When is it cheaper to wash in a washing machine? Learning to save: anti-crisis use of household appliances Multiphase meters are expensive but economical

It’s hard to imagine a person who wouldn’t like clean clothes, because this is an attribute of any modern representative of society. Women constantly do laundry so that the clothes of all family members are always clean. But in fact, thanks to modern technology, keeping things clean has become much easier.

Now you can easily change your underwear every day, and, based on your mood, change various wardrobe items. Everything is very simple, because now to wash clothes you just need to put them in the washing machine and press a button. But if you pay attention to your expenses, you will realize that you don’t spend as little money on laundry as you think. You can easily change your wardrobe, but it is also important to save money if you don’t have extra money. In this article you will find useful recommendations on how to save money on laundry.

1. When washing, use inexpensive powder.

Advertising greatly influences modern representatives of the fair sex, so they are ready to shell out a lot of money to purchase a popular cosmetic product or household product. If you come to the store, you will see that there is a large selection of washing powders in different price categories. This is because some manufacturers spend more on advertising, while others spend less. The composition of washing powders from the store is almost identical, so you should not expect that you will buy an environmentally friendly product for a higher price. For example, there are many types of powder for washing children's clothes that are not popular due to the lack of advertising, but these are the ones you can take. By saving money on powder, you will get no worse results, but you will be able to save your family budget.

2. When washing, pour a precise amount of powder.

Often women don’t even think about how uneconomically they use washing powder, but this can be a profitable way to save money. You are probably pouring an approximate amount of product without using a measuring spoon. Reconsider your attitude to this issue, and you can save a lot of money. Buy a special glass or spoon from a home improvement store so you can know exactly how much powder you put into the washing machine at one time. In the same way, you can use fabric softener so as not to spend extra money on it. If you use a specific amount of laundry detergent and conditioner, you can delay the purchase of a new package.

3. Use lemon juice when washing.

This option is great for hand washing when you need to achieve perfect whiteness. Lemon perfectly fights old stains and helps make clothes whiter. This is also an excellent natural flavoring agent, but if someone in your family is allergic to citrus fruits, you will have to abandon this method. In fact, using this fruit is much more economical than fabric softener, so if you are forced to save as much as possible on washing, give preference to it.

4. Wash your underwear by hand.

If you constantly wash your underwear in the washing machine, it will quickly dry out, so it is better to do it by hand. Also, you won’t have to waste powder, but linen needs to be washed regularly, more often than regular clothes. Buy baby or antibacterial soap and wash your clothes under running water. This is a great method for saving money so you don't have to constantly buy expensive powders. In order to give your underwear freshness, use the previous method, and then your washing will be as economical and safe for your skin as possible.

5. Bleach your clothes economically.

How do modern representatives of the fair sex most often bleach their clothes? Add special bleaching agents to the washing machine and turn on a certain mode. In fact, hot water and a slice of lemon will be enough for you. Fill a large saucepan with water and place the clothes you want to wash there. Boil for as long as you need to give your clothes the perfect appearance. In the process, you will see how the clothes become whiter, so you can achieve the result that you want.

6. When washing, remove stains with vinegar.

As you know, various stains from fruits, berries and juices constantly appear on children's clothes, but this is not a problem. You don't need to use expensive bleaches or even boil your clothes for a long time and spend money on gas or electricity. Just add a little vinegar at the end of the wash. Its smell will not be noticeable after the fabric is completely dry, so do not worry that your child will be uncomfortable. Vinegar helps fight even old stains, and it costs pennies.

7. Wash bedding with white vinegar.

If you have snow-white sheets and pillowcases, you know how difficult it is to combat the appearance of yellow and gray. Buy wine vinegar at the grocery store and wash your clothes, adding a small amount of this product to the laundry. White vinegar is great for giving clothes freshness and the perfect color, so be sure to try this method. In principle, any clothing can be washed with the addition of white vinegar, except for brightly colored fabrics.

8. When washing, use laundry soap.

Many modern housewives undeservedly forget about this product, although it is a great way to save money and achieve perfect cleanliness. To soak your laundry, you don’t need a special product, which is quite expensive and can cause an allergic reaction. Laundry soap is dominated by animal fats, which are suitable for removing various types of contaminants. If you wash your clothes well by hand, you will quickly return them to a clean look. In order to remove stains, grate the soap and soak the clothes in water with it added. Afterwards, wash the laundry as usual by hand or even in the washing machine with the addition of powder.

