Reduce electricity consumption. Tips: how to reduce energy costs. energy efficiency in practice. About air conditioners: split systems are more efficient

Of course, some of these methods are obvious, and many have been using them for a long time, but, nevertheless, I decided to summarize all the information obtained and present it in the form of a small instruction on the careful use of electricity.

All-knowing statistics claim that 14% of all electricity generated is spent on lighting in Russia. But do we always use this incredible amount of additional energy wisely and without harm to ourselves? How to learn to do it right?

These simple tips can help you with this:

• Use electric light as little as possible. No, no, I certainly do not urge you to return to primitive times, when people led only a daytime lifestyle (although this is undoubtedly good for our health: doctors have proven that an active nightlife and artificial lighting is chronic fatigue, depression and exacerbation of chronic diseases)
• Do not forget that the degree of illumination of the room is affected by how dirty the lighting fixtures are. It is clear that the ceiling in the kitchen, which has not been washed for several months, will be covered with a layer of dust and grease and it will be very bad for light to pass through (I myself wash and wipe chandeliers, ceiling lamps and lamps much less often than I should). And clean lighting devices illuminate the room much better, which means that you can use light bulbs of less power.
• Don't forget about clean windows. natural light and sunlight not only delay the time of turning on the lighting fixtures, but also warm your room in the cold season
• Can be used when lighting a room, for example, combined lighting: turn on not all the bulbs in the chandelier at the same time or turn on in combination: a table lamp (floor lamp) and 1-2 bulbs from the chandelier (I do this often when I work at the table)
• Modern energy-saving devices can help save electricity: dimmers (rotary dimmers that smoothly change the level of illumination), motion sensors, impulse relays, digital switches. The built-in automatic light shut-off system works very effectively in the entrance
• We use energy-saving light bulbs (compact fluorescent, LED)
• And quite simple - turn off the light when you leave the room (in fact, this is probably the most difficult thing - there is a constant "war" at home, because everyone forgets to turn off the light).

A little about the advantages of energy-saving lamps:

• More efficient energy consumption (when compared with incandescent lamps, they consume 4-5 times less energy)
• High light output: a 12W energy-saving light bulb is approximately equal in light intensity to 60W of a conventional incandescent lamp
• Does not release in large quantities thermal energy(this property can be used in small lighting fixtures) and distributes light more evenly and softly (an ordinary light bulb turns no more than 10% of the energy consumed into light, and the rest into heat)
• The life of energy-saving light bulbs is usually longer. Although (tested on my own experience) it does not always correspond to the service life declared by the manufacturer.

True, the latter is sometimes due to the fact that we do not quite correctly use some types of energy-saving light bulbs. Most often they burn out in places where they are used for a short time and where the mode change occurs very often: “on” - “off”.

If you are replacing light bulbs in stages, it is best to start with rooms where the light bulbs have been on for a long time. In addition, frequent power surges in the mains, high or, conversely, very low temperature. Please note that some energy-saving lamps (fluorescent) cannot be used in dimmable appliances.

Over time, we will all have to completely switch to energy-saving light bulbs, since the law on energy saving states that incandescent lamps will be completely phased out and replaced with more economical light sources. Therefore, it is better to start doing this in advance, because it is rather expensive to replace all the bulbs at once.

The undoubted disadvantage of energy-saving light bulbs is still high cost (although now they are already much cheaper than, say, 3-4 years ago), not always good quality and the fact that, unfortunately, we do not have points for receiving used lamps (and such savings are very dangerous for us and the environment).

Well, if you really can’t replace ordinary light bulbs with energy-saving ones, use at least light bulbs of lower power.

Method 2. Multi-tariff meters

I won’t talk much on this topic, the information is in the previous article.

The question of the use of multi-tariff meters, of course, is not unambiguous. But given that some household appliances operate around the clock (refrigerator) or almost constantly in “sleep” mode (TV, computers, etc.), then taking into account their work at night, this may still be beneficial not only for lovers work at night.

In addition, modern multi-tariff meters take into account electricity much more accurately than induction meters.

Method 3. Useful savings

First of all, let's think about whether we use household appliances correctly?

I think the result of these reflections for many of us will be disappointing. It has already been proven by experts that often household appliances consume much more electricity than they need for normal operation.

