The ability to accumulate electricity on an industrial scale is beneficial to all market participants: manufacturers, suppliers, consumers and the regulator

The latest analytical report from research organizations GTM Research and ESA’s U.S. The Energy Storage Monitor reports a record amount of investment in energy storage projects. The volume of venture investments and project financing in this sector in the third quarter of 2016 reached $660 million, with an annual forecast of $812 million. We see that in developed countries energy storage technologies are entering the stage of "pre-commercial" use.

Save problem

The main difference between the electric power industry and any other "physical" industry is the impossibility of storing the goods it produces on an industrial scale. In each unit of time, this industry should produce exactly as much electricity as the consumer needs.

To provide this possibility, either expensive standby generating capacity or complex geographically distributed power systems are needed. It is impossible to have in the energy system only nuclear power plants (NPPs), which cannot quickly shed and gain load, or only renewable energy sources (RES) - the sun and wind, for example, may not shine and not blow at the right time. Therefore, a significant share of generation is carried out at the expense of traditional fossil resources (coal, gas), which provide both reliability and the necessary maneuverability.

The mode of operation of any power system is determined primarily by the degree of load on it from consumers. As a rule, at night, electricity consumption is significantly reduced, and in the morning and in the evening it exceeds the level of daytime consumption. And in general, regardless of the time of day, the electrical load is constantly changing. These constant fluctuations complicate the task of maintaining a balance between production and consumption and lead to the fact that generating capacities operate in an economically suboptimal mode for a significant part of the time.

There are three traditional types of power plants: nuclear, thermal (TPP) and hydroelectric power plants (HPP). Nuclear power plants do not regulate their load for safety reasons. HPPs are much better suited to work with an uneven load schedule, but they are far from being in every power system, and if they are, they are not always in the required quantity. Thus, the main burden of covering the uneven daily power consumption falls on TPPs. This, in turn, leads to their operation in an uneconomical mode, increases fuel consumption and, as a result, the cost of electricity for consumers.

All of the above problems, as well as a number of others, can be solved with the help of industrial energy storage technologies.

Accumulation effects

1. Effect for generation: the use of accumulators will optimize the process of electricity production by leveling the load schedule for the most expensive generating equipment, as well as relieve expensive thermal generation from the role of a regulator. In turn, this will inevitably lead to a reduction in the cost of hydrocarbon fuel, an increase in the utilization factor of the installed capacity of power plants, increase the reliability of energy supply and reduce the need for the construction of new capacities.

2. Effect for state regulation: drives allow you to create an energy reserve without excessive operation of generating capacities, optimize the operation of power plants, ensure the smooth passage of the night minimum and daytime maximum loads.

3. Effect for consumers: electricity becomes cheaper, reliability of power supply increases, it is possible to ensure the operation of critical equipment during power outages and create a reserve in case of accidents.

4. Effect for the power grid complex: storage devices reduce the peak load on electrical substations and the cost of upgrading the network infrastructure, improve the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers.

Additional effects

Now one of the main trends in the world energy industry is the development of renewable energy generation. Among the countries developing green energy, the most striking examples are Denmark, which generates 140% of the national energy demand with the help of RES, and Germany, where RES accounts for about 50% of the installed power plant capacity (94 out of 182 GW) and this share continues to grow steadily. grow. In some hours, RES can already provide up to 100% of electricity needs. At the same time, both thermal and nuclear power plants have to perform a backup function, since the generation of renewable energy generation is unstable. Electricity storage can be a way to continue the successful integration of renewable energy into the energy systems of various countries, they will smooth out fluctuations in the generation of renewable energy and even out the load curve.

Another trend is the development of distributed energy. Consumers want to minimize their costs and install their own generating sources (for example, solar panels or wind turbines). In countries where the share of distributed generation is high, the problem of integrating such consumers into the market system arises. Since the consumer himself takes from his source as much electricity as he needs in this moment time, he may have a surplus. The problem of selling these surpluses to the network can be solved with the help of accumulators. In addition, they can also be used to create individual reserves.

