduced by up to 70%.
- Optimize electrical spending: in addition to always betting on natural lighting, there are electronic devices (Dimmer) that allow you to regulate the intensity of the light emitted by the lamps, with the aim of adapting the lighting to the needs of each moment. Replace traditional light bulbs with LED ones, as they consume less energy than incandescent bulbs, last much longer and give off less heat. Even small gestures, such as periodically cleaning the dust from the lamps also help, since its accumulation blocks the light. A programmable thermostat can also be installed, which has the ability to be configured to automatically turn off or reduce heating or air conditioning while we sleep or are away from home, for example.
- Make smart use of appliances: for example, use the washer and dryer efficiently, make sure you fill it completely before using it, use short cycles and cold water programs whenever possible. Unplug electrical appliances when you are not using them, since standby mode continues to consume energy. Doing a good maintenance of devices such as the vacuum cleaner also adds up. If the filters are very dirty and the dust and garbage deposits are saturated, the motor works overloaded, reducing its useful life. And if you are going to renovate a home appliance, look for those that are efficient in terms of energy, the energy label it will help you.
- Stop wasting water: you can install a new shower head that regulates the flow of water, so that you can save up to 50% (providing 5 liters per minute). There are also saving nozzles that can be placed on kitchen and bathroom taps and reduce water consumption by approximately 30-50%. Changing the independent hot and cold water taps for a single-lever mixer considerably reduces consumption and in the WC, the double-push-button or partial flush systems in the cisterns save a large amount of water.
- Make optimal use of the boiler: If you have an individual water boiler, try to regulate the water temperature depending on the season of the year. With a lower temperature in the hottest months we obtain the same results and we gain a lot in energy efficiency.
- Bet on renewable energy: if you have the opportunity, install solar panels in your home can be a great way to reduce your energy use and save money on your electric bill.
By putting small habits into practice, big changes can be achieved in terms of sustainability and cost reduction, and it is that -according to experts- a home with good energy efficiency saves 40% in energy.