During the lockdown, QuiestVert decided to see the glass half full! And for that, we used this context, where many people are at home, to offer you a huge challenge: save energy, at home and with simple tips. The idea was simple: 1 day = 1 energy tip for implementation at home (and not just during the lockdown anyway!). The goal is to limit your energy consumption to do good for the planet, but also for your wallet. Did you miss the boat? Don’t worry, here’s a little catch-up session (little Venker)!
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Saving energy has never been easier
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1) Make sure to unplug your media devices once they are charged
To avoid unnecessary consumption, you should systematically unplug your media devices and their charger as soon as the charging time is over. It is estimated that a connected “empty” charger for 3 hours every day of the year consumes unnecessarily 285 Wh (0.285 kWh). ⚡️ Energy savings: 0.285 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €0.04/year
2) Clean the grill of your refrigerator
Don’t forget to thoroughly clean the grill (dust and dirt) every 6 months. In fact, it is very likely that you will hear the difference afterwards (your appliance will run less hard and therefore make less noise). A cleaned and well-maintained refrigerator consumes 30% less energy by the end of the year! ⚡️ Energy savings: 140 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €21.64 per year
3) Defrost your freezer
Regarding the refrigerator, take the defrosting routine, about every 3 months! Also think about cleaning it before reactivation: a defrosted freezer is not clean and it is possible that there are many bacteria at home. According to estimates, every half centimeter of ice increases a freezer’s consumption by 30%. ⚡️ Energy savings: 140 kWh per year 💰 Money savings: €21.64/year
4) Sort through your mailbox
Usually something you think about often, but never take the time (right?). It’s time to get involved: an email contains on average 10 g of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere (and it can be much more depending on its size if it contains an attachment…)! A little tip to help you: use the Cleanfox tool which allows you to sort and unsubscribe from unnecessary newsletters. It’s not about limiting energy consumption, but reducing our digital pollution. Even if it’s not for your wallet, it’s still important for your quality of life!
5) Prefer activities that do not consume
Streaming platforms (not to mention the Internet in general) consume a lot of electricity. What if we disconnected a bit to try activities that do not consume electricity? Besides resting your eyes, it’s good for your wallet. You have plenty of options: drawing, writing, sports, gardening, music, cooking… In 2019, Netflix servers used 451,000 MWh of power. Does that ring a bell? Just say that it’s the average electricity consumption of 100,000 households in France over a year (4770 kWh in 2018)! Anyway, if you start reducing screens every 2 days with a movie, 91.5 kWh of electricity will be saved per year. ⚡️ Energy savings: 91.5 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €14.15/year
6) Stop cooking 5 minutes before the recommended time
If you have electric stoves at home, stop cooking your dishes between 5 and 10 minutes before the end and let them rest. Thanks to the heat of the plates, the dish is cooked perfectly. Generally, for your pasta, which takes 10 minutes to boil, stop the heat 5 minutes early (don’t forget to cover your pot), the heat will gradually drop and your pasta will also be cooked! ⚡️ Energy savings: 26 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €4.02/year
7) Prefer washing at 30° C instead of 60° C
When you can, try to create a maximum of washes at 30° C or in Eco mode, which is now available on the latest appliances. When you wash your laundry at 30°C, you save 60% of energy compared to washing at 60 °C. ⚡️ Energy savings: 90 kWh/year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €13.91/year
8) Do not open the oven door every 5 minutes
Well, this is mainly about using common sense. Obviously, it is necessary to check your dish from time to time, but in a reasonable way. It is difficult to assess the savings you will achieve, as we do not all have the same equipment, do not cook the same dishes, and are not all compulsive maniacs when it comes to opening the oven door. But keep it in mind for your next cooking.
9)
😉 Do not leave your devices on standby
Take a moment to list all the devices that are currently on standby at home… Do you see where we are going? Know that with a complete shutdown, you can stop up to 11% of your total energy consumption savings. It’s worth it… A little tip, use large power strips with switches so you can turn everything off with one press! Note: Also think about your connected devices in the kitchen, even when turned off and without standby diode, they consume passively. ⚡️ Energy savings: 238 kWh/year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €36.79/year
10) Prefer the microwave to the traditional oven
A conventional electric oven operates on average at a power of 3,000 watts, which is 2 times more than a microwave oven. If the part of this when you reheat is reasonable, the consumption of a conventional oven can be up to ten times higher than that of a microwave. ⚡️ Energy savings: 3 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €0.46 per year
11) Unlock your Internet Box at night
Is your Internet box really useful to you at night? Or during the day when you are at work? No? Then we advise you to turn it off completely, no need to spend Wi-Fi for free! For example, a freebox revolution (with a capacity of 17 watts), which stays on continuously for a year, will consume 148.9 kWh per year (and moreover, it’s the least on the market). ⚡️ Energy savings: 168 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €25.91/€7 years
12) Fill the dishwasher before starting a cycle
This may seem trivial, but on an annual scale, it makes a real difference. A dishwasher, when used on average 5 times a week, equals an annual electricity consumption of between 250 and 300 kWh. ⚡️ Energy savings: 100 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €15.46/year
13) Consider using the Suspend heating when ventilating the house
Again, it’s a matter of common sense and there’s no need to draw a picture for you to understand that heating your home while ventilating is unnecessary. Airing for 10 minutes a day removes humidity and harmful gases that may be present in your home, so your heating will be more efficient afterwards! It is difficult to assess the savings you will achieve, as we do not all have the same living space, do not heat it to the same temperature, do not open for the same duration, or for the same period, etc., but we assure you that the efficiency level you will gain will be significant!
