Save at home and in the car: Reduce water and energy costs

Expenses with energy and water have a significant weight in the budget of Portuguese families. In a context of rising prices, it becomes even more important to make a better use of available resources🇧🇷 So find out how you can save at home and car and start balancing not just your wallet but the environment. you should consider changing some habits and understand how and where you can spend less. Since, when we talk about saving, we are not only referring to money, but also to available resources (water, electricity and fuel, among others). small gestures in your everyday life. Also read: Furnishing a house with little money: how to save and maintain your taste?

Saving at home and in the car: know where to start

As already mentioned, it is possible to reduce your monthly expenses and, at the same time, save natural resources. But for that, you have to review some daily habits and make more economical and environmentally friendly choices🇧🇷 Then we explain what you can do.

Tips for saving money in every room in your home

So it is, savings start right at home🇧🇷 Did you know that in each division where you pass it is possible spend less and do smarter choices🇧🇷 Well, if you still didn’t know, follow these advices.KitchenAvoid opening the fridge, oven and microwave door so many times. Use the oven less often and, if possible, cook more than one dish at a time; Make the most of the space in the freezer. No empty spaces, when the door opens the heat does not enter. On the other hand, it avoids going to the supermarket so many times and even uses less energy;Turn off the oven 10 minutes earlier and take advantage of the heat that is still inside the equipment to finish cooking;Wash clothes preferably at low temperatures;Choose the most economical for washing dishes and clothes; Finally, prefer the dishwasher instead of washing by hand.Living roomAlways use LED lamps;Use candles and softer lights;Always turn off the light when you leave a room;Use chargers from sockets only while appliances are charging;Reduce the brightness of TV screens, tablets and mobile phones;Do not leave the TV in stand-by mode; Reduce the temperature of the air conditioning by 1 or 2ºC; finally, decorate the house with rugs and blankets – this way it warms it naturally and still gives extra comfort.bedroomTurn off the air conditioning 1 hour before going to sleep;To read, choose LED lamps that illuminate the book and turn off the ceiling light;If you usually fall asleep watching TV, program the device to turn off at a certain time;In winter, favor the blankets instead of heating; In summer, close windows and blinds during the day and open them at night;BathroomAlways turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth or soaping; Prefer quick showers to immersion baths; Use double-flush toilets; Save it and use it for the toilet or cleaning; Immediately repair water leaks and dripping taps;GardenWater early in the morning or at the end of the day to avoid evaporation of water; Use reused water for watering or to wash the floor; Choose plants that take little water; Use solar energy lamps; Finally, create your own vegetable garden and grow your own food. Read more: Use smart meters to save on electricity

7 tricks to save “all over the house”

But there are still other tips you can follow that apply to the whole house🇧🇷 They are:Use timers in the sockets;To reduce the electricity bill, review the contracted power and check if it compensates for the two-hour or three-hour tariff;Put flow reducers on the taps;Choose appliances with greater energy efficiency;Enjoy the days to air out the house and dry clothes;Don’t let the children spend all their time using their tablet or cell phone (after all, less use means less charging);Finally, install consumption monitoring systems that allow you to understand your electricity and water.

The importance of good insulation

If you want to save energy at home, another thing you shouldn’t forget is having a good insulation🇧🇷 This is because::protects the house from the cold;keeps the existing heat inside the house;and still avoid hearing noise coming from the outside🇧🇷 Thus, in addition to improving the comfort of homethe isolation also allows reduce thermal losses by 50%🇧🇷 For example, a T3 house with 136 m2 of floor space has, on average, the following heat losses🇧🇷

Read energy labels

It’s not enough to save at home and in the car. It is equally important to know how to choose the energy efficient equipment, that is, those that consume less energy. For this, it is important to understand what the energy efficiency scale of an appliance. That is, the energy efficiency scale of the appliance refers to the orderly presentation of different energy classes. These, in turn, are intended to assign a level of energy efficiency to electrical equipment.The energy efficiency scale of the device presents 7 classes (A, B, C, D, E, F and G), rrepresented by letters and colors, and which define how efficient a device is. how much closer to class A🇧🇷 more efficient will be an electrical equipment🇧🇷 On the contrary, the closer to G, the worse its energy efficiency will be. It is important to mention that a device that has high energy efficiency is one that uses less energy to do the same work.

How to buy equipment with greater energy efficiency?

In the first place, to have equipment with good energy efficiency and thus save energy, it is necessary to analyze the energy label that this presents. Thus, this label is nothing more than a label with information regarding the energy efficiency of the equipment🇧🇷 They are: Name of the supplier or brand and identification of the model; Energy efficiency class; Energy efficiency scale through colored arrows; Annual energy consumption in kWh; Pictograms that show certain characteristics of the product.

How important is the Appliance Energy Efficiency Scale?

The appliance’s energy efficiency scale is an important strategy for a better use of electrical energy. This is because it allows establishing energy classes in order to qualify the energy performance of electrical equipment. In this way, we can say that this classification contributes to the purchase of more efficient appliances that consume less electricity🇧🇷

Save on your car (and garage)

In addition to saving at home is equally possible save on the car🇧🇷 This is also an important expense in your monthly budget. So, take note of these tips: Firstly, avoid driving and take more routes on foot or by bicycle; Prefer public transport; Plan your route before leaving home to avoid unnecessary turns; Wash the car with a sponge and bucket instead of using a hose – thus wasting less water; Park in the garage or in the shade, to prevent fuel from evaporating; Only start the car when you leave and turn it off as soon as you stop; Clean the trunk to avoid walking with unnecessary weight (how much the greater the weight, the greater the fuel consumption); Finally, look for support given by the Environmental Fund for buying a bicycle. know how