Tips for using less energy at home, room by room

The government unveils this Thursday its sobriety plan. Stated objective: reduce French energy consumption by 10% in two years, and avoid gas or electricity cuts this winter. What eco-gestures can you already implement to reduce your consumption at home and contain rising bills? Living room, kitchen, bathroom, bedroom… France Bleu gives you some tips to achieve this.

In the whole house ?

Turn the heat down one degree

If you use electricity for heating, it is advisable to invest in a thermostat programmable (worth 60 to 250 euros) to adjust the temperature. This can save up to 15% in heating, estimates Ademe, the Ecological Transition Agency
who also recommends lower the heating in the event of a short absence and when the outside temperature is milder, put the heating in frost protection in the event of prolonged absence and lower the heating by 1°Cwhich reduces its consumption by 7%.

The ideal average temperature, specifies the Agency, is 19°C inside the housing. An average to be modulated according to the time of day. Ademe offers the following benchmarks:

• living rooms : 20 to 21°C in occupied living rooms; 16 to 17°C the rest of the time;
• Bedrooms : 17°C recommended at night and when the room is unoccupied; 20°C when the room is occupied during the day;
• Bathroom : 22°C recommended when showering; 16 to 17°C the rest of the time.

In general, several tips prevent heat loss:

• close the shutters at night : up to 60% heat loss through windows;
• install thick curtains and shoot them at night;
• close the doors poorly heated rooms;
• place more bottoms of doors in unheated rooms;
• avoid covering the radiators and hang the curtains in front;
• bleed the radiators regularly so that they transmit heat better;

Use household appliances during off-peak hours

If possible, it is recommended to run your washing machine, dryer or dishwasher in off-peak hours. The dryer, in particular, is one of the most energy-consuming appliances: 3,000 Wh.

Switch off unused electrical appliances

Each French household has an average of several dozen electrical and electronic devices, according to Ademe. Computer, television, game console… Devices connected to the Internet or to data networks are those that consume the most.

Activate energy saving modes and especially completely turn off these devices rather than leaving them on standbycan therefore allowsave up to 10% of the electricity bill (excluding heating). Ditto for the box: lit continuously, it consumes as much as a small refrigerator in one year (between 20 and 30 euros*****).

According to Ademe, the use of our digital devices does not only affect bills: this represents 4% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and 2.5% of those in France. A figure that could double by 2025. The most effective is to equip yourself with a power strip with a switch or a remote control to turn everything off easily.

In the living room ?

The choice of devices also makes a difference. The bigger the television in your living room, the more it consumes: a 160 cm (diagonal) television uses as much energy as three or four 80 cm televisions, for example.

In matter lighting, prefer LEDs, more durable, to light bulbs and avoid dark or thick lampshades which scatter little light. Getting into the habit of turning off the light when leaving the room also saves valuable money.

In the kitchen ?

Unsurprisingly, the equipment makes the difference in this space as well. Purchase, compare energy labels, makes it possible to identify the least energy-consuming appliances but also the least water-consuming, in the case of the dishwasher. A refrigerator classified C rather than F consumes 50% less energy, for example.

To save money :

• cover the pans to shorten cooking time and save 25% electricity or gas consumed;
• use pans adapted to the size of the plates ;
• cut the electric plates a little before the end cooking;
• avoid opening the oven door too often to check for doneness;
• start cleaning with pyrolysis after cooking (the oven is already hot);
• place your cold appliances away from heat sources (radiator, window well exposed to the sun, etc.);
• defrost regularly the freezer and the refrigerator (at least once every six months);
• clean regularly the back grill of the refrigerator;
• let food cool before putting them in the refrigerator;
• avoid leaving your coffee maker on standby ;
• if you own a dishwasher, do not pre-wash the dishes and favor eco programs which consume up to 45% less electricity compared to the intensive programme, and clean the filter regularly.

In the bathroom ?

In the bathroom as in other rooms of the house, it is recommended to adapt the heating to your uses.

Limit your hot water consumption

• prefer them short showers to the baths;
• install foamers to reduce your consumption;
• favor the cold position when you close the mixer taps.

Maintain and properly adjust your water heater

• insulate the pipes and the hot water tank;
• adjust the temperature water heater between 50 and 55°C ;
• program the water heater off-peak hours ;
• turn off the water heater in case of absence of two or three days.

Use your washing machine efficiently

• wash clothes at 30°Cit consumes three times less energy than washing at 90°C;
• privilege low temperature or even cold cycles ;
• spin the laundry as much as possible before putting it in the dryer;
• as soon as possible, air dry your laundry (rather than in the dryer);
• clean the filter regularly your washing machine;

In the bedroom ?

The bedroom is one of the spaces that requires the least heating: a temperature 17°C is recommended at night and when the room is unoccupied. To limit the feeling of cold, ventilate the room for 5 to 10 minutes morning and evening: this reduces the humidity level. Finally, as in the other living rooms, consider unplug unused chargers.

* At the Regulated Electricity Tariff, with a power of 6 kVA (September 2022).