Belarusians have been urged to save electricity for several years now. And recently, environmental and macroeconomic arguments have been supplemented by the impending change in the system of payment for light. Officials have not yet said in detail how we will pay for electricity in the future, but the gist is this: whoever consumed more electricity per month will pay more. In short, there is one more reason to really think about saving. And not only giving up a second TV or buying energy-saving light bulbs will help with this. There are also more advanced methods. Namely, the installation of a special meter (multi-tariff electronic metering device), which will count money for the kilowatt-hours spent depending on the time of day.

After 22.00, a kilowatt-hour will become almost three times cheaper

The “day-night” system for paying for utilities has been operating in many European countries for a long time. Housewives there often do laundry at night - then water and electricity are cheaper.

Our system works like this: tariffs are divided into more expensive ones - in the evening from 17.00 to 22.00 and cheaper ones - from 22.00 to 17.00 the next day, plus weekends and holidays. The difference in price is almost three times! (see table). True, so far such smart meters are the exception rather than the rule. Conventional counters do not see the difference between when you turned on the TV - in the morning or in the evening.

Almost all new houses already have such meters. Those who do not have one can contact the energy supply organization with a statement in which they must write that you want to switch to time-based tariffs, explains Sergei Shebeko, head of the energy sales department of the Belenergo State Production Association. - A regular meter needs to be replaced with an electronic one.

The asking price now is 500 - 600 thousand for the meter itself plus installation. If we convert this into electricity, then at current prices it is approximately 2300 kWh. That is, if a family spends an average of 200 kWh per month, then installing a meter is the annual electricity consumption.

Will time meters become relevant when electricity prices become more expensive?

If you decide to replace a regular meter with an electronic one, then you don’t need to persuade your neighbors or the entire entrance. In a separate apartment, the appliance will be changed, and you can safely use differentiated tariffs. By the way, you can install such a meter in a private house. However, as it turns out, not everyone uses smart meters.

I live in a new house, and I have such a counter. But I didn’t write a statement about the transition to a differentiated payment system based on time,” says Maria, a Minsk resident. - I pay for electricity, like all ordinary consumers, at the regular rate. Because now it is not economically viable for my family, and the general tariffs are low. Why should I switch to time-based?

But energy workers say that as soon as kilowatt-hours begin to rise in price, owners of conventional meters will think about switching to tariffs differentiated by time of day.

Consumption volumes are different for each family. It's very individual. The difference can be from tens to thousands of kilowatt-hours. Therefore, if you want to understand whether you should change the meter, you can take a calculator and calculate which devices are working for you and for how long. And then everyone will be able to decide for themselves whether to install an electronic meter or not,” says the specialist.

COUNTER "KP"

If we take into account that, for example, a washing machine draws 9.2 kWh per month, then with a regular meter and an electric stove you will have to pay 2,305 rubles for it. But if you install an electronic meter and turn on the car only on weekends, then you will pay 1,613 rubles for it.

BY THE WAY

Electronic meters have so far been installed only in every tenth apartment.

What tariffs do we pay for electricity?

Type of plate

Cost of 1 kWh (17.00 - 22.00) on a weekday according to an electronic meter

Cost of 1 kWh (22.00 - 17.00) on a weekday according to an electronic meter

Cost of 1 kWh on a weekend or holiday (around the clock) according to an electronic meter

Cost of 1 kWh according to a regular meter

Electric

501.2 rubles

175.4 rubles

175.4 rubles

250.6 rubles

590 rubles

206.5 rubles

206.5 rubles

295 rubles

WHAT’S IT ABOUT THEM?

They also live at day and night rates in Lithuania. There, for those who have gas stoves, from 7.00 to 23.00 one kWh costs 1,550 rubles (in terms of Belarusian rubles), and from 23.00 to 7.00 - 1,080 rubles. If there is an electric stove, then one kWh costs 1,430 and 1,016 rubles, respectively. In Bulgaria, from 6.00 to 22.00 one kWh costs 1,100 rubles, and from 22.00 to 6.00 - 330 rubles.

ONLY NUMBERS

Several years ago, engineers from the Belarusian Institute BelTEI calculated how profitable it would be to install an electronic meter in an apartment and pay for electricity depending on the time of day. The experiment was carried out among 128 high-rise buildings and 441 private houses, most of which had gas stoves installed. It turned out that only those who consumed more than 400 kWh per month were able to save. But those who spent less than 200 kWh, on the contrary, began to pay 36% more compared to the regular tariff, which is not time-limited.

