Energy saving at home: tips

Energy saving is the series of activities aimed at limiting energy waste and increasing the efficiency of our homes. An extremely useful practice indeed in this period of expensive bills but also an excellent habit to reduce waste and pollution.
To implement it in our homes, there are several precautions and tips for purchases and renovations. We have chosen three.

Thermal insulation

isolamento termicoInsulation is one of the most effective ways to save energy: insulation will contain heat during the cold season and keep it out during the hot summer months. How to implement it? Here are three tips.
The first: check the sealing of windows and walls. If windows and walls are not sealed properly it will be difficult to keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter. Check for the possible presence of cracks and drafts around the house. If you find any, intervene with insulating material.
The second: install double or triple glazed windows. Since windows are among the main escape routes of heat, replacing a single-glazed window with a double or triple-glazed window can be very cost-effective.
The third: completely renew the insulation of the house. A new insulation by applying panels made with insulating materials such as cellulose, wood fiber, cork, mineral foam, polyurethane foam can drastically reduce our gas consumption during the winter months.

Floor heating

riscaldamento a terra
Image: AntonioS81, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The ground (water) heating system is an innovative and sustainable way to save energy (and money on the bill) as well as offering a high level of comfort with a low environmental impact..
This type of system consists of pipes, insulating panel, boiler and manifolds. Pipes distribute heat to the floor and return water to the boiler for heating. The panels are generally made of a material impermeable to liquids and protected with a sheet of plastic, PVC or PS. The boiler works with a device that produces hot water for underfloor heating in a building. Manifolds are valves that control the flow of hot water between different parts of the heating system.
Why is it convenient for us? Because, once the (high) installation cost has been amortized, we will be able to heat our home saving up to 20-30% on our bill. In addition, underfloor heating avoids the formation of dust or mites (common with other forms of heating) and can be combined with a condensing boiler, heat pump or renewable sources to provide even more environmentally friendly heating.
However, some precautions must be followed to obtain good performance and low costs: this heating must be used continuously and the thermostat must be kept at a constant temperature.

Domestic appliances

frigoriferoWhich appliances should we replace to meet both our interest and that of the environment?
The refrigerator is easily our first choice: a class A ++ model consumes up to 40% less energy than an old class “G” refrigerator and can save us up to 100 euros a year on the bill. Pay attention to its size when purchasing and do not overestimate the needs of your household; each refrigerator consumes about 10 kWh more for every 100 litres of capacity. Better not be tempted by a large model only for its yield aesthetics but instead prefer a smaller and fair model for the number of people present in your house. Similarly, better learn to open the refrigerator only when it is strictly necessary: ​​in fact, turbines get activated every time the refrigerator is opened, and they consume a lot of electricity. Another small precaution is to keep the refrigerator and freezer away from heat sources such as exposed walls, ovens, boilers.
A new generation washing machine allows us not only to reduce our consumption but also to simplify our life – for example the delayed start function, which allows you to set the time you want to start the washing cycle. Not to mention the fact that a more efficient washing machine prevents us from wasting not only energy but also water and detergents. However, let us not limit ourselves to choosing a high energy class washing machine: it is also always advisable to carefully program our laundry. Reducing the number of washes by using it only when they are really full avoids waste. We should also learn to reduce the water temperature of the washing machine; by lowering the temperature from 60° to 40° we will be able to save about 30%.

Target Point, Italia Ideas