Energy we take for granted.
To start, I was interested in doing this challenge, as I had never done any research on energy and the appliances I used. When I was living in Delft, we had set some rules when leaving on the lights/radiator in your room. But here, in Milano in a new house with changing tenants, there are not / will probably never be any rules set in stone. How I approached this challenge was to just approach the day as a normal day, but write down every appliance I used and for how long to eventually check how much energy I consumed when just doing the things I do normally. Here is a short recap:
MORNING
09:00 | woke up with a fully recharged phone | 0.035 kWh, https://www.energysage.com/electricity/house-watts/how-many-watts-does-a-phone-charger-use/
09:15 | took a lukewarm shower for 5 minutes | 2.0 kWh, https://www.quora.com/How-can-I-estimate-the-kWh-of-electricity-when-I-take-a-shower
09:20 | took my breakfast from the fridge | 0.5 kWh, (total of 2,0 kWh per day / 4 roommates)
09:30 | used my washing machine (Candy Smart, A) for a 59-minute wash at 40 degrees | 1.5 kWh per washing cycle (https://www.candy-home.com/en_GB/blog/how-much-electricity-does-a-washer-drier-consume/), 2.5 kWh per drying cycle! But I wash once a week -> 4 kWh / 7 = 0.6 kWh
09:30 | Set up an percolator Caffe, which took around 5:30 minutes to be finished | 0.2 kWh (https://letsavelectricity.com/induction-cooktop-power-consumption-calculator/#google_vignette)
09:40 | sat down for a meeting, and had to charge my laptop | 0.2 kWh, to fully recharge a MacBook Pro 2015
10:00 | Aircon | too much
AFTERNOON
12:30 | I made an omelette with oven-baked bread, herein I used two stoves of the induction plate (15 minutes), as well as the oven (15 min) | 1.2 kWh for the omelette & 0.5 kWh for the oven (https://www.uswitch.com/energy-efficiency/energy-efficient-cooking/#:~:text=Calculate%20your%20oven's%20hourly%20electrical,medium%2Dto%2Dhigh%20heat.)
15:00 | It was getting hot in my room, so instead of using the Airco, I used a smaller ventilator and placed it in front of the window for two hours while I was working | 0.05 kWh (as it was a 25W ventilator)
EVENING
17:30 | I had dinner with a friend, as we are studying Italian together, we used 2 of the induction plates for half an hour to make a Risotto | 2.4 kWh / 2 person = 1.4 kWh
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A few appliances jump out immediately, including the shower (2.0 kWh), washing & drying machine (4 kWh / 7 days = 0.6 kWh), Airconditioning (too much), and the induction stove (2.8 kWh), using these appliances together already exceeds the 4 kWh threshold I was supposed to not exceed. However, these appliances could be used more efficiently in my opinion.
The shower: one thing I immediately noticed is the pressure of the water that comes out of the showerhead, I would recommend taking a low-flow showerhead or decreasing the pressure. Besides that, water temperature could be lowered to in between lukewarm & cold water to on the one side consume less energy, but also immediately gain energy from the cold water shock. Time-wise I used to have hourglass which you could attach to the shower wall, to keep track of time during your shower.
Washing & drying machine combination: Although I rarely wash my clothes at 60 degrees, I would recommend just sticking to a temperature of 30 degrees wash, as it consumes so much less energy. Besides that, you have to make sure that you have a full load of laundry to make the most efficient use of energy and water. Either use higher spin speeds or a drying rack if you have any, instead of the drying option.
Airconditioning: this thing is just an energy monster, there is no way you can use this without using considerable amounts of energy. Therefore I have thought of alternatives and did research on alternatives for keeping your room cool and breezy. First of all, the use of fans, which uses way less energy but helps distribute the air through the room. Besides that, you could open your windows on opposite sides of the room to encourage natural airflow. This can create a cooling breeze as fresh air enters and warm air exits. Lastly, you could make your DIY airconditioning by placing a can with ice in front of your ventilator but do remember that the ice also was created by using a lot of energy.
Induction: First of all cook with the right power level; induction cooktops have precise temperature control, so use lower power settings when possible. High settings are typically only needed for boiling water or searing. Secondly, of course, try to distribute the use of the induction stove across multiple households, by sharing dinner. Lastly, choose the right pan size to ensure that the full base of your cookware is in contact with the induction plate, which helps with even and efficient heating.
Altogether, I think what I have learned from this exercise is that less energy is not about cutting down on appliances but using appliances smartly and more efficiently. Next to that, it gave a really good insight into what the appliances we take for granted are consuming.
