5 tips to fight energy waste at home, during telework and confinement
Contents 1 Stop energy “leaks” 2 Clean up 3 Change the air 4 Take advantage of sunny days to reduce heating 5 An eco-friendly kitchen 6 About ECOJOKO:The Ecojoko team, the energy saving assistant, gives you advice on not being surprised by energy bills during this period of confinement.
To deal with the Coronavirus health crisis, we must stay at home. Work with us. Entertain us at home. And for parents, teaching children at home. Not easy.
The first logical consequence of this confinement is the peak in our energy consumption at home that this generates. Ecojoko gives you here 5 simple tips to fight against waste and thus avoid exploding the bill.
One of the sources of energy waste at home comes from the many “leaks” of electricity. A bit like if the faucets of the house were closed badly. For example, unplug your laptop when you're done telecommuting. And this advice applies to all the devices you leave plugged in all day long, laptops, game consoles, TV or music speakers included.
To avoid all the watches that are unnecessary for our comfort - which represent an average of 80 euros every year - take the time to group your appliances on extension cords with switches. This will allow them to be easily turned off when not in use!
At Ecojoko, we have applied these few gestures to reduce the standby consumption of a home to 40 Watts (as shown below) instead of the 140 Watts initially consumed. It's up to 100 euros per year saved thanks to this simple gesture!
With the confinement in effect, it's time to take care of your interior, to do a spring cleaning - your first energy-saving cleaning! For this, we recommend some simple and yet very effective tips to consume less. Dust your radiators, they will heat much better. Clean the grill behind the refrigerator (to be done once a year) to prevent overconsumption of the appliance and its wear and tear. Defrost your freezer to save 30% of its consumption. And voila!
Ventilate your home every day for at least 10 minutes. This will lower the humidity level in order to maintain a healthy and pleasant interior. This advice is all the more important since during this period of confinement, with the increase in time spent indoors, your kitchen or bathroom will produce more humidity in the accommodation.
It is also because indoor air quickly ends up being more polluted than outdoor air due to human activities that it is important to renew the air. Even if you live in town and are afraid of pollution, take the time to ventilate by simply avoiding pollution peaks:in the morning or in the evening after 10 p.m.
Depending on the weather where you live, you will probably have the chance to share milder temperatures than last month. You can therefore reduce - or even turn off - the heating, the first item of energy expenditure in homes. This is one of the most important actions, because each additional degree costs on average 7% on the heating bill. So choosing to lower the temperature at home by 1°C is very profitable. Simply keep a sweater on, then reduce the heating to have a temperature that seems comfortable without having to take it off! The example below of an apartment with only 1 electric radiator shows the frequent case where more than 50% of the bill of electricity is linked to heating:here, 15 euros per week are allocated for this radiator alone.
The kitchen is another expense item that will increase during this period of confinement. A few basic tips can limit energy loss and thus reduce your consumption in a sustainable way.
The simplest and yet extremely effective advice is to first put a lid on when you cook on the plates, otherwise it's twice as much energy used for nothing! Also be sure to let your dishes cool before putting them in the fridge. And for those who are wondering:reheating dishes in the microwave is much more economical than in a frying pan or in the oven.
Finally, the Covid-19, by causing a serious crisis and the global decline in economic activities, also gives respite to the planet. It is with surprise that we discovered the images showing the reduction of air pollution in China and in the rest of the world. Many NGOs and communities are already calling for reflection on a different and more sustainable future, inviting us to reinvent our relationship to the collective and to environmental commitment...
If the current crisis forces us to (re)learn certain things, for the time being we can think about how to consume better, for ourselves and for others. Because the greenest energy is above all the one that we do not consume
Created in January 2017 by two engineers passionate about ecology and technology, Laurent Bernard and Fabien Berlioz, this start-up based in Montreuil on the outskirts of Paris is a member of the 50 Partners Impact and Wilco accelerators. With the €1.1 million raised in May 2019 from business angels, Ecojoko has the ambition to equip 5% of French households, to save the equivalent of the consumption of a nuclear reactor. Recognized by the State as an aid solution for energy reduction, Ecojoko now benefits from the Energy Bonus. Ecojoko is available on its website www.ecojoko.com and on the Nature &Découverte website.