As we have already found out, many household appliances ( microwaves, televisions, power supplies, audio and video equipment, water heaters, computers, air conditioners and a dozen other devices) consume electricity not only in working condition, but also in the “standby” mode or, as we often say, in “sleep” mode.
Each of these devices individually consumes not so much electricity. But if we sum up the consumption of all devices that operate in the "sleep" mode in our apartments, we get quite a few amounts payable on bills.

So, for example, the average standby time for a TV is 19 hours, for a microwave oven - 23.8 hours, for a CD player - 23 hours a day.

As a result, this is 5-10% of the total electricity consumption in the apartment. And if we translate these percentages into money, then, according to experts, about 3,000 rubles are wasted per year.

And what is the way out? And the way out is very simple. Always unplug appliances that are not in use.

Method 4. Wonders of technology

It’s obvious to everyone: you can’t save much with an old refrigerator or TV. Household appliances manufactured 15-20 years ago consume twice as much electricity.

The way out of this situation is to buy modern energy-efficient household appliances. How do you know how energy efficient a device is?

To do this, you need to carefully study the energy efficiency label that should be on household appliances. It has letter signs from A (the highest energy efficiency class) to G (the lowest).

Modern appliances consume electricity even in the "standby" mode is much less than in older models. For example, with 19 hours of operation in "sleep" mode, an energy-efficient TV will consume less than 1 kWh of electricity per year, and a conventional TV - 69 kWh.

As good example energy-efficient equipment can be cited, for example, “smart” dishwashers or washing machines that automatically dose detergents, water consumption, and select the desired mode. According to experts, such devices consume 44% less energy and 62% less water than outdated models of the late 90s.

I think to convince of the benefits modern technology not worth it. But what if not everyone can afford to replace old household appliances with new (usually expensive) ones? How can electricity costs be reduced in this case?

Method 5. Correctly use what we have

Fridge

Everyone knows how to properly use a refrigerator. But, nevertheless, we stubbornly continue to put it next to the radiators, stove or against the wall on the sunny side.

But it is obvious that, heating up from nearby heat sources, the refrigerator will consume more electricity for efficient operation.

In addition, it is desirable that the room where the refrigerator is located is not hot (approximately 18-20 degrees), the refrigerator must be regularly defrosted and freed from ice, checked for leaks (seal on the refrigerator doors), not placed close to the wall for better air circulation. You can read a few more tips on how to care for your refrigerator, how to wash and defrost it, and how to properly store food in the refrigerator.

Also, do not buy a large refrigerator just because it is fashionable or the neighbor has the same one in the kitchen (based on the number of members of your family and her needs). The larger the refrigerator, the more energy it consumes.

A vacuum cleaner

For normal operation of a vacuum cleaner with lower power consumption, it must be regularly cleaned of accumulated dust (a dirty one consumes 15-20% more) and take into account that it uses the most electricity when turning it on and off (if you are vacuuming a small room, try not to turn it off too often) .

Electric stove

An electric stove consumes a lot of electricity. How can you reduce electricity costs in this case:

• Do not preheat the oven unless the recipe calls for it.
• Use the residual heat of the burners (switch off 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking)
• Close pots with lids
• Do not use excess water when boiling vegetables and eggs
• Use good cookware with a flat, undeformed bottom and the size of the burner
• Use pressure cookers
• Use an electric kettle (it consumes less electricity than an electric stove), at the same time, get an electric kettle sufficient in volume for the whole family and pour as much water into it as you use at a time
• Use a microwave oven and toasters, in which you can cook a dish no less tasty and crispy in just a couple of minutes than in the oven. But it is much faster, and, therefore, more economical.

Washing machine

A washing machine consumes up to 15% of household electricity. Use all the possibilities of economical consumption of electricity, which are provided for by the instructions for your washing machine:

• Quick and economical wash modes
• Fully loaded, but not overloaded (overloading increases electricity consumption by up to 10%)
• Lower temperature (does not always need to be washed at high temperature)
• Correctly selected mode of operation of the machine.

Iron

• Here you can also use the principle of residual heat, that is, turn off the iron 5-10 minutes before the end of ironing.
• Do not overdry the laundry: ironing it will take more time and, therefore, use more electricity
• Unfinished laundry will also require additional electricity consumption.
• Use irons with an automatic shut-off function
• Correctly use modes for ironing different types of fabric.