Technology competition

To date, 99% of the industrial accumulation and storage of electricity (about 132.2 GW) is provided by pumped storage power plants (PSPPs). All other storage technologies account for 1%, mainly compressed air storage, sodium sulfide batteries and lithium batteries. The most proven of the accumulators are pumped storage power plants and devices operating on compressed air technology. Other technologies are still in the process of development.

However, while pumped storage power plants and devices using compressed air technologies can store large enough amounts of electricity for several hours, they are quite limited in terms of supplying a large amount of energy to support or counteract various short-term fluctuations.

As for batteries, current installation cost estimates range from $200 to $800 per 1 kW of installed power. The lowest costs correspond to lead-acid batteries, since they are at a higher stage of technological development. This range is at the lower end of the cost for a pumped storage plant, but is much lower than other potential and emerging storage technologies. However, the main disadvantage of lead-acid and other batteries is their low life expectancy compared to HPS, which have much longer service life. Battery life varies significantly depending on the frequency of use, the rate of discharge, and the number of deep discharge cycles.

Does Russia need energy storage technologies?

Energy storage named by McKinsey Global Institute as one of 12 breakthrough technologies that will significantly change global economy. BCC Research estimates that the cumulative annual growth rate of the battery of all types market will be 18.7% over the next ten years, from $637 million in 2014 to $3.96 billion in 2025.

According to various scenarios of the International Energy Agency, the capacity of electric storage in the EU countries, the USA and China will increase from two to eight times by 2050. In Russia, after 2022, a new investment cycle in the energy sector is predicted. The potential niche for new energy facilities is estimated at 15-30 GW. Investments could reach $500-​700 billion by 2035. At the same time, almost all market participants will be able to benefit from the use of drives.

Wikimedia Commons

Perhaps the most old form modern energy storage tied to the grid. The principle of operation is simple: there are two water tanks, one above the other. When the demand for electricity is low, the energy can be used to pump water upstairs. During peak hours, the water rushes down, rotating the hydro generator and generating electricity. Similar projects are being developed, for example, in Germany in abandoned coal mines or spherical containers on the ocean floor.

Compressed air

power south

In general, this method resembles the previous one, except that instead of water, air is injected into the tanks. If necessary, the air is released and rotates the turbines. This technology has existed in theory for several decades, but in practice, due to its high cost, there are only a few working systems and a few more test ones. Canadian company Hydrostor is developing a large adiabatic compressor in Ontario and Aruba.

molten salt

Solar Reserve

Solar energy can be used to heat the salt to the right temperature. The resulting steam is either immediately converted into electricity by the generator, or stored for several hours as molten salt, for example to heat houses in the evening. One such project is the solar park named after Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum - in United Arab Emirates. And in the Alphabet X laboratory, the possibility of using molten salts in combination with antifreeze in order to save excess solar or wind energy. Georgia Tech recently built over effective system in which salt is replaced by liquid metal.

flow batteries

CERN scientists: "The universe should not exist"

Redox flow batteries consist of huge tanks of electrolyte that are passed through membranes and create an electrical charge. Usually, vanadium is used as an electrolyte, as well as solutions of zinc, chlorine or salty water. They are reliable, easy to operate and have a long service life. The world's largest flow battery to build in the caves of Germany.

Traditional batteries

SDG&E

Calmac

At night, the water stored in the tanks is frozen, and during the day the ice melts and cools neighboring houses, saving on air conditioners. This technology is attractive for regions with hot climates and cool nights, such as California. In May of this year, NRG Energy delivered 1,800 industrial ice packs to Southern California Edison.

Superflywheel

Beacon power

This technology is designed to store kinetic energy. The electricity drives the motor, which stores the rotational energy in the drum. When it is needed, the flywheel slows down. The invention is not widely used, although it can be used to provide uninterruptible power.

From now on we can no longer imagine your life without electricity and heating. All our everyday life associated with the use of many electrical appliances that provide us with the necessary level of comfort. Today we will talk about how you can save electricity at home.

