Saving energy has always been a thing for us. We try to be aware of it, but it is an art to involve the children in this as well. Now -in our new house- it is very important that we make adjustments to save energy, because the bill that the previous residents received here every month… that is not good!
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First of all, I'll show you what the costs of the previous residents were when it came to energy consumption.
It's quite a bad photo, but the consumption is clearly visible. On an annual basis they consumed 4,378 m³ of gas and 7,820 kWh of electricity † What a huge amount that is. For us, therefore, one of the first requirements in our new house; save energy.
Looking at a family with 4 people, the electricity consumption is on average 4500 kWh on an annual basis (which is quite different from above) and 1700 m³ gas !
Saving on energy costs and consumption arise for us from two different needs. Of course we would like to reduce the monthly installment amount (€358.00/month for the previous residents), but we also think it is important to do something about this with an eye on the environment.
We will first have to focus on necessary adjustments in our house that relate to insulation. We already had an overcapacity of solar panels installed in June, but that does not of course reduce consumption, it will only make it cheaper, fortunately.
We have now made two other decisions when it comes to saving energy and reducing consumption:
You can hardly imagine it anymore, but these 'basic' solutions to save your energy consumption have unfortunately not yet been applied in our new house. And that will – unfortunately but unfortunately – cost a bomb before we can save.
But if these insulation measures have been taken, I still hope that we can save about € 100.00 – € 125.00 per month. It is also important for us to compare energy every year. Frank checks that every year, so we always have the -for us- lowest provider.
It's the only fun way to save energy 😉 and it's already baked into it. Not only with me, but also with the children. In fact… there is fighting going on here in the house on the Corensy blankets that are on our couch 😉 . I think it's the only point where I don't have to raise the kids anymore. The heating is not just a degree higher here, because we usually lie on the couch with a nice blanket over us. Nice and cozy!
Another great way to save energy is through solar water heaters and collectors. No panels like we already have that generate electricity, but collectors that directly heat the water for showering. I have now submitted a request for information to various companies to see if this is of interest to us. I already see it around me regularly and I think this can be applied in many homes.
We all know that some electrical equipment consumes a huge amount on an annual basis. And when you talk about saving on energy, that's also part of your profit. A waterbed, for example, consumes 1200 kWh on an annual basis (sludge), but the nice home tap can also do something.
If you do not only use the home tap temporarily for a birthday, but always have it 'on', it will consume up to 500 kWh on an annual basis. This will make your beer very expensive!
Not only a lot cheaper, you were drier outside, but also a lot tastier, right? I always think it smells so fresh. Now I'm lucky that we have washing lines in our new house that hang nicely to the side of the house so that I don't have to look at the laundry from the room/kitchen.
Last summer we bought air conditioners to be able to sleep well. With this the air conditioning is on all night, but we want it off during the day. Now we have forgotten that a number of times, but then the energy consumption is obvious. Simply put, turning off the air conditioning during the day clearly saves you energy and saves you around €3.00 per 24 hours!
If you want to save on energy, check the table below with the consumption per device. You probably already knew that old-fashioned lighting costs more energy than LED lighting, but we have a lot more energy guzzlers in our house. This way you can see exactly where you can achieve the greatest benefits. Of course it is also important to keep looking at your energy supplier.
Device kWh Air conditioning450 Aquarium (with pump and light)1029 Electric water heater (> 20 l) kitchen1870 Fridge (label A)220 Hob180 Laptop300 LED television155 Mobile phone10 Quooker85 Slow cooker (for every day use)250 Vacuum cleaner80 Steam cabin180 Home step500 DishwasherLighting230 V210 Washer Washing machine A+++ (average 220 washes per year)168 Waterbed1200More information about energy guzzlers can be found here.