Air conditioners

• Set the right temperature to cool the room
• Make sure all windows and doors are closed before turning on
• When buying an air conditioner, be guided by the size of the room and the number of people who will be in it. Device designed for large area, will simply “eat up” electricity without any benefit
• Clean fans and filters regularly.

Computers

Almost everyone has computers today, and not even one in the family (we have 3 of them). And, it is clear that this significantly increases the cost of electricity.

What can we do?

• Reduce monitor brightness (this affects power consumption)
• Turn off your computer if you don't use it for a long time
• Turn on all peripheral devices (scanners, printers, modems) through a surge protector and always turn off when these devices are not working
• Use LCD monitors whenever possible
• Use a laptop more often (it "eats" less energy than a desktop computer).

Heaters

The cold on the street and at home makes us get heaters from the pantries. And now ... Autumn is rainy and cold. And there is no heat in the house. What to do? Feeling cold and sick is reluctant. So you have to turn on the "eaters" of electricity - heaters.

In order to somehow reduce the time of using the heater, you need to insulate everything that is possible: windows, walls, floors, etc. Of course, plastic windows cope well with this task. Well, if the windows are ordinary, try to close up all the cracks and cracks in the window frames. It is through them that up to 50% of heat escapes. The same must be done with the front doors.

What if the central heating is already on, but you still feel cold?

There can be many reasons (we will not dwell on this now). But in some cases, simply flushing old batteries, replacing them, or increasing their heat transfer by building up additional sections can help.

During the renovation, we installed modern radiators in all rooms in the quantity we considered necessary. And they never regretted it. When central heating works well, the apartment is always warm.

Well, try not to use heaters, if possible, they are very “gluttonous”.

Still, as an option for an additional source of heat in the apartment, you can consider a heated towel rail, which is connected to hot water supply.

In the process of looking for opportunities to save electricity, I came across such a very useful, in my opinion, device. It is called "household wattmeter".

What is it for? It will help us save energy. With the help of this small device (by the way, it costs about $ 30), you can learn a lot of interesting things about the operation of your household appliances and, in general, about the electricity consumption in the house.

For example:

• How much do you overpay for a computer that stays on all day?
• How much electricity does your refrigerator consume and is it time to replace it with a new one?
• How much electricity is used when you wash dishes in the dishwasher, do laundry, iron or dry your hair?
• How much power does your TV use when it's off?

You will get an answer to all these questions and many others with the help of a wattmeter, as well as find out how much electricity was wasted and what you can really save on.

I have already put the purchase of a wattmeter into my plan and in the future I want to test the operation of my electrical appliances. I think it will really help to find weak spots in the consumption of electricity, which is especially important in the light of the soon introduction of social norms for the consumption of electricity.

And further. Obviously, saving electricity is not so difficult. The main obstacle, probably, lies in ourselves. As soon as we realize that not wasting electricity is beneficial, first of all, for us, we will succeed.

Good luck saving! Bye Bye…

By following just a few simple tips, you can significantly reduce the amount of energy consumed by household appliances.

Manufacturers, as a rule, do not try to set TVs, NAS drives and other computer and multimedia equipment for the most economical power consumption. The factory settings are more likely to demonstrate the capabilities of the device as best as possible: for example, if the TV broadcasts a dizzying bright picture, the probability that the user will distinguish it from the mass of competitors increases. Network drives (Network Attached Storage, NAS) provide the functions of a media player and file server, video surveillance and management of photo collections.

All these tools are active by default, which, according to the creators, is designed to ensure that they can be used immediately after turning on the device. The apartments of most users are still crammed with many electrical appliances, each of which performs a single function, although a large number of universal devices are available for sale that combine their capabilities. For example, DLNA-enabled wireless routers can act as a media server if you connect an external hard drive to them via the USB interface. In practice, this function is used very rarely, however, it is usually activated by default. This attitude creates energy overruns, which in turn result in prohibitively high electricity bills.

The lower the electricity consumption, the greater the savings

In many cases, to reduce power consumption, it is enough to simply adjust the factory settings of home devices. To do this, the user does not need to make extra efforts at all, because most computers, routers and network storages can be easily transferred to an economical mode of operation. In addition, reducing the load can extend the life of home devices.

TVs and PCs

The computer and TV are the most "gluttonous" of all household devices. However, we know how to moderate their appetite.