The diagram on the left shows the structure of electricity consumption for a family of 3 people.

Every year, the cost of electricity and heating increases due to higher tariffs and an increase in the number of electrical appliances used. Since energy resources are very limited, the cost of electricity increases annually by about 15% and, accordingly, our payments for electricity also increase.

Therefore, more and more more people start thinking about how to save electricity at home.

In addition, saving electricity will reduce consumption natural resources and reduce emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere, which means making a feasible contribution to the conservation of our rivers, lakes and forests.
By saving 100 watts of electricity, we can save 48 kg hard coal, or 33 liters of oil, or 35 m3 of natural gas.

On average, a family of three people living in an apartment of 50 m2 pays for energy about 59% of the total utility bills, of which: 32% are heating and hot water, 15% - electricity, 12% - gas.

These tips are relevant for those who have heat meters or electric heaters.

1. Insulate door and window openings with special insulation.
After all, the main heat leakage occurs through windows and doors.


2. Install new energy efficient windows, preferably with double glazing.
If you have a balcony or loggia, then glaze them too. This is the most effective method save heat in the house.


3. It is necessary to properly ventilate the room.


Ventilate when the heating is off!
Full ventilation for 2 minutes every 3-4 hours retains much more heat than constant partial ventilation. In winter, 2-3 minutes of full ventilation is enough. In spring and autumn - up to 15 minutes.

4. Do not cover the batteries with curtains and decorative plates and panels.

1. Check the integrity of the wiring in the house.


This will prevent leakage of electricity (losses can be up to 30%) and reduce the risk of breakage. household appliances and short circuit.

2. Turn off electrical appliances in standby mode(standby mode) - TV, music center, DVD player.


Most devices are active for several hours a day, and the rest of the time they are in standby mode, while wasting a significant amount of energy.

3. Organize the right lighting.


A. Make the most of natural light (use light-colored curtains, light-colored walls and ceilings, clean windows more often, do not clutter up window sills.) This will make the room brighter.
b. Use the principle of zonal lighting - it is necessary to rationally use general lighting and local lighting. General lighting is intended for general lighting of the room (chandelier). Local lighting (lamps, sconces) allow you to illuminate the dark corners of the room.

The combination of local and general lighting (combined lighting) allows you to use light more rationally - to illuminate only the part of the room that we need. As a result of the device of combined lighting for a room of 18-20 m2, up to 200 kW / h are saved.

4. Replace traditional incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones.


They consume several times less electricity and last several times longer.

5. Turn off lighting and other electrical appliances that you do not need at the moment.


When you leave, turn off the light.

6. Wash lamps and shades more often.

How to save energy in the kitchen and cooking

The electric stove is the most energy-intensive household appliance, accounting for more than half of all electricity consumed. By following simple rules and techniques when cooking, you can save a significant amount of electricity.

1. When cooking in a saucepan, you need to turn on the burner at full power only until the water boils. As soon as the water boils, immediately switch the heating of the burner to the minimum position, while the energy consumption will drop sharply, and the cooking time will not increase.

2. Be sure to tightly close the pan with a lid. When cooking in an open container, the power consumption increases by 2.5 times. Even if the lid is slightly ajar, this is equivalent to the fact that there is no lid at all, because. heat is lost with the outgoing steam.

3. Use cookware with a bottom diameter that matches the size of the burner. The diameters of the bottoms of the pans must be greater than or equal to the diameters of the burners of the electric stoves on which they are placed.

4. Do not let the water boil violently on the burner turned on at full power, because much less power is enough to boil on a hot stove.

5. If you turn off the electric stove burner a little earlier before the end of cooking, you will save energy due to residual heat.

6. When cooking vegetables, use the minimum amount of water in the pots.

7. Choose pots that are the right size for the amount of food you need. If you need to cook a small amount of food, then it is better to do it in a small one. saucepan on the smallest burner.

8. The bottoms of pots and pans must be even and clean in order to have tight contact with the burners. Cookware with crooked bottoms or soot requires 60% more electricity.

