More than one person has had their heart skipped a beat when they opened their letterbox and found the dreaded electricity bill waiting for them. Even if you follow some guidelines or tips to reduce electricity costs at home, you may not have a good distribution of electricity and this may affect the amount of the bill.
When building a house, there are a number of tips to follow so that you don’t get cold feet at the end of the month or the beginning of the month when the bill comes at the end of the month. Apart from using off-peak hours (hours in which there is regularly less consumption and cost) for household chores or air/heating, the layout of your home should also be taken into account.
Learn about ways to save money in your home
How to light the house to save money?
Before we start with the tips for saving light in each room of the house, we need to know which is the most suitable lighting to reduce costs.
First of all, it is advisable to keep in mind the productivity of the room, as this will determine the number of light points it will have. We recommend 1 light point per 10 m². However, if it is going to be a workplace where we are going to spend most of the time, we will have to have a larger number of bulbs.
Now that we are more or less clear about the size of the room and the light points we are going to use, it is time to choose the bulb that will illuminate the room. If you want to see a reduced cost, you will have to opt for LED bulbs. Although they are slightly more expensive than traditional bulbs, they consume 80% less and have a longer lifespan (15,000 hours compared to 1,200 for normal bulbs).
A study carried out by Kelisto revealed that if a person uses 10 light bulbs in their home for seven hours at a time, they would end up saving up to 13 euros if they had chosen an LED bulb.
Distribution of light by room
The living/dining room
This room is one of the most used on a daily basis and offers great versatility when it comes to placing the different points of light.
The distribution will be conditioned by the natural light that enters. However, there will be at least one spotlight on the ceiling. If several are to be installed, it is advisable to install several switches to choose which light to use.
Likewise, placing floor lamps next to the sofa will bring warmth and comfort to the room.
The distribution of sockets is also key in this room. It would be usual to place several near the television area and another pair near the sofa or the main table.
The rooms
If we compare this area with the other rooms, it is probably the one that needs the least lighting. A single spotlight providing warm light on the ceiling will suffice.
This spotlight will share the limelight with the bedside table lamps. In addition, the sockets will be close to it.
The kitchen
In the morning we prepare breakfast. Lunch at noon. And in the evening, dinner. Without a doubt, the kitchen needs good lighting for cooking. It is therefore advisable to install a ceiling light with fluorescent bulbs in the ceiling in combination with white light bulbs.
In addition, the extractor hood should also be fitted with a spotlight, especially for night-time cooking.
Sockets should be well distributed throughout the area. There should be the necessary ones for electrical appliances and kitchen utensils that need electricity. Do not put more than necessary.
Other tips for saving on electricity bills in this area of the house are:
- Use pressure cookers, as they reduce energy consumption by up to 75%.
- Using the lid on the frying pan or casserole helps to reduce energy consumption by up to 25%.
- Or choose a hob that is slightly smaller than the base of the pan or frying pan.
The toilet
After the kitchen, this is another of the worst lit rooms in a home. The most common thing to do in bathrooms is to install white LED lighting.
As for the lighting points, it is advisable to incorporate a large spotlight on the ceiling and secondary lights on the sides of the mirror.
When placing sockets, they should be more than one metre away from places where there is water (bathtub, washbasin…) to avoid surprises. The most ideal place is near the mirror.
The corridors
With them we will welcome our guests. It will be the first contact with our house, so they will have to have a warm feeling.
On many occasions, these do not have a window that provides them with natural light, so it will be necessary to choose good lighting. For this reason, it is best to use recessed spotlights (portholes) to gain depth. The light provided by these should be indirect and warm.
Professionals recommend installing 4 spotlights if the corridor measures 4 m². In addition, the switches should be at both the beginning and the end of the corridor.
Light schedules
If you decide to sign up for a regulated tariff or one with hourly discrimination, you will have to bear in mind that depending on the hours in which you spend electricity, your bill will be both increased and reduced. The timetables are divided into three time bands:
- Off-peak time: the period of time when the hours of consumption are cheapest (from 00:00 to 08:00).
- Flat hour: in this case they are distributed in 3 time slots (from 08:00 to 10:00, from 14:00 to 18:00 and from 22:00 to 00:00). It is moderately priced. This period is from Monday to Friday.
- Rush hour: only applies from Monday to Friday (not public holidays) and these are the most expensive hours. In this case it is from 10:00 to 14:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00.
If you do not want to be aware of the electricity timetable, you have the possibility of contracting fixed price tariffs where you are charged the same for each kilowatt/hour of electricity you consume on a daily basis.