1 LEARNING THE SUSPEND TO RAM MODE The average computer requires more than 70 watts just to display an image on the monitor. Therefore, it is recommended to turn off the PC more often, using the "Suspend to RAM" mode (suspend mode using memory) for this. Our tests have shown that in Suspend to RAM mode, power consumption is reduced to 1.4 watts. To set up the economy mode, select "Power Options" in the Control Panel, then "Setting the power plan" and set the interval after which the PC will automatically go to sleep - for example, 15 minutes.

2 MONITOR AUTO SHUT OFF Windows can put peripherals such as a monitor to sleep. As soon as the user touches the mouse or keyboard, the monitor immediately wakes up. The model we tested consumed 30 watts in active state, and only 0.1 watts in sleep mode. The task of the user in this case is to find a reasonable compromise between economy and convenience. Practice has shown that the optimal interval for turning off the monitor should be from three to five minutes. Shorter intervals, as a rule, only cause irritation.

3 DISCONNECT THE HARD DISK By setting up a power plan, you can also turn off the HDD at a time when it is not needed. Tests show that a standard 3.5-inch drive consumes in this case not 5-7, but less than 1 watt. However, frequent stops and starts of the hard drive create an additional load for the device. Modern hard drives easily cope with such a test, but older HDD models can be seriously affected by overloads. In this regard, it is recommended to set a relatively large interval before switching off - at least 20 minutes. Click on the menu item "Set up a power plan", then on "Change advanced power settings" and click on the plus sign next to hard drive. Then select "Turn off hard drive after" and set the value you want - say the aforementioned 20 minutes.

4 WE USE ENERGY EFFICIENT COMPONENTS If you are going to repair or upgrade your PC, you need to choose new system components based on their energy efficiency. If you're not into computer games or video editing, we advise you not to buy a separate video card, because the graphics cores built into modern CPUs and chipsets can easily cope with all other tasks. The monitor connector is in this case directly on the motherboard. Special attention should be given to the power supply: the efficiency, which is usually indicated on the case, should not be lower than 80%. In addition, for optimal performance, the power of the power supply must match the power of the entire PC.

5 DOWN THE BRIGHTNESS OF THE TV SCREEN Most TVs have their screen set too bright by default. At maximum backlight brightness, the TV we tested consumed exactly 100 watts. At an average brightness level, the device "ate" 78 watts, and at a minimum - only 44 watts. If your TV device has an ambient light sensor, you should activate it, then the screen brightness will be adjusted automatically. Our test TV only needed 56 watts in this mode.

Home Network Peripherals

Peripheral equipment often consumes unnecessarily much power due to the large number of activated unnecessary functions.

1 DISCONNECT THE NAS HARD DRIVES Since most NASes are in operation almost constantly, they consume quite a lot of electricity. For example, Synology DS213air in standby mode (“Idle” mode) with two working hard drives “eats” as much as 16 watts. If you put both drives into sleep mode, then power consumption will be exactly halved. The user can set the time interval after which the disks "fall asleep" in the absence of activity - for example, half an hour.

2 GIVING A REST TO THE NAS Most people don't use their NAS at night, so we recommend setting up the system so that it turns itself off late at night and wakes up automatically in the morning. For example, in the QNAP NAS settings menu there is a Power Management item. Check the checkbox "Enable / Disable by schedule" and select the desired time interval.

3 DEACTIVATE QUICK START TV RECEIVERS Another device that makes it possible to save electricity is a television receiver. In most models, the quick start function is activated by default, which allows you to start booting in a matter of seconds. However, this useful option also has a drawback: as a rule, only the display of the device turns off, which means that the receiver consumes a lot of electricity even in standby mode. A test of the Smartbox CX10 model showed that the receiver “eats” about 15 W in Standby mode, which is unreasonably high for an inactive state. Therefore, for those who do not mind spending an extra 30 seconds to start the device, we advise you to switch to energy-saving mode: loading will take a little longer, but the amount of energy consumed will drop to 0.2 W.

4 BUY MULTITASKING DEVICES DSL modem, switch, Wi-Fi router, DECT station - there are so many devices in our apartments! In total, all of these gadgets consume about 20 watts. Often, changing the provider can improve the situation, because many Internet service providers, when concluding a contract, provide their customers with an All-in-One device - “all in one” for free.