9. When buying dishes, choose pans and saucepans with a thick bottom and glass lids.

10. Use pressure cookers. They save a lot of energy and time. Cooking time in them is reduced by three times, and energy consumption by half. This is achieved thanks to the tightness of pressure cookers and special regime cooking - the temperature inside the dishes reaches 120 degrees due to excess steam pressure.

11. Stainless steel cookware with a thick polished bottom ensures good contact with the stove and saves energy. Aluminum utensils, enamelled, Teflon-coated are not economical.

12. The condition of the burners of the electric stove has great importance. If one or two coils burn out in a burner or the burner swells due to overheating, the energy consumption increases by up to 50%. It needs to be changed urgently.

13. Use special electric heaters (frying pans, pots, grills, coffee makers, etc.), in which the dishes are tastier and better, and much less electricity is spent. Use an electric kettle that saves energy by itself by turning off automatically when water boils in it. Boil only as much water as you need at one time.

14. Timely descaling inside electric kettles can significantly reduce energy consumption.

15. Use thermoses or potters to keep water and food warm for a long time.

16. Do not use the included burners of the electric stove to heat the room, it is uneconomical, inefficient and dangerous.

17. Use microwave ovens for heating and cooking, they will save you time and energy.

What we usually do uneconomically:
■ choose unsuitable dishes - energy losses 10% -15%
■ Do not tightly cover dishes when cooking. - losses 2% - 6%
■ We use too much water - losses 5% - 9%
■ We use dishes that do not fit the size of the burner - losses 5% -10%
■ We do not use residual heat - losses 10% -15%

And to consolidate the material - a wonderful infographic from the United Energy Company. The picture is clickable.


Using these simple tips You can significantly reduce your energy bills and save money.

Let's repeat the basic rules:










To save electricity in the apartment, you need to learn how to use it rationally. At the same time, in addition to significant money savings when paying for energy, you make a very important contribution to solving global problems. environmental issues.

The article uses materials from the Information and Consulting Center for Energy Saving (IKCE).

The International Energy Agency predicts an increase in the global share of renewable energy in total energy generation to 28% by 2021. At the same time, technologies will be developed that can solve the main problem of "green" energy - uneven electricity generation. Experts are confident that the energy storage industry will experience rapid growth in the near future.

A solar power plant works effectively only during daylight hours and with a cloudless sky, while a windmill only works when the wind is blowing, and these gaps in output need to be somehow compensated. For example, to accumulate part of the generated energy with the help of industrial batteries, and spend it during the evening and morning consumption peaks.

Energy storage facilities will also come in handy in case of power failures. As the head of the ABB training center in the Russian Federation, Maxim Ryabchitsky, notes, today the volumes of electricity generation and consumption are balanced and power plants adjust to the consumer's schedule. But in the event of sudden outages in the power system, comparable in scale to the Russian one, the situation will be saved by a battery with a capacity of 10–20 MW, capable of closing the energy deficit for 1.5–2 hours.

With the support of the state

According to the head of Rosnano, Anatoly Chubais, the share of renewable energy in total volume generation by 2050 will account for 40% of the global energy balance, and electricity storage will become a commercially established technology, as a result of which “we will come to another electric power industry.”

“The global and Russian electric power industry is one step away from transforming the basic technological principle – matching the level of generation and consumption at a single point in time. A breakthrough technology that will allow us to separate generation and consumption is energy storage. This technology will completely change the entire dispatching system, the ratio of traditional and alternative power generation, and much more. If good IT logic is added to energy storage technology, then this will undoubtedly be a revolution,” Chubais believes.

There is an understanding of the problem and state level. At the beginning of this year, Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich instructed the Ministry of Energy and Rosnano to develop terms of reference for the creation of a state program to support a cluster of industrial electricity storage (power storage). The participants in the meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister also considered that the industrial storage of electricity is at the starting point of a boom that will affect isolated, small electrical facilities and transport.

