“Energy Efficiency. How to make a home or office energy efficient”

02.04.2020

Rising energy prices sharply raises the issue of energy efficiency of all real estate, whether it is housing, office, production, school or shopping center. Saving energy is not only saving, but also caring for the environment, reducing the consumption of fossil energy and reducing the dependence of the country’s economy on energy.

State stimulation of energy efficiency


Ukraine, in cooperation with various European institutions, is developing programs to stimulate energy efficiency in both the residential and commercial sectors. Now in Ukraine there are two programs.

It is also planned to create an Energy Efficiency Fund as a single mechanism for the modernization of the housing and communal services of Ukraine. Moreover, to use any of the programs, it is necessary to know the key ways to improve the energy efficiency of residential, office and industrial premises.

How to make your home or office energy efficient?


The rules for improving energy efficiency are the same for both residential and public-commercial buildings. They are not difficult to implement and do not require serious investment.

  • Replacement of energy-intensive lighting, heating and other appliances with more energy-efficient ones. Installation of LED lamps for indoor and outdoor lighting. Using low energy technology.
  • Accounting for electricity. Multi-tariff meters provide an opportunity to significantly save on energy consumption. Heating, washing, cooking, heating water with electric heaters – many processes can be transferred to night time, especially those that do not require human intervention. This will not only reduce energy consumption, but also reduce the peak load on the network.
  • Accounting for thermal energy. Unlike electricity and gas supply, district heating remains one of the last resources, which in most apartment buildings and office centers is paid according to the area of ​​the room, and not according to the actual heat consumed. This is irrational and leads to unreasonably high bills, which include heat loss due to the irresponsible management of the heat supply organization.
  • Insulation of walls and roofs, replacing windows with modern multi-chamber double-glazed windows, thermal insulation of heating mains, periodic flushing and modernization of heating boilers, transferring them to automatic control using modern smart home digital engineering systems, etc.

Compliance with these simple rules allows you to save up to 70% of all energy costs of a house or office. Switching to renewable energy will further increase savings.

Alternative energy sources in the home and office


Upgrading energy efficiency of housing or office premises to 100% will help the transition to renewable energy sources:

  • wind power plants;
  • solar panels and collectors;
  • heat pumps.

A variety of models and their power allows you to choose the best option for each particular case, whether it be a cottage, cottage, apartment, office or restaurant. In this case, one energy source can be combined with another, depending on climatic conditions, features of the installation site, required power and other factors.

Own generation of electricity even allows you to exceed the 100% threshold for energy efficiency. Surplus energy is sold to the state. Special European eco-tariff is 0.15 EUR per 1 kW.

Smart energy efficient home


Installation of a “smart home” system is one of the modern and least costly ways to increase the energy efficiency of a private house, apartment and office. Even with impeccably heat-insulated walls, windows and roofs, the uncoordinated operation of the heating system, ventilation, air conditioning and electricity will lead to the leveling of all the benefits of such insulation.

“Smart Home” is the automation of home engineering systems and remote control over their work through wireless means of communication.

  • Automatic adjustment of heating in each separate room and on the common boiler depending on the outside temperature.
  • Balanced operation of heating and air conditioning – elimination of situations when the radiators heat up and the air conditioner cools (often found in automatic microclimate systems).
  • Remote control of the system via a smartphone – turning on the heating or air conditioning for a certain time before arriving home.
  • Lighting control – turning on the street lights at dusk, turning off the internal lighting, if the owner forgot to turn them off.

“Smart home” is also the protection of the premises from the flow of water from a torn tap or a broken washing machine. Sensors on the floor instantly shut off the main tap using a servo drive. So do gas leak analyzers. Servo drives also drive thermostats on radiators, thereby maintaining the temperature set in this room in accordance with the temperature inside and outside the house.

Every step to upgrade a home or office in order to increase energy efficiency must be taken together with experienced professionals. Otherwise, such events will be a waste of money or even lead to even greater costs.


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