5 CHANGE OLD POWER SUPPLIES Many devices, such as modems and LAN switches, are connected to legacy power supplies. Recognizing old power supplies is quite easy: they are massive and heavy, and there are metal transformers inside. However, bulky appearance- far from their main drawback. Even at idle, that is, without connected devices, they work tirelessly, converting electrical energy into heat. For example, the model we tested consumes more than 3 watts, but this is still far from the limit. A modern power supply requires only 0.1 watts.

If your energy costs do not bother you and you do not want to save rubles and pennies, these tips will not be useful to you. This article will help the responsible owner to find out whether everything on the farm is optimized for the rational use of electricity.

If you don't burn lights day and night and don't try to cool the entire neighborhood with an air conditioner, your electricity bill won't go down that much. However, as a result of reasonable savings, a good amount accumulates over the year.

To follow some of the tips, it will be enough to carefully analyze and change some habits. Other recommendations will require some refurbishment of the apartment and additional expenses. For example, to buy new lamps. But the costs will quickly pay off and save money.

Lighting

It is one of the main consumers of electricity. We use light every day. But how rational?

Economic lamps

Let's find out how economical such lamps are. Armed with a calculator and count.

A conventional 100 W incandescent lamp can be replaced with the same brightness with a power consumption of 12 W. Let's find out how much these 88 watts help to save if, on average, a light bulb burns 4 hours a day during the year:

0.088 kW x 4 h x 365 days = 128.5 kWh.

Or in monetary terms at a tariff of 3.5 rubles / kWh:

128.5 kWh × 3.5 rubles / kWh = 450 rubles.

Please note: we calculated the economic effect of using just one lamp. And if there are ten of them in the house? The amount immediately increases to 4,500 rubles. Impressively.

local lighting

A chandelier hanging in the center of a large room is a beautiful thing, but as a light source it is ineffective. Far corners are not well lit. Often the owners try to compensate for this by using more powerful lamps in the chandelier. The counter spins faster, but the corners are still in shadow.

It is much more reasonable to use local lighting. A small floor lamp or even a clothespin lamp does the job much better, and consumes less electricity. A comfortable table lamp on the bedside table, a floor lamp near the chair, portable lamps - all this saves electricity and protects your eyesight.

Clean shades

This advice is banal, but always relevant. Dusty plafonds can absorb up to 30% of the light flux. Choose: spend 10 minutes dusting, or work on.

Appliances

Often you can find radical and therefore impracticable advice. For example, to buy only economical class A ++ equipment. But this is far from always possible, if only because of the crazy prices for these devices. They will pay off only in 50 years. Agree, not an option.

Let's take a better look at how to reduce energy consumption with the technology that we already have.

Fridge

This is one of the few household appliances that are on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The refrigerator is a heat pump. It pumps heat from the interior of the refrigerator to the outside. Therefore, the operation of the device will be the more economical, the less heat gets inside it. That's why:

1. Try to use the refrigerator with the door open as little as possible. Lay out the products inside in a convenient order so that it does not take half an hour to search.
2. Do not put hot pans inside, let them cool down first.
3. All food containers must have lids. Water vapor, during condensation, releases enormous energy, then it settles on the walls and turns into ice. It also releases heat. The defrosting system melts the formed ice, for which additional electricity is consumed again. The steam in the refrigerator is evil.
4. If the refrigerator is next to a heating pipe, buy thermal insulation in a construction hypermarket and wrap the pipe with it. External heat only harms the refrigerator.
5. In the cold season, you can reduce the load on the refrigerator and store some of the products on the balcony.

Modem and all sorts of little things

It would seem, real trifles. But let's count first.

The power consumption of most modems is about 6–10 watts. 0.007 kW x 24 h x 365 days = 61.3 kWh is spent per year. This is more than 200 rubles.

How long have you been using the modem? During the day you are at work, and in the evening you surf from your smartphone. As a result, the modem is practically not needed, but it works all the time. It is better to turn it on only with the computer.

Such unused devices that are continuously connected to the network can be found in every home: radios, stereos, gaming consoles, satellite receivers. Walk around the house and turn off the things you rarely use.

