28.03.2024

Watt Almighty: how to save electricity in an apartment

In each apartment electricity meters are installed, and in accordance with their testimony invoices are issued for payment. Experts told the site “RIA Real Estate” about how to account for the use of electricity, the maintenance of meters and ways to save electricity.

How does accounting for electricity use take place?

The account of the electric power in living quarters occurs by means of individual electric meters. One is divided into two main types. The first type – mechanical (or induction), which were installed in apartments since Soviet times. Their work is based on the principle of accounts – each turn of the disk registers a certain amount of energy consumed. The second – more modern electronic counters, which are divided into single and multi-tariff.

For correct calculations for consumed electricity, it is necessary to transfer their indications to the energy sales company on a monthly basis. For example, in Moscow, the testimony must be transmitted from the 15th to the 26th of each month. You can do it on the Internet – in your personal account or on the portal of state services in Moscow, as well as by phone and through terminals in the MFC or in the client offices of Mosenergosbyt.

In the event that the indications were not transferred, the calculations are made on the average monthly electricity consumption for the previous periods. If the consumer forgot to transmit the testimony and it was calculated by the average monthly value, the subsequent transfer of the readings will automatically recalculate to the actual volume of consumption. At the same time to pay a receipt formed on the basis of monthly averages, it is necessary to avoid charging penalties and other measures against non-payers. These funds will be taken into account in the subsequent recalculation. Once every six months, a quarterly bypass is conducted and the control readings of the electricity meters are removed, after which the recalculation is made for those who do not transmit these indications.

Among the existing “smart” home technologies there are also systems for remote retrieval and transmission of meter readings – the indications of absolutely all devices are removed and transferred for calculations on a single day. Now part of the new buildings in Moscow are already equipped with such systems.

To organize such a system in the house, you need to contact the management organization, as purchasing one meter in a separate apartment is not enough.

Electricity is in any home, but few people think about the state of the “electrical system”, until there are problems. The site “RIA Real Estate” found out what to do if there is a smell of heat, how much wiring is, where and why it is impossible to place sockets and other issues.

Who determines the tariffs for electricity and can it somehow control the tenant?

Tariffs for electricity for consumers in Moscow are established by the Department for Economic Policy and Development of Moscow on the basis of applications from all electricity market entities: from generating power plants to an energy sales company.

In Moscow, for the population, there are three groups of tariffs: one-part, two-part and three-story. In the first case, all electricity during the day is considered one tariff. In the second one, tariffing is carried out on two zones of the day – T1 (7.00-23.00) and T2 (23.00-7.00); in the third – a zone of peak loads is added to the day and night zones and the division is already at three rates – T1 (7.00-10.00, 17.00-21.00), T2 (23.00-7.00) and T3 (10.00-17.00, 21.00-23.00).

In addition, the tariffs vary, depending on whether the house is equipped with gas or electric stoves.

Do I need to service the meters? Who should do this?

The electricity meter is a complex technical device, therefore it requires control and appropriate maintenance. The obligation to equip the apartments with an individual device for recording electricity, ensuring safety and timely replacement, is the responsibility of the owner.

All electricity metering devices have an inter-calibrated interval – the deadline set by the manufacturer (indicated in the meter’s passport), during which the correct operation of the meter is guaranteed. Modern meters have an average of 16 years.

If this interval has expired, the meter is considered to be out of order and its readings can not be accepted for calculation, and when calculating accounts, the amount of consumed electric energy is determined based on the average monthly consumption for previous periods and consumption rates.

You can order verification in a specialized metrological organization. In Moscow, this is Rostest-Moscow. After carrying out verification, it is necessary to provide supporting documentation to the servicing client office of Mosenergosbyt.

Recently, Moscow has become more frequent cases when representatives of unscrupulous organizations, appearing as employees of Mosenergosbyt, convince citizens to change the counters. And at the same time they violate the rules of replacement that are prescribed in the law. However, it is important to know that employees of the company do not go to apartments and do not offer their services.

