At a time when energy prices are skyrocketing, it is the best time to start saving them effectively. No one wants to give half their salary just for electricity and gas. And they don’t even have to! You can save in small steps, but you can also bet on a large investment in the years to come.
Can’t you understand why the energy market is doing what it is happening and why it should take away your family budget? There is more to it, so in short: First , the price of emission allowances , which are bought by big polluters, especially coal-fired power plants that generate electricity, has risen dramatically. And because of this increase in price, even electricity suppliers who buy energy on the exchange have to resort to price changes. Then, unfortunately, it’s only on your wallet.
But emission allowances are far from the only reason. A number of other factors are also to blame, such as complicated gas deliveries and transports, insufficiently filled European gas storage before winter, difficult transmission of renewable energies within the energy distribution system or weather conditions in the North Sea.
And the coronavirus pandemic is also at play, which dampened the demand for energy – but it increased again after a while, while the amount of supplies did not. Coal-fired power plants are in the doldrums precisely because of the time-limited lower demand in the past months and because of the planned transition to clean energy sources. At the same time, a sudden increase in electricity production “from day to day” is not possible.
However, the current rise in prices is unprecedented. For example, the largest domestic electricity supplier now registers a price that is 84% higher . That is, not €1,700, but €3,120 without VAT for 1 MWh at the most common rate D02 (electricity for households for lighting and operation of appliances).
The price of wholesale electricity does not rise in the order of tens of percent, but in the range of up to hundreds of percent. Thanks to pre-purchased energy, however, it is not necessary in the case of this supplier that its customers have to pay the full amount of the price increase. In the end, households that do not have a contractually fixed electricity price will “only” pay about 35% more with the new price lists, which is also not negligible.
Ideal time for small and large savings
So that energy prices don’t slowly but surely ruin you, you can start an effective investigation . This also lies in the little things that add up. The overall result may surprise you a lot! You can use these 10 tips on your way to save energy:
- Extinguish. A third of Czechs admit that they regularly leave the lights on in rooms that are not currently occupied. Are you not one of them?
- Shine with lesser lights. You don’t always need a chandelier with 5 bulbs, a lamp is enough for reading or watching TV. With a single bulb, and therefore less consumption.
- Cook smart. Consider how much water you really need to boil and use a lid that can save you up to 25% of the energy you use each time you cook.
- Use residual heat. Don’t be afraid to turn off the electric stove a few minutes earlier than you normally would. The hot plate heats up nicely for a while and your food is reliably finished on it. By the way, some models of ovens offer a similar function today – the oven turns itself off before the end of cooking and the food is finished cooking thanks to the residual heat.
- Always boil water in a kettle – even when cooking pasta. Once it’s cooked, pour it into the pot and continue. Also, don’t boil a liter of water when making one tea.
- Handle appliance maintenance. Do you know that when more ice forms in the refrigerator and freezer, it needs more energy to operate and keep the temperature low? In the case of a dishwasher, it pays to clean the filter regularly.
- Do not leave appliances in stand-by mode , rather turn them off. Even in standby mode, they drain electricity.
- Unplug phone chargers when not in use. Not disconnecting can save you several hundred crowns a year. The same applies to laptop adapters.
- Use a low tariff if you have one. You are entitled to it if you own an electric boiler, underfloor heating, direct heater, water heater, or perhaps a heat pump or electric car. And then it is certainly worth turning on appliances such as washing machines or dishwashers at a time when electricity is cheaper.
