DIY energy saving devices

Sockets, extension cords with socket block and surge protectors with switches

Old wiring, switches and sockets cause increased current consumption and pose a fire hazard. Due to poor contacts and insufficient cross-section of the cable cores, the network overheats, the current parameters are disrupted, which leads to incorrect operation of the devices and devices connected to it. This causes increased energy consumption and is one of the prerequisites for costly equipment breakdowns.

To protect yourself from such troubles, you should do the following:

• change the wiring;
• install new sockets with built-in stabilizers and relays;
• purchase surge protectors with switches.

The use of extension cords with multiple sockets allows you to reduce the number of cables in the room. The presence of a switch makes it possible with one movement to de-energize and then activate several devices operating in standby mode at once. This is one of the conditions for saving energy in an apartment.

The presence of pulse and linear fuses prevents household appliances from burning out during power surges. Built-in stabilizers convert the current within the specified parameters, which ensures stable operation of the devices in normal mode. This also helps reduce energy consumption.

Advantages of a two-tariff meter

An individual single-phase two-tariff meter takes into account current consumption at different prices depending on the time of day. In the period from 23.00 to 07.00, the cost of services is reduced by 50%. At this time, powerful consumers are started: water heaters, ovens, dishwashers and washing machines. Some people who normally tolerate being awake at night work on the computer and clean the apartment with a vacuum cleaner.

The advantages of using such a device are obvious:

• reducing the financial burden of payments;
• reducing the load on home and city communications;
• taking energy at a time when power plants are in dire need of releasing it.

The cost of a two-tariff meter and its installation is quite significant. But taking into account the current tariffs, it pays for itself within a year, then brings a significant profit.

Saving electricity through heat conservation

This direction is relevant for objects with central and autonomous heating, since the power of heating devices directly depends on the quality of insulation of real estate objects. The less heat loss, the lower the intensity of the heaters. You can insulate a room in the following ways:

• sealing cracks in walls, windows and doors;
• installation of modern doors with foam or basalt filling;
• installation of double-glazed windows with energy-saving glass;
• finishing the facade with polystyrene foam, mineral wool or polyurethane foam;
• gluing a reflective screen behind the radiators.

If the issue of combating heat loss is approached comprehensively, current consumption for home heating can be reduced by 30-50%.

Passive house technology

To achieve a high level of energy savings, the construction of energy-efficient houses requires competent work simultaneously in four areas

:

1. No thermal bridges
   - try to avoid inclusions that conduct heat. For this purpose, there is a special program for calculating the temperature field, which makes it possible to detect and analyze the presence of all unfavorable places in all building enclosure structures for future optimization.
2. Thermal energy recovery
   , mechanical ventilation and internal sealing. Finding and eliminating its leaks is done by organizing airtightness tests of buildings.
3. Thermal insulation
   must be provided in all external areas - butt, corner and transition areas. In this case, the heat transfer coefficient should be less than 0.15 W/m2K.
4. Modern windows
   are low-emission double-glazed windows that are filled with inert gas.

Factors influencing energy efficiency Source domastroika.com

DIY saving device

The manufacture of a device that saves energy can be realized by yourself, only for this you need to assemble the device according to the circuit diagram.

Spare parts and components for the device can be purchased on the market or in a specialized store, all of them can be installed on the board and the connection can be made using simple hinged mounting. And also to create the device you will need:

• Plastic body;
• Screws;
• Film capacitor;
• Two LEDs;
• Mechanism for connecting to a socket, in the form of an electrical plug;
• Button;
• Diode bridge or rectifier;

When assembling such an electrical circuit yourself, it is imperative that you be very careful and vigilant, and follow basic safety rules when working with a soldering iron and electrical equipment. Without basic specialization as an electrician, it is better not to start implementing this idea, as, most likely, failure will occur.

You need to be careful with manufacturing companies that are simply trying to improve their financial condition on the trust of ordinary people. In order to find out the whole truth about the device saving your electricity, the consumer who has decided to save in this way should understand and understand the structure and purpose of all the parts located inside the next miracle box.

Lighting

Modern lighting technologies require significantly less energy than incandescent bulbs to create the same amount of light.