Regular maintenance of equipment

The task is not to scrupulously implement the recommendations. It is much more practical to keep the equipment in optimal condition. Here are some obvious measures that contribute to the rational use of electricity:

1. Periodically descale the washing machine, kettle and coffee maker.
2. Regularly remove dust from the computer system unit.
3. Shake out the accumulated dust from the vacuum cleaner before it is filled to capacity.
4. Clean air conditioner filters.
5. Defrost refrigerator.

The International Day for Saving Energy was established in 2008 at the initiative of the international ecological network "School Project for the Use of Resources and Energy" (SPARE). The purpose of the holiday is to draw people's attention to the problem of using electrical energy, since the economical use of resources directly affects the state of the environment.

According to the standards in force in Russia for the consumption of utilities, a family of three living in a three-room apartment spends approximately 119 kWh of electricity per month. In this case, the average monthly bill will be 480 rubles, and the annual bill will be 5.8 thousand rubles. 9 simple tips from AiF.ru will help reduce these figures by almost a third.

Method one. Energy-saving lamps

Lamps of Ilyich are slowly disappearing into oblivion, instead of them there are lamps of a new type. According to experts, each energy-saving light bulb can save up to 170 kWh per year.

Of course, in order to change all the lamps in the house, a considerable amount of money will be required, because energy-saving ones are much more expensive than ordinary ones. At the same time, they work 6-8 times longer, and consume 3 times less electricity.

Method two. When you leave, turn off the light

Continuing the theme of artificial light, let us remind everyone of the well-known, literally imposed on the teeth rule: do not leave the chandelier on if the lighting is in this moment You do not need. If there is enough daylight in the room or if you have moved to another room. According to statistics, about 30% of electricity is spent on lighting empty spaces.

The Russians, frankly, are not used to turning off the lights. When friends from of Eastern Europe, we kept hearing comments from them:

Why don't you turn off the light when you leave the room? Those are the costs!

Method three. Instead of one chandelier - two table lamps and a sconce

Experts advise using spotlights and avoiding bright lights. Lamps take much less energy than a bright chandelier, even if there are several of them in the room. Arrange lamps in key points of the apartment - it will be both convenient and cheap.

This does not mean that chandeliers should be abandoned. But in this case, you can use less powerful lamps in them. Chandelier lamps will compensate.

Also, do not install powerful lamps in the bathroom or in the hallway.

Method four. Don't Forget Daylight

This advice for a modern Russian is probably the most difficult, because it threatens with big changes in the usual daily routine. What if you go to bed earlier and use less electricity in the evenings and at night?

However, even during the day the rooms are not always light enough. To do this, it is necessary to clean the window sills from too high pots with houseplants, simply wash window panes and choose wallpaper in light colors for the room.

Method five. Some things can and should be abandoned.

There is not always a need for an electric kettle - it can be replaced with an ordinary nickel-plated one. If you have a gas stove, is it worth spending money on a slow cooker? There are a number of household appliances that consume a lot of electricity, but are not very necessary in everyday life. Think about which of these things you have at home?

Method six. Use technology less often

You don’t want to give up the washing machine, but you can use it more efficiently. Firstly, each time try to download it to the maximum, and secondly, turn it on less often. Wash, for example, once a week, not two or three.

As for the vacuum cleaner, it should not overfill the dust bag, otherwise the device will start to consume more energy.

The iron does not have to be “driven” at extreme temperatures. In addition, it retains heat for a long time, so you can continue ironing by unplugging the appliance.

Method seven. Energy efficiency class

Modern household appliances do not always consume a lot, some, on the contrary, are designed to please the economical consumer. Sometimes it turns out that old refrigerators and TVs “eat up” more electricity than new models. When choosing equipment in a store, ask the seller which energy efficiency class the device belongs to.

Method eight. Such an uneconomical "waiting" mode

In this mode, the computer or TV does not seem to work, but they continue to consume energy. If you leave your computer for a long time, but decide to leave it on, then turn off the monitor screen and speakers.

If the mobile phone is charged, unplug its sockets, but do not forget to remove the charger as well, because it works even in idle mode.

The model of the counter, it turns out, is also important. Especially in the case of social norms. In the presence of two- or three-tariff meters, the standard is distributed among the zones of the day in proportion to consumption. At night, electricity is the cheapest, but a single-tariff device does not take this into account. Two- and three-tariff meters are useful for those who are going to turn on household appliances at night.