How to save on utilities?

How effective are attempts to save on utilities, and how much can you really gain from this? In fact, much more than meets the eye. What you need to pay attention to first of all, if you decide to approach the family budget in the most rational way?

Do we always know what we are paying for? Isn’t it time to stop paying for what we don’t need?

1. Carefully read all the points in the payment document. Perhaps you are still paying for services that have been disabled for a long time. It could be a radio hotspot that has been silent for many years, or a cable TV that you don’t use..
2. Check the landline phone tariff, it may be the maximum, but “town” sometimes you need it once a month. It may be worth changing the tariff to a cheaper one, or even abandoning it altogether.
3. To reduce utility bills, pay them to those banks that do not charge commissions for this. It seems that small amounts for a year are a decent burden on the family budget. It is generally cheapest to pay online.
4. If you leave home for more than five days, you may request a recalculation. Take care of the documents in advance that will confirm that you really did not live in your apartment. During the summer vacation, you will get a significant discount!

One of the most expensive resources is water. Paying extra money for it is not worth it. It is most effective to save on utilities by putting in order the apartment’s water supply system.

1. Install the counters if you haven’t already. Every day, water supply and sanitation services are becoming more expensive, and especially for those who do not have metering devices in their apartment.
2. Check from time to time for leaks by recording the readings of the water meters before leaving the apartment, and compare with those that are obtained upon return. This is especially significant if you leave your home for a couple of days. Check for leaking taps and toilet cistern. The drop-by-drop water can reach hundreds of liters in a month.
3. Significant savings on utilities are impossible without water saving, but this does not mean that you have to wash under a thin stream. Change the shower head to one with finer holes. Take a shower – less water is used than a bath.
4. Replacing two-valve taps with a single-lever one will significantly reduce water consumption: water of the required temperature is immediately supplied to the tap.
5. If there is one button on the cistern of your toilet, replace it with one that has an economical flush mode (two buttons). Throw what needs to be thrown into the bucket, not into the toilet – this is also a significant savings.
6. Do you know how much you can reduce utility bills if you brush your teeth with the tap turned off? Water consumption will decrease by 900 liters per month!
7. Another way to save money is to buy new equipment: a washing machine and a dishwasher of the class “AND”. These units will not only consume less water, but also less electricity..

Sitting in a semi-dark room is not only unpleasant, but also unhealthy. The eyes and nervous system will not say thank you for this. However, you can save money on electricity if you get down to business correctly..

1. Two-tariff and three-tariff meters help to save on utilities with almost no effort. Mobile phones and other gadgets are charged at night, and this will cost less. At night, you can program both washing and washing dishes in the dishwasher – at night, electricity is the cheapest.
2. Replace conventional incandescent bulbs with energy efficient ones. They are called so for a reason – the savings will be up to 80%. In addition, the light from such lamps is more pleasant and healthier for the eyes..
3. So that the light does not burn in vain, illuminating empty rooms, you can install switches with motion sensors, or at least teach yourself not to forget to turn off the light.
4. Do you have an electric stove? It is better to replace it with an induction one, it consumes significantly less electricity, besides, such a stove will not only save on utilities, but also make cooking easier.
5. Select the size of the pan according to the size of the burners, otherwise up to half of the consumed electricity will go away “to the air”.
6. Conventional electric stoves can be turned off five to ten minutes before food is ready, which also saves energy. Due to the residual heat, the food will have time to fully cook without additional heating.
7. A gas stove will help save on boiling water if you ditch the electric kettle. Do you use electric? Descale it in time to avoid wasting energy. And press the power button only when it is really necessary, and not “just in case”
8. It is not in vain that the instructions for the refrigerator write that it should be installed away from batteries and southern windows, and it is also not recommended to put it close to the wall. All this leads to a deterioration in heat dissipation and an increase in energy consumption..
9. You can reduce utility bills by purchasing high-end household appliances with low energy class A or B. This applies not only to refrigerators and washing machines, but also to vacuum cleaners, irons, stoves and even kettles!

To understand how high your heating costs are, compare the numbers on the payment card with those of your neighbors. You think you pay more?

1. Make your own calculation, for which the area of ​​housing is multiplied by the standard for heat and the price of a unit of measurement of heat. What you get should be divided by the footage of all apartments in the house, and multiplied by the area of ​​your apartment. In the event that you pay more than the resulting figure, contact your management company for clarification..
2. Insulation of common areas of the house, for example, an entrance, will help save on utilities. Check with your neighbors how well the front door and windows in the stairwell keep warm, and if necessary contact the management company.
3. For the winter, insulate the windows, and especially the doors of the balconies, a significant amount of heat goes through them. If possible, replace the old frames with double-glazed windows, at least two-chamber, and better with energy-saving ones.
4. The dark color of the batteries is believed to increase heat dissipation..
5. A constantly open window in winter is a source of increased heating costs. It is better to open the window for a couple of minutes than to keep the airing mode all day.