When choosing a light bulb, pay attention to the amount of luminous flux in lumens (candles, candelas). This indicates the brightness of the bulb.

If you need a replacement for a 60-watt incandescent bulb, purchase a 700-lumen LED bulb.

Color temperature of lighting fixtures

Color temperature is measured in kelvins (K). Here are some guidelines for choosing:

• Warm white (2700 - 3300 K ) is used in residential areas such as living rooms, bedrooms or bathrooms, as well as in shops, restaurants or hotels.
• Neutral white (3300 - 5300 K) is mainly used in hallways, stairwells, bathrooms and kitchens, as well as in meeting rooms or waiting rooms. May also be suitable in restaurants and hotels or as outdoor lighting.
• White light (>5300K) should be used in areas where good visibility is required. In workshops, basements, classrooms, production, industrial and commercial premises, offices, laboratories, libraries and on the street.

An old lamp in a new, economical form

Gradually, the incandescent lamp is being replaced by more economical LED lamps. Many people experience a feeling akin to nostalgia for the good old incandescent lamp with its almost iconic shape.

If you don't want to do without the usual forms, LED lamps in a traditional incandescent lamp body are what you need. Instead of a metal spiral, LEDs made in the form of a thread or filament are lit here. This and the characteristic pear-shaped shape of the lamp allows us to preserve the traditional appearance of an incandescent light bulb.

Changing the color of measuring instruments and scales

A simple way to modify the dashboard on a domestic car is to remove the protective film from the odometer and speedometer. This is easy to do: just remove the plastic and remove the film from the device.

The only disadvantage of this modification is the layer of glue under the film. To remove it you will need a lot of effort.

The standard color for the dashboard on a VAZ is dark green. By removing the film from the screen, you will get a dark blue panel.

The color of the instrument scale can also be changed by a combination of simple steps:

• The first step is to remove the plastic from the instrument panel.
• Then, using a knife and solvent, you need to remove the scale image. If you take the matter seriously, you can completely remove old paint without damaging the main part of the panel.
• Now you need to attach the LED strip of the desired color to the base and install it in the light bulb socket.
• To make the work look complete, it is also recommended to change the color of the arrows themselves to the one most compatible with the color of the scale.
• Remove the arrows and remove the old paint.
• Using a special car polish or nail polish, paint the arrows in the desired color.

If you look at the photo of the VAZ panel tuning, you will notice that the most suitable backlight colors are green and white. This light does not hurt the eyes at night and can be seen quite well during the day.

How to improve the energy efficiency of an already built wooden house

This procedure is quite realistic for residential premises in good condition, i.e. if it is not subject to demolition in a couple of years, then it can be reconstructed without problems. Reducing heat loss is possible with the help of modern technologies and materials.

At the first stage

you should find places where there are leaks. These are the so-called cold bridges, and they take away the largest part of the heat in the entire house. You need to look for them in the roof, walls, door and window openings. The cellar, basement and attic are places that should not be ignored.

Fungus and mold are another indicator of the presence of cold bridges, since most often they form in places where there is a temperature difference, and hence the appearance of condensation.

Second phase

– this is the choice of insulating materials. They must be environmentally friendly and clean. The most popular option is warm plaster. This material will help to effectively cope with various joints and depressurized seams. Polyethylene is another excellent insulation material. Its thickness must be at least two hundred microns and it is mounted under wooden sheathing.

Stages of transforming an ordinary house into an energy-efficient one Source domastroika.com

Equipping electrical appliances without an auto-shutdown function with external time relays

Even if devices have such a function, it is activated very rarely. If devices cannot switch off automatically, they can be equipped with external time relays. Such modifications should be made to the air conditioner, room heater, heated towel rail, stove and floor fireplace. If necessary, a timer is installed on the computer system unit.

Such devices provide the following advantages:

• switching on and off exactly in the set time corridor;
• operation of devices only when required;
• preventing burnout of devices due to overheating;
• creating comfortable psychological conditions, since a person does not need to worry about his household appliances;
• significant reduction in electrical current consumption.

One such device will provide significant assistance in the fight to reduce utility bills.

Advantages of energy-saving household appliances

A real way to save energy is to use economy-class household appliances. Initial investments will give a long-term positive effect over time.