Rosnano believes that state support will allow forming a pool of national players on the market. It is planned to stimulate demand for storage devices by offsetting the risks of investment projects and increasing their investment attractiveness. The use of industrial batteries will make it possible to create cost-effective local power systems, smooth out consumption peaks and create electricity trading markets for distributed energy, the company notes.

Electrochemistry and life

There are currently many ways to store electricity on a large scale, but the priority is given to the construction of conventional electrochemical batteries the size of a house.

The total capacity of operating and under construction industrial energy storage facilities in the world, according to the consulting company IHS, is about 3 GW. However, analysts are confident that the energy storage industry will experience rapid growth in the near future.

The main problems of experimental industrial drives are high cost and low capacity, there is no mass economically justified technology for their construction yet (Tesla technology, which is discussed below, stands apart here). According to Maxim Ryabchitsky, the research that has been conducted over the past 20 years has created many samples (up to the most exotic ones) of power storage, but they have not yet gone beyond pilot operation, and existing batteries are too expensive and have low efficiency. That is, while the batteries are more expensive than the solar power plants themselves.

Director of the Association of Solar Energy Enterprises Anton Usachev predicts that with an increase in the share of renewable energy in the energy balance, the need for capacious power storage systems will grow, the greatest demand will be in countries planning a share of renewable energy in generation of at least 25-30%.

The power of power storage solutions used today in the world, as a rule, is not higher than 1-2 MW. Thus, in the fall of 2015, the Italian Enel launched in Catania the first electricity storage at a solar station of 10 MW with a battery capacity of 2 MWh and plans a wind farm of 18 MW in southern Italy with lithium-ion batteries also of 2 MWh.

The largest industrial energy storage in Europe appeared in the German village of Feldheim. The enterprise is officially called the Regional Regulatory Power Plant. The purpose of the station with a capacity of 10 MW and a battery capacity of 10.8 MWh is to accumulate excess electricity generated by renewable energy sources, ensure the stability of the power grid, and smooth out temporary frequency changes.

A number of companies (RWE, Vionx, LG, SMA, Bosch, JLM Energy, Varta) have begun to supply industrial and domestic energy storage systems to the market, which also operate on the basis of varieties of lithium-ion batteries, primarily lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4), as well as vanadium batteries. Japan has advanced further than others with hot battery technology. In this series, one cannot fail to note the achievements of Tesla, which is ahead of the rest here, not least thanks to competent PR of its products, excellent design, advanced technological solutions and an “aggressive” price.

Last year, Elon Musk presented the Powerwall project, a wall-mounted lithium-ion battery for the home with a capacity of 10 kWh (that's about a dozen standard car batteries). The battery is sufficient to cover the daily electricity requirement of an average American family. It costs $3500. Interestingly, Tesla's development allows you to expand the system up to nine units by attaching additional Powerwall units to it.

However, Tesla's other development, the Powerpack battery, is likely to become a truly industrial battery. It is similar in appearance and size to a refrigerator and has a capacity ten times larger than the Powerwall - 100 kWh. The Powerpack is also a module. By adding such modules to the storage, you can increase the capacity of the latter almost indefinitely. According to Elon Musk, there are already energy companies in the US using Powerpack technology with 250 MWh of storage.

According to PwC's calculations, storage and distribution of 5,000 MWh of electricity in the grid can be economically viable in the US at a cost including installation of $350 per 1 kWh. The price per capacitance point when using Powerpack modules is $250.

Alternative hoarding

An alternative to electrochemical industrial batteries can be the construction of "green" energy facilities next to a pumped storage power plant - pumped storage stations that store energy in the form of water. The original purpose of the PSPP is to equalize the heterogeneity of the daily electrical load schedule. With the development of RES, pumped-storage plants will also be able to level the discreteness of energy generation by solar power plants and windmills.

According to the US Department of Energy, there are currently 292 pumped storage complexes in operation worldwide with a total capacity of 142 GW. Another 46 stations with a total capacity of 34 GW are under construction. The efficiency of modern pumped storage power plants is 70–75%.

