Heating

In Europe, most houses are heated with gas or oil. In general, gas and oil heating is the most effective, as it is both efficient and environmentally friendly. Electrical heating, even though efficient, is generally not so eco-friendly.  Experts would likely beg to differ on this rather simple summary, but without getting into lengthy discourse as to the most effective energy sources, they would agree that a primary source of energy wastage is poor insulation. Naturally, the first consideration is the efficiency of your system (having a pre-war stove in the living room probably won’t heat the bedrooms). The next obvious places to check are any openings in the building.

Windows

Check the windows and doors to make sure that they are firmly closed and have no small gaps at interfaces as this wastes energy.   If you have thick curtains in front of the window this saves energy as long as they don’t cover the heater. Make sure your curtains drape behind the radiator or stop above it.

Window panes

Ideally, windows should be double-glazed. If you rent your apartment, you might try to persuade the landlord to introduce double-glazing. The double glazing available now is thermo insulated to a standard of fifteen mm between the two layers of glass. If you have older double glazing, it is still better than one layer. If the windows are single glazed (usually from the middle of the last century) expect higher heating bills. If you have your doubts about an apartment’s insulation, ask the landlord for an estimation of the monthly heating bills. They may be sky-high and you might be better off looking elsewhere for accommodation. 

The table below shows how good various glasses are at insulating.

If your walls are cold (due to thin plaster or your windows being single-glazed), then move your furniture away from the walls.

Inviting in fresh air the right way

Don’t cool down the house too much when you are out. For instance, if you are out the whole day keep the room at least at around 16 degrees Celsius. It costs more energy to heat up the whole apartment again.  The same applies for overnight.  Those of you who habitually keep your windows open at night during cold weather should close them at night and keep the temperature around 16/ 17 degrees.

Humidity control

Instead, open the windows wide for five to 10 minutes at least twice a day.  You could do this before leaving for work and when getting home. This will allow the air within the house to exchange for fresh air. 

Simple science behind the five-minute blast

For those of you who aren´t engineers or clued up in thermodynamics, there is a science behind this tip which might seem too simple or crazy to some.  Cold air coming in the window drops down behind the warmer air. If you leave a small window or ventilator grill (popular in houses built in the 70´s), then the cold air drops down throughout the day (or night) and chills the wall. This makes the walls cold and damp. The dampness is caused by the warmer, more humid air hitting the colder walls, causing precipitation of water droplets as it condenses. This way, your house remains cold and damp, inviting rot, and requires more energy to heat up. 

If you open the windows wide and blast in cold air and let the warm, humid air run out, you are basically exchanging humid air for drier air and saving the walls and windows from getting cold. Single-glazed windows will still be cold and thus drip with condensation, but you can wipe this down at the same time. Following this practice will keep your house drier and warmer at less cost.. You`ll notice that clothes hung on an indoor clothes rack will dry quicker too.

The following table, translated from a German government site, shows you the main sources of humidity in the home: g/ hour = grams of water per hour,

So this advice was for colder weather. Now let´s move onto the lighting, which is used all year round more or less in the same way.

Electricity

Don’t leave electrical devices on where not necessary. This might seem obvious, but you’ll be surprised at what you can do to cut costs.

Checklist for household appliances

Start with the obvious and switch off the units you don’t need when not using them, which includes lights, TV, fans.

Next, focus on making sure that all your standby systems are plugged into an extension plug with a switch. For those of you unclear what a standby system is, this is usually shown by an operating light, although the actual unit isn’t functioning.  Not all standby systems have a light indicating they are still in standby mode, such as modern washing machines.  Other devices include TV, microwave, dishwasher, and desktop computers.
When not in use, turn off all the chargers and power supplies for systems such as mobile phones, laptops and load speaker systems with an inbuilt power supply.

Eco-friendly

You can also save energy through using different settings on household electrical equipment, such as using the eco-programme or lower temperature washes for dish washers and washing machines. With fridges, when your fridge isn’t fully stocked and you are going on holiday or away for a few days, turn the cooling dial down to around to one or two.

Last tip: when you buy a new household item, don’t only go for the price; look for the level of energy efficiency (ABC). Go for an A++. Low efficiency is B, for instance.

Lighting

Change your bulbs to energy-saving bulbs—technology has made leaps in this type of lighting and current models are more diverse, efficient and stylish than the earlier models. A more recent type of energy-saving light on the market is LED (light emitting diode). You can dim LED lights; standard energy-saving blubs don’t have this possibility.   The main difference is the dimming and LED lights don’t get worn out through extensive switching. If you have a light you don’t switch on and off frequently, go for a standard energy-saving bulb. If lights are frequently turned on and off, plump for LED as they won’t stress and can last, on average, 40000 -50000hours. Standard energy-saving bulbs only last around 10000hours! 

Expatica/ Natasha Gunn

Hans Jakusch is an energy expert based in the Netherlands.