Temporal Filomena: Cold wave, teleworking and heating: how to avoid scares on the electricity bill | My finances section

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Temperatures well below zero degrees in the street, more work at home and a notable increase in the price of electricity. In this dark season, these three elements conspire to fatten the next receipts of many households and endanger their domestic finances. But, is there any way to face winter without the heating completely emptying the user’s pocket? From the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) they are convinced that yes, it is possible, as long as good habits are adopted.

However, this time the task is especially complicated. On the one hand, the reduction in mobility due to the intense snowfalls —and, subsequently, due to the cold wave that has left large areas of Spain frozen— has forced many employees to return to that telework that they had left behind with the arrival of the new normal, and to join those who have never returned to the office since the pandemic broke out, almost a year ago. On the other hand, the inclemency of this harsh season of the year forces intensive use of heating and for a longer time, to which is added the recent increase in the cost of electricity.

The wholesale cost of electricity rose 6.7% on Wednesday, reaching almost 90 euros on average per day per megawatt hour, according to data from the Iberian Electricity Market Operator (OMIE). On January 8, it was very close to 95 euros, the highest peak after the 103.76 euros that it marked on January 11, 2002. These increases will translate into a rise of between 20% and 30% in the electricity bill of users who are in the regulated market (around 40%).

If from the OCU they estimate that the average monthly cost in heating for teleworking time is 53 euros per month for a gas system, 96 euros if it works with diesel, and 114 euros in the case of electrical appliances, their spokesman, Ileana Izverniceanu admits that “consumption is higher in these colder months”.

Watch out for the thermostat.

The keys to solving the enigma are “proper maintenance, temperature and insulation”, sums up Izverniceanu. First of all, the radiators should be checked to verify that the water circulates without problems and to observe the pressure of the boiler when it is cold. Generally this should be between 1 and 1.5 bar. Likewise, if the boiler is also used to heat domestic water, it must be switched to winter mode or heating plus DHW and adjust its working temperature to 40 or 50 degrees, in the case of an instantaneous system, and 55 or 60 degrees, if the appliance has a built-in accumulator. This last temperature is also recommended in the case of a condensing boiler.

Another important element that has to work properly is the thermostat, since it is the device in charge of regulating the switching on and off of the heating system. Therefore, you can raise the temperature and check if the boiler starts up. Later, the temperature of the thermostat will be lowered and it will be found out if the system turns off. If the thermostat is digital, it will be better to also check the status of the batteries.

Savings of up to 20%

“With these gestures alone, spending can be reduced by 10%,” says Izverniceanu. “But without a doubt, the biggest savings come from monitoring the temperature,” he adds. Instead of wearing short sleeves and having the house at 24 degrees, the organization’s spokeswoman advises covering up with more clothing and lowering the thermostat to 21 degrees. In her words, “something so simple saves up to 20%”. Izverniceanu also stresses that a temperature at home of between 19 degrees and 21 degrees is reasonable, and that each degree higher represents a 7% increase in consumption. At night, it is advisable that in the bedrooms it drops between 15 degrees and 17 degrees, which avoids spending another 13%.

It should also not be overlooked that opening radiators that are not going to be used or heating empty rooms represents a significant waste. Izverniceanu also suggests installing thermostatic valves on the radiators to be able to regulate the temperature of each of them according to the needs of the room in which it is located.

As far as insulation is concerned, one of the most effective measures is to change the windows, so that they have a thermal bridge break (that is, they are built to prevent the cold temperature from outside from being transmitted to the interior of the house ) and double glass. However, “this investment is generally very high, it is not recovered very quickly, and it is more interesting to undertake when some type of reform is going to be done in the house,” according to Izverniceanu.

simple measures

In this regard, the National Association of Ceramics and Construction Materials Distributors (Andimac) estimates that “a 90-square-meter home would reduce its energy consumption by between 40% and 80% thanks to certain improvement and maintenance works, which could reduce the price of your electricity bill by 750 euros a year”. These would be to isolate the exterior of the building, replace the carpentry with wood or PVC (more insulating than aluminum), and change the glass for thicker ones, with an air chamber.

Even so, there are some measures that can help save on heating and that require only a small investment, such as putting weather strips on doors and windows, that is, simple plastic strips that, once fixed in the cracks and joints, They plug the air intake and help maintain the interior temperature.

It will also be avoided to cover the radiators with decorative elements or use them as clothes dryers, so that the heating does not have to make a greater effort to offer the temperature at which the system is configured, which would entail greater energy consumption.

Likewise, it is not superfluous to place a reflective panel between the radiator and the wall to take advantage of and better distribute the heat, and thus recover between 10% and 20% of what is lost towards the wall. Using dark-colored rugs and curtains to absorb solar radiation will also help maintain and even raise the temperature of the home. It will also do using double curtains, for example, a thin one that allows light and heat from the sun to enter, and a thicker one that does not let the cold night pass through.

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