In the midst of the energetic global crisis and high energy prices, many are fearing the cold winter days and nights and are looking for ways how to cut down on their electrical bills.
Here are a few ideas on different gadgets and technological solutions you can use to reduce electricity consumption and save energy in your home this winter.
Smart plugs
At its most basic level, smart plugs allow you to turn on and turn off your appliances from anywhere via an app on your phone. This feature is very useful when you’re not at home and realize you forgot to turn off an appliance such as iron, TV, lights, etc. The scheduling feature also comes in very handy and can help you additionally cut down on the electricity bills where you can schedule things, like your lights, to only come on during certain times of the day so they’re not wasting energy in the meantime. Think of Christmas lights or your outdoor lights, how many times do you forget to turn them off or how handy would it be to be able to turn on the outdoor lights when you’re away from home on a trip to deter unwanted visitors?
Eco chargers
How many times have you left your charger in the socket long after you’ve charged your phone or laptop? Devices that continue to use energy and drain power even when turned off are known as energy vampires. An eco charger might help you prevent these devices sucking up more energy than necessary, and overdrawing power, which ultimately conserves energy and protects batteries. Instead of using power all day and night, an eco charger turns itself off after a device is fully charged.
Solar charging bank
Living in Dalmatia means you’ll get enough sun even in the winter months. So, making use of the best, free energy source, the Sun, is the most sensible thing to do. Use a solar power bank, an energy storage device that obtains energy from the sun to charge/power various electronic gadgets such as phones, tablets, laptops, etc.
Radiator reflectors
Radiator reflectors can be described as thin sheets of foil placed behind the rear of the radiator with an intention of radiating the heat back into your room instead of through the wall outside. Although the performance of the reflecting panel depends on the insulation level of the external wall facing the radiator, you’ll most certainly save some energy and money with radiator reflectors.
Smart electric kettle
Cold winter days and nights beg for more hot drinks, don’t they? A smart or eco-friendly kettle reduces your water wastage, takes less time to reach boiling point, serves as a thermal flask keeping water hot for up to 4 hours after you’ve boiled it, and has temperature control features, where you choose a preferred temperature rather than having the water completely boil.
Let me know in the comments below of any cool gadgets and smart ways how you keep your electricity bills down and save energy.