Live a sustainable life
Saving energy in everyday life
19.10.2020
Each and every one of us can easily save energy in our day-to-day lives – be it for our own consumption, at the table or in the office. Why should we do that? Quite simply: Saving energy is one of the most effective and simplest measures for climate protection. Here are some useful tips for you.
Saving energy at home
– Heating more modestly
Of course, 23 degrees Celsius in the apartment makes the sweater superfluous. But the fact is that heating and electricity together account for almost half of your CO2-Emissions in day-to-day life. By heating to 20 degrees, you can significantly reduce energy consumption and heating costs. A temperature of between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius is ideal for falling asleep – making it easier for the body to rest. By the way: Ventilating three to four times a day provides you with fresh air without causing the rooms to cool down. On the other hand, permanently tilted windows literally eject energy into the window.
– Use energy-saving bulbs
Replacing five conventional 60-watt bulbs with energy-saving bulbs will save you 100 kg of CO over the year (calculated with a 700-hour period of use)2 in the first place.
– Switch to sustainable electricity
Conventional power generation with lignite and hard coal generates a particularly high level of CO2. The good news: As a tenant, you can switch to green electricity at any time. Under www.mynewenergy.ch you can compare offers and prices and switch electricity providers straight away.
– Pay attention to the energy label
The energy label helps you to estimate the energy consumption of a household appliance or other product at a glance. It is divided into efficiency classes from A to G: A (green) denotes the best values, G (red) the worst values. On some devices, this classification has already been replaced by new classes, which mark the best products with A+++.
Saving energy while eating
– Buy less meat
Conventional meat production is very important due to slash-and-burn for fodder cultivation and the transport and cooling of the meat CO2-Intensive. In addition, cows also contribute to climate change by emitting methane, another greenhouse gas. It’s worth becoming more aware of this.
– Drinking tap water
Small change with big effect: If you replace one litre of mineral water or soft drinks with the same amount of tap water every day, you can save 400 kg of CO per year2.
– Eat regionally and seasonally
Thanks to regional food, a large number of transport routes and thus CO2 savings. But seasonality is also important: Only if your food doesn’t have to be stored and refrigerated for weeks before eating can the bill really work. If you choose organic as well, you know that less fertilizers and pesticides had to be produced in an energy-intensive way for your food.
Saving energy when consuming
– Share your car and/or opt for electric
If you don’t need a car all the time, it’s worth considering joining a car sharing service. Because by sharing a car, several people are not only making more conscious use of mobility, but also reducing energy emissions from vehicle production and disposal. Electromobility also pays off: If you cover 7,000 kilometres a year, you save around 900 kilograms of CO in an electric model (and with green electricity)2 compared to a petrol engine.
– Live with less, use longer
Using things for longer and shopping more modestly helps: Every product that doesn’t have to be produced and transported saves energy and therefore also CO2. Maybe you can find what you need in a second-hand shop or on a swap exchange? And maybe what you’ve broken can be repaired – for example, in a repair cafe?
– Share your appliances
You don’t necessarily want to buy your own sewing machine or ladder, as you only need it for a short time? As a member of a loan exchange or sharing community, you not only save space at home, but also energy. At www.pumpipumpe.ch, for example, you can get stickers for your mailbox that show your neighbours what they can borrow from you – and you can borrow from them.
– Use environmentally friendly cleaning agents
Whether dishwashing detergents or detergents, there are nowadays alternatives that are almost completely biodegradable. You can also pay attention to the type of packaging – do the tabs need to be wrapped individually, or is it possible to use dosable powder?
Saving energy on the Internet
– Use mail servers with green electricity
Sending, receiving and storing e-mails also requires energy: Devices have to be operated, servers have to be cooled. This is why it is advisable to also use energy-conscious email providers: posteo.de, mailbox.de and biomail.de, for example, only use certified green electricity for their servers. Deleting old e-mails and unsubscribing from unnecessary newsletters also saves energy (e.g. www.cleanfox.io).
– Surf Green
We often forget that our online life also requires a lot of energy. For example, an average Google search consumes as much power as a 100-watt light bulb in an hour. As an alternative, there are “more sustainable” eco-search engines: www.ecosia.org uses its advertising income to plant trees around the world and runs its servers entirely on renewable energy. www.ecogine.org donates its proceeds to environmental associations.