How to save energy, water and money at home

Some households waste several liters of fresh water each day – and let energy fly out the window. Don’t flush your money down the drain, too! Changing your habits in small ways can make a world of difference by preserving resources, as well as cut your utility bills.

Saving energy is saving money

You can use less energy – and cut your bills – with a fresh look at your lighting, heating and home appliances.

LED light bulbs, for example, use less energy and last longer than incandescent bulbs. You save even more if you turn them off as you leave the room (very simple with the TRÅDFRI remote control). To easily lower your heating costs, you can use insulating blinds or thicker curtains when the temperature drops.

What about that power-hungry tumble dryer? When you can drip-dry on a rack instead, your clothes suffer less wear-and-tear than they normally would.

Of course, electrical appliances are modern-day essentials but the newer models, rated AA+ or higher, are very energy efficient. And, if you want to think big, alternative energy like home solar can help to reduce your electricity payments, as well as your carbon emissions.

Useful tips by Pedro Castro, the Head of IKEA interior design department in Estonia:

LED bulbs can help save up to 85% of energy compared to incandescent bulbs and have a lifetime of approximately 25,000 hours.
Easy option to reduce waste and always have fully charged batteries close at hand could be a battery charger. It not only saves environment, but also your money.
It‘s most likely that a high-energy-efficiency class refrigerator is placed in the kitchen near a radiator, oven, or in direct sunlight, which increases electricity consumption.
If our kettle has even a millimeter of calcification, electricity consumption can increase by 10%.

Top 3 tips by Tallinn University of Technology energetics professor Argo Rosin:

„For appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers and water boilers a good money-saving idea would be to schedule their work to when the price of electricity is cheaper”
„By changing only our habits, electricity consumption in households can be reduced up to 10% and more“
„Keep the cooling element of the fridge free from ice – 2 mm of ice increases the consumption of the freezer by 10%“

How to use less water – without even trying

Of all the water in the world, less than 3% is fresh. So, the careful use of it makes sense – financially and environmentally. Happily, some modern products can do the water-saving for you.

For example, a pressure-compensating aerator is standard across the whole IKEA range of faucets and showers. This reduces the amount of water coming out – by up to 50% in some bathroom faucets – but keeps the flow at the level you want. So, you use less energy to heat it, even more when the faucet has a cold-start function.

Today’s dishwashers and washing machines usually have an ‘eco mode’ option that’s highly water- and energy-efficient. In fact, a full dishwasher on this setting will use less water than if you were to do it all by hand.

Save some for the plants, too

A typical home can save many liters of water each day, simply by turning off the faucet while you brush your teeth. Or by washing your salad in a bowl instead of under running water. You can then give this water to your houseplants. And while you wait for the shower to warm up, you can collect the water for the same purpose.

Fresh water may be an expensive resource – but rainwater is free to collect for use on your garden. (If you wait until sunset, you lose less water through evaporation.)

In warmer weather, you can chill your tap water in the fridge so that you don’t have to run the faucet to cool down first. Of course, not everyone in the world has drinkable water on tap. So, perhaps those of us that do ought to value every last drop.

TOP 5 tips from Estonian Waterworks Association CEO Raili Kärmas

One of the biggest mistakes is underestimating water resources. Used water must not only be used responsibly, but also properly managed and cleaned, thus reducing the negative impact on the environment.
Preferring the shower to the bath can save up to 3 times more water
We will save a significant amount of water by turning on the water tap when we brush our teeth, soap our hands or body
If people would use less amount of body washers each time, they would also help to save a considerable amount of water.
Use modern devices, which calculate the necessary water demand based on the amount of dishes or laundry and do not waste it unnecessarily.

Top 3 tips by Pedro Castro the Head of IKEA interior design department in Estonia.

Saving water can be easier when we prefer more water-saving appliances. Such as single-spray hand-held showerheads. An integrated washer keeps the water flow just right so you save both water and energy
Usings taps with integrated aerator can save up to 40% water in the bathroom and up to 30% in the kitchen
High energy efficiency class devices significantly reduce not only the bill for electricity, but also water.

Expert tips to help you save on heating

TOP 4 tips of Pedro Castro:

In winter, you will save necessary heat by covering the windows with curtains at night, and by opening them during the day, when the sun is shining.
Thicker, darkening curtains or honeycomb blinds, which trap air and heat, will help to keep the heat in the house.
In the cold season, carpets will help to maintain warm floor and comfort when walking around the house.
For a warmer, more comfortable sleep, we suggest choosing blankets with more filling and polyurethane foam mattresses that retain heat better.

TOP 5 tips of Tallinn University of Technology buildings technical systems professor Martin Thalfeldt.

Reducing the room temperature by one degree, can reduce the heating bill by 5%.
Proper daily habits can reduce use of heating energy to 10-20 percent.
Make sure that the radiators are not covered with furniture or curtains, so that it heats the room and not what’s behind the curtain.
Covering the windows with blinds or curtains at night saves can somewhat minimize the costs of heating.
Using slightly lower temperature tap water or limiting the time of the usage, can reduce heating bills significantly.