“Among all energy storage technologies, pumped storage systems are the most reliable, proven and commercially viable batteries,” said Vladimir Koritarov, an employee of the Department of Energy at the National Laboratory in Argonne (Illinois). In his opinion, 98% of the operating energy storage facilities in the world are pumped storage power plants. Today, pumped storage power plants are back in the spotlight, not least due to the boom in renewable energy, says Koritarov.

In Spain, for example, where about 20% of energy is generated by wind, the storage of the Cortes-La Muela hydroelectric power plant is filled with wind farms on windy nights, and when the wind subsides or the demand for energy increases, the water from the upper reservoir is used to rotate turbines and generate energy. It is the largest complex of its kind in Europe with a capacity of 1,762 MW, capable of providing energy to 500,000 homes.

In the United States, the 1,200 MW JD Pool pumped storage project in Washington State is in the planning stage. A pair of its upper reservoirs will be placed between rows of wind turbines on the Columbia Plateau. The total capacity of 47 wind farms located in the states of Washington and Oregon in close proximity to the proposed construction site of the pumped storage power plant is 4695 MW. This is enough to not only supply electricity to nearby businesses and households, but also fill JD Pool tanks with water.

But today there are certain difficulties in combining solar power plants and pumped storage power plants. As a rule, large solar power plants are located in hot desert areas where there are problems with water. Although in the presence of full-flowing underground horizons, this problem can also be solved. That's just a lot of water from under the ground will have to be pumped out, because the pumped storage power plant is a structure, the size of which matters.

Fantasy without brakes

When there is an order and a budget is implied, the brains of scientists begin to work with a vengeance. The search for energy storage alternatives to chemical batteries is being carried out in laboratories around the world, sometimes giving rise to very exotic projects.

The UK Department of Energy and Climate Change has invested in the development of an energy storage facility that runs on liquefied air. The unit was named LAES and develops a capacity of 350 kWh. Its tests were successful, and the project has prospects for scaling.

The installation works as follows. In the presence of excess electricity, the air is liquefied in a tank 12 m high and 3 m in diameter. And when necessary, it turns into current again.

In the Tehachapi area (California, USA) there is another unusual experimental storage device that stores energy using gravity. It is called ARES and looks like a children's railway (the gauge is only 381 mm). When the wind blows, the trailer, driven by an electric motor, rides uphill along the branch, accumulating energy, and when it subsides, the device rolls down. At this moment, its engine works as a generator, supplying energy to the grid.

The hill is located next to the park of wind turbines. The weight of the experimental trolley is 5670 kg. One of the advantages of the project is the lower cost life cycle compared to batteries. The efficiency of the system is 86%.

In the future, in neighboring Nevada, where the same pumped storage power plant cannot be built due to lack of water, it is planned to build a system with a stored energy volume of 12.5 MWh. This will be a single-track road 8 km long and with a slope of 6.6 degrees. 17 couplers will move along it: two locomotives weighing 220 tons each and two wagons with concrete blocks weighing 150 tons each.

Sources: ITAR-TASS, Kommersant newspaper, websites renewableenergyworld.com, digitalsubstation.ru,tesla.com/powerwall, resilience.org, alternativenergy.ru

1. Turn off the lights as you move from room to room. Install thermal motion sensors that will turn off the lights for you.
2. Use local lighting: lights, floor lamps, sconces. For example, in order not to turn on the main light sources every time, it is better to install a backlight from an LED strip in the room.
3. Remember that cleanliness is the key to savings. Dirty windows and dusty ceiling lamps reduce the level of illumination in the room by up to 35%.
4. When repairing, keep in mind that light walls will reflect up to 80% of the light flux, and dark ones - only about 12%.
5. Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and LED ones. Replacing only one lamp will save about 1,000 rubles a year.

Take, for example, Moscow. 1 kWh in the capital costs Tariffs for electric energy for the population and categories of consumers equated to it in the territory of Moscow, with the exception of the Troitsky and Novomoskovsk administrative districts 5.38 rubles. Imagine that in three apartments three light bulbs are on for eight hours a day: LED, energy-saving and incandescent. For a more objective picture, we will choose lamps of such power that they give approximately the same level of illumination. And that's what we get.

