We entered September with electricity and natural gas hikes. Electricity used in residences increased by 20 percent and natural gas used in residences increased by 20.4 percent. The hike in September will cause the average electricity bill of a family of 4 to rise from 346.90 TL to 416.3 TL. This means that the electricity bill will increase by 69.4 TL compared to the previous month and by 196.6 TL compared to the beginning of the year. The average natural gas bill of a family of 4 living in Istanbul will increase to 436 TL as of September. This winter will not pass easily with heavy bills.
So what can we do to reduce electricity and natural gas bills a little bit? What measures can we take at home to ensure that the bills come to a minimum? Here I searched for the answers to these questions…
KETTLE ONCE A DAY, 4 TIMES A WEEK FOR LAUNDRY
• Let’s start with electricity… In order to reduce the electricity bill, we need to know this first. Kettle, iron, oven and air conditioner are the ones that turn the counter the most among the electrical appliances… The logic is this; Household appliances that heat up quickly and cool down quickly are turning the counter rapidly.
• Think twice before running a kettle every few hours. Because running a kettle 7 times a week consumes electricity, almost equivalent to running a washing machine 4 times a week and having the television on for 5 hours 7 days a week.
IRON 2 TIMES A WEEK = 24/7 REFRIGERATOR
• Let’s come to the oven… Those who are used to making lahmacun and pita at home with the pandemic… You should know that using an oven for 1.5 hours once a week is more expensive than using a laptop for 1 hour 7 times a week…
• Ironing for 2 hours 2 days a week costs more than the refrigerator working for 24 hours.
CLASSIC BULB 20 TIMES THE LED BULB
• If it is essential to reduce the electricity bill, replacing conventional bulbs with led bulbs. Do you know that a conventional bulb burns 20 times more electricity than a led bulb? I got these figures from the consumption calculation section of CK Boğaziçi Elektrik’s website. Although the tariff there is for January 1, 2022, I recommend that you take a look at the table on the site in order to compare the usage times of electrical household appliances and the amount of electricity they consume.
• By the way, one more piece of information… Having separate washing machines and dryers is beneficial in terms of electricity savings. Both washing and drying machines turn the counter much more…
• To save electricity, run the dishwasher at full capacity.
• Unplug the iron 5 minutes before the end of the process and use the heat on its soleplate.
• Put the refrigerator at least 10 cm away from the wall in the non-sun spot.
• Start the kettle by filling it with the exact amount of water needed.
• If you prefer electric heating in winter; Make sure that the electric heater is no more than 6 meters away from the area to be heated.
• Make sure that there is a ground line in the socket where the heater is plugged in.
LOWER THE COMBI BY 1 DEGREE, SAVE 7 PERCENT
We are brooding over how we can lower our bills after the 20.4 percent hike in natural gas. Here are the recommendations from BEDAŞ…
• You can save 40 percent by insulating the exterior of your house. Insulation of the roof, exterior walls and basement floors is also very important.
• The location of the furniture in the room also has a high impact on the increasing natural gas bills in winter. You can use your curtains by shortening them or without covering the honeycomb.
• Objects placed in front of the honeycomb can prevent the heat from spreading to the room. It is possible to contribute to the household budget with some arrangements in the room. Heat reflection can be achieved with the insulation material placed behind the radiator, which is supplied from hardware stores and DIY stores. The front of the honeycomb should always be open.
• Glasses that prevent the cold air coming from outside are a very big factor in preventing heat loss. Precautions need to be taken in this regard as well. You can detect whether there is an air leak by checking the wicks on the glass.
• To adjust the comfort temperature at home, instead of using the water temperature setting on the device; It is very important to use a room thermostat with modulation feature connected to the device and a thermostatic valve attached to the radiator.
• Reducing the comfort temperature by one degree in homes provides 6-7 percent savings. (While the comfort temperature is 19-21 °C in Europe, it is 23-24 °C in our country)
• One of the misconceptions about heat is that only the honeycombs of the rooms used are open. The low heat from the cold rooms can cause the high temperature in the used rooms to drop. Contribution to the home economy can be made by eliminating some well-known mistakes.
• Having the boiler serviced by the authorized service and cleaning the installation and radiators play an important role in fuel economy.
• Using a high-efficiency device not only saves fuel, but also reduces carbon emissions into the atmosphere.