My to-do list of energy saving actions
Blog by Justina, Student Switch Off+ Ambassador, VGTU
I am very excited to participate in the SAVES 2 project, which contributes to this globally important issue of energy saving. I believe that huge changes start from tiny steps. So I made my "to-do list" of energy saving actions and tried to follow it during this challenge. This list included different steps, such as:
- Not using air-conditioning in my apartment when the temperature outside is less than 23 degrees (which is basically almost every day in Lithuania)
- Turn off unnecessary lights and use task lighting
- Unplug all the unused devices
- Try not to use hairdryer when it isn't necessary (just by waking up half an hour earlier your hair can dry naturally, which is healthier for the hair)
- Turn off the oven 10 minutes earlier than planned and use the heat to finish cooking
- And what I'm mostly proud of - not using the electric water boiler, if I'm not planning to take a shower or do dishes soon. I actually used to always leave it on, just in case, but even the eco mode requires electricity. And now this last decision is something I'm trying to get used to, as it actually saved me ~20 euros in monthly utilities.
Besides all the personal profit, I'm also proud about my decision to save energy. I know that most of the consumable energy is still not being generated in the most environmentally friendly means. And the resources aren't yet completely renewable, as fossil fuel is still the most common source for generating energy. As Earth's population is growing exponentially and every day, due to globalization, every human needs more and more energy for their daily purposes. I understand, however, that the consumable energy is just a drop in the ocean compared to the all the industrial needs for production. I hope the future of industry will keep its focus on greener production technologies and the advanced civil engineering will help to build more energy efficient buildings. This is personally very important to me as, I hope, to everyone else too. Environmental issues are going to be more and more relevant to everything and everyone. That's why I'm shaping my new habits of energy saving at home.
