With the arrival of colder months, energy consumption in housing tends to increase, reflecting on the costs of electricity invoices. The heating of spaces and the use of appliances become more frequent, making it essential to adopt measures that allow more efficient energy resources management, and reduce the invoice.
UCI has six suggestions to optimize energy consumption, some requiring a higher initial investment, others of more affordable implementation, but all with positive impact on reducing expenses.
Improvement of thermal insulation
A significant part of houses built before 1990 does not have adequate thermal insulation, a factor that contributes to heat dispersion. The isolation of walls and roofs allows you to reduce this loss, improving the energy efficiency of housing. According to experts, about 30% of the heat dissipates by the coverage, making it essential to its correct seal.
Installation of efficient windows
Window efficiency is another determining factor to avoid energy waste. According to the energy agency (), approximately 75% of windows in Portugal have simple glasses, which do not guarantee proper isolation. Substitution with double or triple glass windows significantly reduces thermal loss and contributes to decreased heating consumption. The Environmental Fund provides support for this replacement, consultable on the efficiency valleys.
Lower cost alternatives to save energy
In addition to structural interventions, there are affordable measures that allow us to optimize consumption:
- Lamp replacement: LED lamps consume up to 80% energy than traditional ones, being an effective and economic solution to reduce lighting spending.
- Doors and windows: Applying seals helps minimize air currents and maintain internal temperature by avoiding heat losses.
- Turn off handsets in Standby: Electronic equipment continues to consume energy even when they are not in use. Turn them completely, using extensions with switches, allows to reduce consumption.
- Acquisition of efficient appliances: The choice of devices with energy classification A or higher translates into lower electrical consumption and reduced long-term costs.
The adoption of these measures enables greater efficiency in energy use, contributing to reduce electric bill and more sustainable management of domestic resources.
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