Readers have repeatedly contacted the editors of Strana Kaliningrad with a request to talk about two-tariff electricity meters.

This meter differs from a regular one in that it determines the amount of electricity consumed separately by zone of the day: in the night zone - from 23.00 to 7.00 and in the day zone - from 07.00 to 23.00. And each such zone has its own tariff. For example, for owners of city apartments with gas stoves, 1 kW/h at night will cost 2.62 rubles, and during the day - 3.50. At the same time, with a regular (so-called single-rate) meter of 1 kW/h in the same housing - 3.25 rubles. It turns out that if a two-tariff meter is used, the consumer will pay 25 kopecks more during the day and 63 kopecks less at night for 1 kW/h.

You can lose it

Consumers are interested in whether it is possible to save money by installing a two-tariff meter, says Dmitry Vaseyko, head of the customer services and PR department of Yantar-Energosbyt OJSC. - It all depends on the characteristics of your consumption. But for real savings when using a two-tariff meter (with the current tariffs in our region), you need to consume more than 30% of the daily volume of electricity at night. If you are an average citizen who works from 8.00 to 17.00, and your apartment does not have a large number of “smart” household appliances that can work according to a given schedule, then you definitely do not need a multi-tariff meter. On the contrary, when you install it, you may even get an increase in your electricity bills.

Of course, at night you can make the washing machine, dishwasher, bread maker, multicooker and other appliances work with a delayed start...

This option is possible, says the specialist, but leaving equipment unattended can lead to a fire or flood. And such noisy equipment as a washing machine can lead to a scandal with neighbors.

We count using an example

But let’s be persistent and still calculate how much we can save with a nocturnal lifestyle.

Let’s say an average apartment consumes 300 kW/h per month, says Dmitry Vaseyko. - With some effort you managed to reach 50% of your nightly intake. Believe me, this is a very good result, requiring a radical change in established habits. In such a situation in our region, the monthly savings will be:

300 kW/h x 3.25 rub. - (150 kW/h x 3.50 rubles + 150 kW/h x 2.62 rubles) = 57 rubles

Please keep in mind that a simple two-tariff meter costs about 1,500 rubles, while a single-tariff meter costs about 500 rubles. You will pay back the difference of 1,000 rubles in about 1.5 years.

According to a Yantarenergosbyt specialist, there is another trap: if there are any changes in electricity metering or time accounting (changes in the boundaries of dividing time zones day/night, shifting the clock hands), such meters will need to be reprogrammed, for which you will have to contact specialists and, maybe pay for it. Don’t forget about regularly checking the meter.

Any consumer has the right to install a two-tariff meter, but the savings, if any, will be microscopic. After all, to get real savings, all life activities will have to be carried out at night. Two-tariff metering can be beneficial for a small business (for example, a bakery), when the production cycle and, accordingly, the main energy consumption (in our example for baking bread) is carried out at night, and during the day the workshop does not consume electricity.

In addition to two-tariff meters, there are also three-tariff meters and corresponding tariffs. The essence of the operation of such a meter is similar to a two-tariff one, but the daytime zone is additionally divided into peak and half-peak.

Personal experience

A resident of Kaliningrad, economist Stanislav Prishchepa installed a two-tariff meter several years ago.

I read on the Internet that this is beneficial. But in the end I started paying 50-70 rubles more,” Stanislav said. - The fact is that with my lifestyle, only 30% of the volume of electricity consumption will fall into the night tariff. For example, I thought that a washing machine, which can be turned on at night, consumes a lot of electricity. But, as my experience has shown, the electric kettle and electric oven “eat up” the most electricity. I am not switching to a regular meter only because the difference of 50-70 rubles that arose when installing a two-tariff meter is not so noticeable to me. I burn about 150 kW/h per month. At the same time, I would like to note that the idea itself - to consume electricity at night, when the peak load has decreased - is very good. But in our region, the population has an unprofitable fork - the difference between the night and day rates is very small. And if “night” time started not at 23.00, but at least at 22.00, then it would be better.

How to decide

The most accurate way to find out whether it makes sense to switch to multi-tariff metering is to take an energy consumption profile. To do this, record the electric meter readings at 7.00 and 23.00 for one month. After this, you can calculate the consumption for all zones and find out whether the replacement is beneficial for you or not.

