Germany is saving for the expensive winter. Because the cost of living is skyrocketing, many people are now having to tighten their belts. FOCUS Online tells how you can reduce electricity consumption with five simple products that you can buy in any hardware store and online.
Not only gas will be expensive this winter. The price of electricity also rises at the end of the year. That’s what comparison portals like Check 24 and Verivox predict. Industry observers and analysts expect a price adjustment from November. How high this will be depends on various factors.
Important price drivers are the electricity market, industry and developments on the gas market. As the industry service “Strom-Report” reports, power generation and sales currently account for 49 percent of the total price. The proportion has not been that large in the past ten years.
The electricity market remains tense.
Demand from industry is increasing and only small amounts of electricity can be produced from renewable energies (RE) in winter. Because the purchase price is rising at the same time, cheap suppliers are withdrawing from the market. This also drives up prices.
In principle, consumers have little scope for action when choosing a cheap electricity tariff. This is primarily due to the fact that many energy suppliers do not take on any new customers and the electricity tariffs they offer yield only little or hardly any savings potential.
Nevertheless, consumers can actively save electricity – and thus money – in the household. Important products that are currently in demand at all hardware stores and in online shops and are considered absolute savings aids can help here.
1. Power strip with switch
Chargers for mobile phones, tablets or laptops are power guzzlers when they are permanently plugged into the socket. Tom Raulien, project manager for the Energy Efficiency Dialogue at Dena, explains: “Your power consumption can be identified, among other things, by the fact that they get warm. Here it is advisable to consistently pull the plug or use a multiple socket with an on/off switch.”
You can also connect electronic devices that you only use for a few hours a day and that otherwise consume a lot of electricity in standby mode to multiple sockets or socket strips with an on/off switch. These include TV receivers, soundbars, coffee machines with integrated clock displays, microwaves and stereo systems.
A television in standby mode causes electricity costs of well over 35 euros per year. For stereo systems, it’s a good 40 euros. A DVB-T receiver also costs a good 30 euros a year. So with these three electrical devices, you already spend more than 100 euros per year.
Acquisition cost? A multi-socket with an on/off switch costs between ten and 30 euros in retail. You can find offers here or here.
It is even cheaper if you buy socket strips with switches from the discounters Tedi, KIk, Thomas Philipps or Action locally. There is a 6-bar with a switch for less than ten euros.
2. Economical shower head
Households achieve a high savings potential if they use an economical shower head. A lot of energy goes into the hot water. If you can reduce the amount of water in everyday life, this also has an effect on your electricity consumption.
FOCUS Online advises: Invest in a higher quality model. A single minute in the shower uses 15 liters of water. The economical shower head reduces consumption to seven liters. The more water you save per minute, the less limescale builds up on the shower head. There are inexpensive models for around 20 euros in hardware stores and online. You can find an example here.
3. Aerator on the tap
You should also attach an aerator to each tap to match the shower head.
An aerator is an economy aerator. This practical savings tool is available in every hardware store for little money. The water-saving aid is attached directly to the tap and mixes air into the water jet so that consumers waste less water.
Such assignments are also available online. For example at Amazon for less than four euros (or here ).
On average, the aerator costs a good nine euros each, but it can save up to a liter of water per minute. This also drastically reduces heating and electricity costs for hot water. Possible savings: Up to 100 euros per year.
What few people know: the aerator is also available for the shower head. In addition to an economical shower head, it can drastically reduce expenses.
4. Energy-saving lamps and LED lights
Anyone who hasn’t already done so now has a good reason: replacing light bulbs with LED technology and energy-saving lamps can save up to 90 percent of the energy in the lights.
When buying, you should pay attention to two values:
Energy-saving lamps and LED lamps are sold as a set or individually. Depending on the model and brand, you should calculate about two euros per lamp. For example, you can purchase this model from Osram or this model from Amazon.
5. Energy cost cutter
Electronic devices use a lot of electricity – but how much do they use in comparison? If you want to know, you can simply check this with an energy cost meter (EKM) and compare the result with energy-efficient models from the trade.
If you want to track down energy wasters among household appliances, you only have to invest around 10 euros. You can find relevant offers here.
Such an energy cost meter can help if those affected have a lot of old devices in the household. There are no current figures. However, Harald Friedrich, Managing Director of Robert BoschHausgeräte based in Munich, said in 2013 that there were around 30 million household appliances in Germany that were more than 14 years old.
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