14) Do not put warm items in the refrigerator
Who has never put a slightly warm dish in the refrigerator? Bad habit. This gesture is regularly repeated and can bounce your refrigerator’s energy consumption by 8 to 15%. ⚡️ Energy savings: 15 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €2.32/year
15) Dry your laundry outside instead of using the dryer
The dryer is one of the most energy-hungry appliances with an average consumption of 350 kWh per year. On sunny days, it is better to dry outside or in a dry room of your house or near a window. Little bonus: if you dry your laundry indoors on high heat, you can slightly lower the temperature! ⚡️ Energy savings: 350 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €54.11 per year
16) Monitor the temperature of your radiator
Heating is really at the heart of a home’s energy consumption. It needs to be monitored closely. For the ideal temperature, it is recommended to maintain the temperature at 17°C in bedrooms, 19°C in living rooms, and 21°C in the bathroom. It is estimated that a reduction of 1 degree results in a 7% decrease in energy consumption. ⚡️ Energy savings: 100 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet: €15.46/year
17) Switch to low-energy bulbs
Energy-saving bulbs are often criticized for their price, which is higher than traditional bulbs. And it’s true, they are more expensive. On the other hand, it should be noted that they have a lifespan of 6 to 10 times longer and consume up to 5 times less electricity. So it can be said that it pays off quickly! ⚡️ Energy savings (for 10 bulbs): 230 kWh per year 💰 Savings in your wallet (for 10 bulbs): €35.56/year
18) Change your energy supplier
Because we saved the best for last and we wouldn’t be QuiestVert if we didn’t suggest switching to a green electricity supplier! In addition to saving on your bill (if yes), choose clean electricity and contribute to the energy transition in another way.
Since the market opened to competition in 2008, many electricity suppliers have emerged, offering (green or not) deals that challenge EDF’s prices, which is still largely present in France today.
So, if you live 2 on 50 m² with electric heating, your electricity consumption is 4,770 kWh/year (average French household). If you are still with EDF (blue rate or regulated rate) for this consumption, your annual bill will be €858.60. By subscribing to the cheapest green offer on the market for the same consumption, you will only pay €739.44 per year.
🌍 Reduce CO2 emissions: 253.76 kg per year 💰 Energy savings: €119.6/year
To change suppliers and find the most suitable electricity supply for you, you can navigate with our comparator! You can consume information on your own and compare all the offers on the market that suit you.
Record savings: €460 by the end of the year!
All these calculations are good, but what savings at the end of the year on the bill? Now, by realizing all the savings above, we arrive at a precise sum of:
€461.55 per year or €341.55 for all energy tips (equivalent to 40% savings on your annual electricity bill) and €119.16 in case of changing suppliers.
Note, however, that you are certainly not a bad student everywhere, and there are certainly gestures that you are already using, or appliances that you do not have or are no longer energy-efficient to avoid unnecessary energy consumption. 😉 Far from it, this challenge was largely an initiative aimed at raising awareness among the population about the harmful nature of our energy consumption and showing that even the smallest gestures can make a difference and work on a larger scale for our energy transition!
A big thank you to everyone who played along!
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Methods
To perform the calculations in this article, we took into account the average consumption of the listed equipment and the savings for the applications we recommend. This data comes largely from ADEME reports. When we change the supplier part, we focused only on our Output Comparator, which lists all existing offers and prices on the market. Please note that we did not take into account the peak/off-peak options suggested by EDF that could influence our calculations.
The financial sector calculation has always been made in relation to the regulated tariff (TRV), which is EDF’s classic offer, the majority on the French market:
👉 Energy savings kWh/year x 0.1546 (price per kWh in cents from €)
Summary of our calculations
Sources: It starts with me: Various articles by good practices ConsoGlobe: Article on the energy consumption of our household appliances ADEME report: 40 tips and tricks to save water and EnergyAdemes report: electricity bills senkles Echos du Net: Reducing energy costs: Can we reduce our energy consumption in the Internet box? Futura Science: Freezer: why should it be defrosted? Energy Knowledge: Is energy consumed when a charger is plugged in “empty”? IEA report: The carbon footprint of video streaming
Photos by Christian Dubovan; Dev Benjamin; Le Creuset; Erik Witsoe; James Pond & Franck V.
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