5 tips on effective energy consumption

If you have a solar panel system and own your own energy production, then you already know that you both save money on your electricity bill and help the environment from more CO2 emissions. Whether you decide to choose solar panels for financial or environmental reasons, you can use the following tips to get the most out of your electricity:

1. Check your doors and windows

A considerable amount of electricity is used to heat and cool many homes - often completely unnecessary! Windows, doors and ceilings usually have small gaps where air can easily pass through for ventilation purposes. By checking what kind of insulation you have and then replacing old weather insulation you can save a lot of electricity and avoid unnecessary strain on your fine solar panel system.

2. Install smart thermostats

Smart thermostats, like other smart devices, allow you to remotely control the temperature of your home via mobile devices. For example, you can set the temperature you want based on the time of day, keep track of how much energy you use to heat and cool your house, and make conscious adjustments to save both your wallet and the environment. Some thermostats are even smart enough to learn your habits and will then automatically create energy-efficient heating and cooling schemes for your home.

3. Store your energy

While battery storage for solar energy and home use is still a technology which is being developed, it can be a very advantageous alternative to consider. With a battery in your home you will be able to store and use the clean solar panel energy in the battery eg. at night or in the event of a power failure. In addition, the price of power storage batteries has fallen significantly in recent years, and is expected to continue to fall, thus making them increasingly attractive to homeowners and home buyers.

4. Invest in smart plugs for the electrical outlet

What many people are not aware of is that appliances and electronics, despite being switched off, can still use and consume some electricity if they are connected to an outlet. According to The New York Times, a washing machine can use 4 watts per hour when plugged in to an outlet and being turned off, a TV receiver 26 watts per hour, and a laptop as high as 48 watts per hour. Hence, there may be over 674,000 watts of unnecessary consumption per year.

If you don't want to worry about constantly unplugging and connecting electronics to avoid wasting energy, you can buy smart plugs for your outlets that, in turn, allow you to turn on and cut power to devices based on a time schedule you set yourself and which suits your everyday life.

5. Use LED lights

Older light bulbs use only a small portion of the electricity that flows through it to generate light, while the rest of the energy is lost as heat. Modern LEDs, on the other hand, use almost all the electricity they use in order to produce light.

LED lamps need about a tenth of the electricity that a traditional incandescent lamp bulb needs to produce the same amount of light. So they don't consume as much energy from your solar system to lighten up your home.

With these tips you can pay off the system faster, increase your positive environmental impact and create an excess of energy that you can sell back to the electricity grid. If you have other questions regarding how you can make your energy consumption more efficient, e-mail or contact us at hej@sveasolar.se