Only numbers

In the Kaliningrad region, only 26 household consumers out of more than 300 thousand use two-tariff meters.

In Moscow, with a two-tariff meter, the “night” tariff costs the population 1.46 rubles. for 1 kW/h, daily - 4.53 rubles, with a single-tariff meter - 4.50 rubles. And many residents of the capital are indeed interested in turning on electrical appliances at night.

In order to pay almost half as much for electricity, you can switch to multi-tariff meters. They will install them for you free of charge. True, you will have to pay for the meter itself out of your own pocket.

Multiphase meters are expensive but economical

“Such meters are beneficial, first of all, to those who use water heating tanks and electric heating,” says Sergei Irkhin, head of the information and advisory center of PJSC Khmelnytskoblenergo, “that is, to those people who use electricity in large volumes. The point of multi-tariff meters is , that with them the tariff for electricity depends on the time of day. For example, with a two-tariff meter, electricians are charged for consumption during the day at the usual rate, and at night - at a coefficient of 0.7."

“Simply put, we paid and continue to pay for electricity from 7 am to 11 pm. And at night, from 11 pm to 7 am, we pay 30% less,” explains Sergei Ivanovich.

Although, there is one caveat: two-tariff and three-tariff meters cost from 400 to 450 hryvnia.

By the way, as we were told by the energy supply company, tri-tariff meters are quite suitable for people who lead a “night” lifestyle.

For electricity consumed from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m., you are charged at a rate of 0.4. This results in a savings of 60%. But during “peak periods” - from 8 am to 11 pm and from 20 to 22 pm the tariff increases one and a half times. And from 7 to 8 am, from 11 pm to 20 pm, from 22 to 23 pm it remains normal.

For example, you can “put on” the washing machine at night, as well as turn on the “warm floor”, dishwashers and other energy-intensive appliances.

As we were told at Khmelnytskoblenergo OJSC, such a system of using electricity is also beneficial to the power grids themselves. The fact is that the load on power plants is uneven throughout the day - in the morning and evening there is a peak in energy consumption, while at night power engineers have to sharply reduce energy production. Such unevenness has a bad effect on the equipment. In addition, during peak periods the company is forced to use all its capacities.

By the way, installation and configuration of meters is free. These devices are “named” and are tied to a specific recipient during installation. And in order to install a meter, you need to contact the energy supply company with an application for installing a multi-tariff meter, and obtain technical specifications for the meter there. Differential meters are not just a “device for saving” - these are meters that will take into account all the electricity consumed, but will be paid according to different tariff coefficients, which will provide a real opportunity to save.

* The electrical equipment store of the French company Legrand offers a wide range of products. Modular devices, cabinets, Legrand switches and sockets, accessories. “Smart home elements” are also interesting. The website of the store is legrand-shop.com and is located in Kyiv. Provides delivery throughout Ukraine. All Legrand products have a guarantee and a certificate of compliance with all accepted norms and standards.

Which devices consume more electricity?

In the first place are electric heaters, electric stoves and boilers for heating water. Behind them are refrigerators. Moreover, modern ones consume even more than the old Dnepr, since they have a larger volume. Next - air conditioners. Washing machines. Economical, but also more expensive, having class A. Behind them are televisions; by the way, modern “plasma” can be compared in energy intensity with a washing machine or air conditioner. Next - irons, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, electric kettles and other household appliances.

You can save on them by using lower power devices. It's easier to save on lighting. So, a regular 100-watt light bulb can be replaced by a 15-watt energy-saving one. It costs six times more, but also lasts several times longer.

And finally, some more useful tips on how to pay for electricity cheaper. Electrical wiring must be changed every 20-25 years, otherwise, even with all electrical appliances turned off, leaks can be as if you have several lamps running around the clock.

Unplug electrical appliances: the indicator light on a TV or microwave can add up to several hryvnias a year. Replace your desktop computer at home with a laptop that is several times more energy efficient. And if you want to drink a cup of coffee, you don’t need to fill the electric kettle to capacity and boil it.

Reference. From April 1 this year, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission increased the cost of electricity for the population. If electricity consumption does not exceed 150 kWh, the tariff remains unchanged (for the urban population - 28.02 kopecks per 1 kW with VAT, for the rural population - 25.92 kopecks) And in the case when consumption exceeds this norm, according to The increased tariff is paid for that part of the electricity that exceeds 150 kWh.