Examples of such equipment:

1. Computer. Power supplies together with video cards and a monitor can absorb up to 1 kW/h. You should either disable some functions or purchase products with an economy mode. Modern laptops are the best choice. With greater capabilities, they consume no more than 100 W/h.
2. TVs with satellite set-top boxes. Enabling the economy mode allows you to reduce current consumption by 3 times.
3. Printing devices. They are used periodically, but are not removed from the network. If you buy a device with an energy saving function, the effect will be up to 500 kW per year.
4. Washing machine. The main consumer is the heating element. Products with an ultrasonic bath consume 80% less current.
5. Vacuum cleaner. Modern devices are equipped with a contamination sensor, which reduces operating efficiency and increases its duration.
6. Air conditioner. Energy saving is achieved by installing advanced compressors in modern models, reducing consumption by 40-50%.

It is worth paying attention to kitchen equipment. You can find efficient stoves, hoods and water heaters on sale.

Simple circuits

If you want to produce atmospheric electricity with your own hands, you should consider various diagrams and drawings. Some of them are so simple that even a novice inventor can bring them to life and create a primitive installation without much difficulty.

It is important to note that modern networks and power lines cause additional ionization of the airspace, which increases the amount of electrical potential contained in the atmosphere. All that remains is to learn how to extract it and accumulate it

The simplest scheme involves using the ground as a base and a metal plate as an antenna. Such a device can accumulate electricity from the air and then distribute it to solve everyday problems.

When creating such an installation, there is no need to use additional storage devices or converters. An electric potential is established between the metal ground and the antenna, which tends to increase. However, due to its variable magnitude, it is very difficult to predict its strength.

The principle of operation of such a device is somewhat reminiscent of lightning - when the potential reaches its peak, a discharge occurs. Because of this, an impressive amount of useful resources can be extracted from the earth and atmosphere.

Among the advantages of the above scheme, the following should be highlighted:

1. Easy to implement at home. This experiment can be easily performed in a home workshop using available materials and tools.
2. Cheapness. When creating a device, you do not have to buy expensive devices or components. It is enough to find an ordinary metal plate with conductive properties.

However, in addition to the advantages, there are also significant disadvantages. One of them is the high danger associated with the inability to calculate the approximate number of amperes and impulse strength. Also, when in operation, the system creates an open ground loop that can attract lightning. It is for this reason that the project has not gained mass distribution.

How to make your own device to save electricity

When there is demand for a product, supply also appears. Constantly rising prices for electricity have given rise to a large number of “miracle devices” (for example, Electricity saving box), promising to reduce energy consumption by almost half. Their action is based on the conversion of reactive energy into active energy. However, the design of such devices is so simple that almost any person who is not alien to technology can make an energy saver with their own hands.

The content of the article

What should you think about?

Do not forget about such an important point as the meter, which is located in your apartment, house, or cottage. It only reads active energy, so no one can avoid paying high utility bills.

The device compensates only for the reactive electricity consumed. As a result, your meter will show electricity consumption in the same volumes both before and after installing the device.

Whether it is worth purchasing such a product is, of course, up to you to decide. If you want to take a risk and pay $40 for a non-functioning product, then, naturally, no one will stop you.

Factory-made energy saving devices

a miracle device
is being actively advertised in the media and on the Internet of electricity at home. It has many different names: SmartBox, Energy Saver, Economych, etc. But the essence of them all is the same: you just plug it into an outlet and pay significantly less on bills.

You can find more detailed information on the official website of the manufacturer.

According to the manufacturer, they have the functions of filtering interference, protecting against lightning strikes, phase imbalance, and even converting reactive electrical energy into active energy. But unfortunately, it is not possible to implement all this in one small device at the present stage of technology development. Yes, on an industrial scale it is possible to achieve savings of a maximum of 10-15 percent using expensive and bulky devices.

All manufacturers of devices for saving energy at home are actually scamming and selling useless junk.

But there are other effective methods that allow you to save significantly. Read about them in our next article.

Ps Modern electronics and household appliances are designed with the ability to compensate for reactive energy. For example, when producing computer power supplies, well-known manufacturers take the selection of components very seriously, which allows them to reduce the reactive component and save 5 to 10% of electricity.