Lamp type	LED	energy saving	incandescent
Power consumption, kW	0,013	0,025	0,1
Lamp resource, hours	50 000	8 000	1 000
The cost of the lamp, rub.	248	200	11
Operating hour cost Cost of an hour of operation = tariff × power + lamp cost ⁄ resource, rub.	0,0749	0,1595	0,549
Hourly savings Hourly savings = cost of running an incandescent lamp − cost of running a comparable lamp, rub.	0,4741	0,3895	-
Payback period Payback time in hours = (lamp cost − incandescent lamp cost) ⁄ hourly savings, watch	499,89	485,24	-
Payback period Payback period in days = Payback period in hours ⁄ 8, days	62,49	60,65	-
Annual Savings Annual Savings = (8 × 365 − Payback Hours) × Hourly Savings, rub.	1147,37	948,34	-

It turns out that in two months one energy-saving lamp will allow you to save 40 kopecks every hour, and 10 light bulbs - 4 rubles.

Use electrical appliances correctly

1. In the absence of a two-tariff, turn off all non-essential electrical appliances at night, and charging device- after a complete recharge of the equipment.
2. The refrigerator must be defrosted regularly if it does not have a special No Frost system. Make sure that the device is located as far as possible from the heaters and natural ventilation of the rear wall is provided. Put only cold dishes in it!
3. Monitor the performance of the burners of the electric stove and place only suitable-sized dishes with a flat bottom on them.
4. Cover pots and pans with lids: they reduce heat loss by up to three times.
5. Try not to overload the washing machine (overloading increases electricity consumption by up to 10%) and use a medium temperature setting. Washing at 30 degrees uses 35% less energy than washing at 40 degrees.
6. Use an electric kettle instead of an electric stove to heat water. This will be much more economical. Boil only the volume of liquid that is needed at the moment.
7. Clean the fans and air conditioner filters regularly.
8. Things that require a low temperature setting after turning off the iron.
9. Do not leave appliances, including microwaves, televisions, computers, scanners, printers, modems, in standby mode. This will save more than 200 kWh per year.
10. Use electrical outlets with a timer.

Buy energy efficient home appliances

1. All electrical appliances are marked with Latin letters from A+++ to G. Choose appliances with a low energy class, labeled A and B.
2. Buy appliances that use Newest technologies saving electricity. For example, induction hobs are becoming more and more popular because they only heat the bottom of the cookware and do not waste energy. The efficiency of such plates reaches 95%!

Install a two-tariff meter

1. A two-tariff meter allows you to save at night. Such meters are beneficial for those who can use energy-intensive household appliances: dishwasher and washing machine, bread machine - from 23.00 to 7.00. On average, the counter pays for itself in a year.

Don't waste your heat

1. Instead of a traditional heater, use an air conditioner set to heating mode. If the manufacturer allows it, of course. Many air conditioners cannot be used at low temperatures.
2. An infrared heater is 30–80% more economical than the others.
3. If there are electric batteries in the house, try to keep them clean so that dust does not absorb some of the heat, and you do not have to increase the temperature.
4. Using the water heater, reduce the water heating temperature.
5. Replace your storage water heater with an instantaneous water heater. So you will not waste electricity to constantly maintain a certain temperature of the water.
6. Heat water only when necessary. Unplug the boiler from the mains when you leave the house and at night.
7. Once every three months, clean the water heater from, which increases energy consumption by 15–20%.
   • Disconnect the machine from the mains and turn off the water supply.
   • Drain the water completely.
   • Remove the boiler cover, carefully disconnect the wires and unscrew the thermostat.
   • Loosen the nuts holding the flange. Push the flange up, rotate and pull out.
   • Now you can clean the heating element with a wire brush. A solution of acetic acid and hot water (1: 5) will also help get rid of plaque. Just place the heating element in it for 30 minutes and make sure that the sealing rubber does not come into contact with acid.