– I try to be as aware of electricity use as I can, says Fabian Kristiansen. He studies renewable energy at the University of Agder, and learns more than most about how electricity works in a house. The engineering student has prepared and set aside money for the winter’s electricity prices. Nevertheless, he does his part to avoid the big shock bills: The showers have become shorter and colder than before. Lower the spin on the washing machine. In the kitchen, the dishwasher is filled to capacity, to name a few. But how much money can you actually save on such “small” steps? Fabian Kristiansen studies renewable energy at the University of Agder. He rents an apartment a short bus ride away from campus. Photo: Kristin Olsen / news Many small streams We have teamed up with associate professor Tore Sandnes Vehus at the University of Agder in an attempt to find answers. He teaches Fabian, and other budding engineers, in renewable energy. And he is resoundingly clear about one thing: – In a house, it is the heating of hot water and living space that is the most energy-demanding thing we have. Check out Vehus’ best power saving tips and find out how you can calculate your own consumption at the bottom of the article. According to Tore Vehus, it pays to re-insulate, replace the panel oven with, for example, a heat pump and install a smart hot water heater to save electricity. But it also pays to take small steps in everyday life. Photo: Per-Kåre Sandbakk / news But there are also kroner to save on the small things that require electricity in our everyday life. Tore has calculated for us how much ordinary household products can cost you over the course of a month. NB: The answer will always vary somewhat from product to product, depending on the energy class, how often it is used and what the electricity costs. Living room ?️ We start in the living room. The place where many of us spend time in front of the TV, or turn on the lamp to read the newspaper or a good book. Perhaps a panel oven or two will ensure a good and comfortable temperature in winter? With today’s electricity prices, it quickly becomes expensive. Swipe to see how much various products in the living room can cost over the course of a month: In isolation, the panel oven is the most electricity-consuming item in Norwegian homes. This is because it is often on for large parts of the day, and because there is often more than one. Therefore, Vehus’s first tip is to investigate whether you can afford to invest in less energy-demanding heating sources. Otherwise, the advice is to turn down the heat (within reasonable limits). – Lowering the comfort temperature from 20 to 19 or 18 degrees at home will make up quite a large proportion, he says to news. (This can be tested by adjusting the thermostat down one day and up again the next, and looking at the change in KwH. But this assumes that outside conditions such as temperature, wind and sunlight remain stable.) Something else that may come as a surprise is where how much power your game console requires. Four hours of Playstation 5 can quickly cost you as much as having the hotplate on full blast for half an hour. This corresponds to NOK 8.40 a day and NOK 252 a month with an electricity price of NOK six per kilowatt hour. The electricity subsidy is not included in the calculations in this case. Finally: if you go in to save every penny you can, it will also pay to turn off the TV completely when it is not in use. – Look at the unnecessary consumption. Turn off lights and things that may be left on without you benefiting from them, says Tore Vehus. Kitchen ? In the kitchen, however, there are appliances that must always be on. Like a refrigerator. Have you ever wondered how much it could cost you in a month? Swipe to see how much a range of kitchen products can cost over the course of a month: One move student Fabian Kristiansen makes to save electricity in the kitchen is to defrost the food before he cooks it. Vehus’ calculation shows that it is not so stupid. Because it quickly costs a few hundred Swedish kroner a month with a hob and stove, if the electricity price is high. The dishwasher is fully loaded at Fabian Kristiansen’s house these days. He also recommends closing all doors in the house, thawing food before cooking and leaving thick curtains to protect against drafts in the cold seasons. Photo: Kristin Olsen / news The toaster, on the other hand, doesn’t seem like something you need to feel terribly guilty about. Say you have a toaster with an output of 600 Watts. And say you use it five minutes a week. What will the monthly price then be, if the electricity price is six kroner per kilowatt hour? The answer? 1 crown. Bathroom ? Then we have come to the bathroom. A place where it is easy to fall for the temptations of electricity. Because who doesn’t love steaming hot water and a well-heated floor when the temperature outside is creeping down? – I can miss the time when you could stand in the shower until there was no more hot water in the boiler, admits student Fabian Kristiansen. But he is wise to tighten up on the use of hot water. Check what the water heater (and many other things in the bathroom) can cost you over the course of a month: As the overview shows: There is money to be saved by choosing the drying rack over the tumble dryer. But if you are looking for major cost cuts, heating is still the key, according to Vehus. One thing is the hot water. Something else that will have a good impact on power consumption is to turn down the heating cables, for example from 26 to 20 degrees. – It is quite dramatic how much you save then, says Tore Vehus. Do it yourself ? Remember that the examples news presents in this case only show what the price of a product can look like. Want to find out exactly how much your product is costing you? Vehus shows you how to proceed: If this is too complicated, you can instead take a look at the associate professor’s best tips for saving electricity: Investigate whether you have the money to invest in non-electric heating sources. For example, additional insulation, wood burning or central heating systems with water-borne heat. If you must use electric heating – consider air-to-air heat pump Lower the temperature indoors. Changing the comfort temperature from 20 to 19–18 degrees will do a lot. Reduce hot water consumption. Look at the unnecessary consumption. Turn off things that are on without you benefiting from it. Check out the website Elhub for an hour-by-hour/day-by-day consumption overview. Have you had any good experiences when it comes to saving electricity? Feel free to share it with other readers in the comments section. Hi! Welcome to dialogue at news. Since you are logged in to other news services, you do not have to log in again here, but we need your consent to our terms of use for online dialogue
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