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The most energy-consuming devices during the winter season, remember to do this to save money on your monthly utility bills

Many people often think that they don't use the air conditioner much in winter, so the electricity bill will decrease. However, they are surprised to find that their utility bill remains high at the end of the month due to the following power-consuming devices.

Administrator

21 December, 2023

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Winter is the time when we don’t use air conditioners or fans, so many people think it will consume less electricity. Surprisingly, these devices quietly “consume electricity”. Therefore, the subjective assumption is that you still spend a lot of money on electricity for these devices, so please pay attention to their usage:

Water heater

Almost every household has a water heater, and everyone uses it from bathing to washing their face in the morning. Some households even use hot water for washing dishes. Water heaters consume a considerable amount of electricity. According to EVN’s statistics, a 20-liter water heater, when turned on for an average of 1 hour per day, consumes about 70-80 kWh per month. Therefore, if the water heater is turned on all day, it will consume a lot of electricity.

To save electricity, remember to turn on the water heater only when needed, and each family member should take turns bathing in consecutive time periods to avoid the situation where each person takes a bath far apart, which will cause the water heater to operate more and consume much more electricity. The water heater should be turned off before use to ensure safety and save electricity because if it is continuously turned on with cold water, the heater will heat it up and consume a lot of energy.

Heating lamps, heaters

In winter, especially on days when the weather is very cold, heating lamps become popular. This is especially true for families with older people and young children who have a high demand for heating lamps and heaters. There are many types of heaters on the market, such as oil heaters and infrared lamps, with different advantages and disadvantages, but the common point is that they all emit heat to warm up the room and consume a lot of electricity.

Therefore, when buying a heater, you should choose models with eco-mode – energy-saving mode, select the appropriate size and specifications for the room area. The suitable power for heaters used in bedrooms is 400 – 800W. To save energy, you can choose heaters with higher power, from 800 – 1200W, to warm up the room faster.

When using heaters, avoid turning them on and off frequently, and avoid setting the temperature too high, as this will reduce their lifespan and increase power consumption.

Electric heaters

Electric heaters consume more electricity than air conditioners. In fact, using heaters to warm up can consume 2-3 times more electricity compared to cooling. What’s more, if the temperature drops too low, the heating efficiency of the heater will not be very good. Therefore, you can avoid opening doors and windows to prevent strong winds from entering the house and reduce the use of electric heaters. Besides, to use the heater effectively and save energy, you need to maintain it regularly, ensure good insulation in the room, adjust the temperature according to the weather and the amount of food that needs to be preserved, and avoid turning it on and off too many times.

Clothes dryers

Clothes dryers help dry clothes quickly and conveniently, but they consume a lot of electricity. The most common type of clothes dryer is the 8kg air-drying or condensing type. If you use it for 1-2 hours per day, the power consumption will be from 75 – 140 kWh per month, depending on the mode. To use the clothes dryer efficiently and save energy, you should put an appropriate amount of clothes that matches the machine’s capacity. Besides, you need to regularly clean the dryer to remove bacteria and fabric debris. On sunny days, you should hang clothes outside instead of using the dryer.

Refrigerators

Refrigerators are the most electricity-consuming devices in households because they have to operate 24/7 and almost all year round. A 150-liter refrigerator with a capacity of 100-150W can consume 4-5 kWh per day. Of course, the larger the refrigerator, the more electricity it consumes.

To save electricity, remember to store only the necessary amount of food in the refrigerator, about 70% of its capacity, to avoid overloading it. Arrange the food neatly in the refrigerator, use stainless steel boxes to preserve raw food instead of thick plastic boxes, as this will cool down faster and save more electricity. Adjust the refrigerator’s temperature according to the weather and the amount of food that needs to be preserved. In the freezer compartment, you should place more water trays to create ice, helping the refrigerator save electricity better.

Phone chargers, computer chargers

Phone and computer chargers are especially used in winter and often connected to power outlets continuously. Therefore, when using them, remember to turn off the power completely if you don’t use them for a few hours to avoid keeping the computer in sleep mode for too long, which will waste electricity. Also, unplug the phone charger when it is not being used to charge the phone.

Tips to save electricity

In addition to specific tips for each device, except for the refrigerator, remember to turn off the power and unplug the devices when they are not in use, avoid leaving them in standby mode because they still consume electricity regularly.

Devices that have been used for a long time should be repaired and maintained for safety and durability.

You should consider closing the doors of your house in the evening, adding floor mats to make the indoor space warmer, reducing the use of electric heaters and air conditioners.