It is strictly forbidden to dismantle the meters, as well as the seals installed on them, without prior notification, to Mosenergosbyt. If the consumer violates this rule, an act on unauthorized interference in the operation of the meter is drawn up against him and a fine is imposed.

For more information on how to replace the meters, please contact the Mosenergosbyt customer service office or call center: +7 (499) 550-9-550.

“Where to run”, “who to call” and “who is responsible for this” are the most frequent questions that we ask in case of various household accidents. Experts told the site “RIA Real Estate”, who is responsible for our light, gas and water and in what cases such a breakdown can be dangerous for life and health.

How can you save electricity at home using meters?

One way to significantly reduce the cost of electricity is the installation of multi-tariff electricity meters. In each apartment there are appliances that work around the clock, for example, refrigerators. At night, the tariff for electricity is almost four times lower than in the daytime. The maximum savings in this case can be achieved if you include powerful electrical appliances – such as washing and dishwashers – at night.

However, to choose a suitable tariff, you need to analyze your lifestyle and consumption statistics by the zones of the day. So, for example, a two-rate accounting is suitable for those who work during the day. A three-tariff is more beneficial for those households where there are non-working or working family members at home, since it has a slightly lower daily tariff than a two-rate account.

How can you save electricity with technology?

To save on electricity, it’s worth replacing old incandescent lamps with modern LEDs: if you introduce modern technology with regulation of the light flux of lamps and use natural light sensors, you can save 58% in the first case, and 71% in the other. If you apply a full arsenal of energy-saving measures, including motion sensors, you can get an energy saving of 82%.

The fact is that the incandescent lamp consumes an average of 60 watts per hour, and the LED lamp consumes an average of 8 watts. But the use of such lamps is still much more profitable, it is caused by low energy consumption and a long service life (the burning time of the incandescent lamp is a year and a half, and the LED lamp is five years). On average, the payback comes after 1.5-2 years of operation, but it all depends on the intensity of the use of lamps.

There are many ways of saving household electricity or water, however, in the light of inexorably rising tariffs, owners often ask themselves whether it is possible to pay for any utility services at all. The site “RIA Real Estate” figured out what services can be “thrown out” of the payment, and how to do it?

How can you save electricity with household appliances?

You can save electricity by replacing household appliances with modern ones – energy efficiency class A, A +, A ++ and above. This is the highest indicator of energy efficiency of household appliances. They cost more, but the difference in price is usually compensated by saving on electricity in about 2-3 years of use.

The calculation of the energy efficiency index for each device is different. For example, for a washing machine – this is the ratio of kWh to maximum load, and for TVs the ratio of kWh to the screen area. The most energy-intensive are in descending order: washing machine, dishwasher, electric stove, microwave, kettle, iron and so on.

What other ways to save electricity at home?

It is necessary to replace the old wiring, which, by the way, not only eats too much electricity, but also is unsafe – it can catch fire and lead to an irreparable tragedy.

It is better not to put the refrigerator near the battery and under the direct influence of sunlight: due to heating from the sun it will be turned on more often to maintain the necessary temperature. It is worth regularly wiping dust on the lighting fixtures and regularly washing the windows: so there will be more light without the use of additional devices.

It is advisable to clean the vacuum cleaner on a regular basis: when the dust bag is clogged, more time is expended for cleaning the same area of ​​the surface, which means electricity. It is also better to boil in the electric kettle exactly as much water as needed to make it work less, and use the cookware on the electric stove exactly on the size of the burner: the electricity will be spent solely on heating the dishes, and not on heating the air.

It is worthwhile to turn off the appliances if at the moment they are not being used: ideally it is better to switch off the electric kettle or toaster immediately after use. If possible, replace the switches with dimmers, which allow smoothly adjusting the level of illumination. You can also add local lighting to the top light. In order to illuminate a separate zone it is better to use floor lamps, night lights, modular lamps.

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