Electricity and heating costs are exploding: Consumers save with these tricks

Created: 04/20/2022Updated: 04/20/2022 10:31 am

By: Lisa Klein

Electricity and gas prices in Germany are skyrocketing.

But consumers can save a lot of money with a few simple tricks. 

Update, April 20, 2022:

Concerns were already growing at the end of 2021 due to rising electricity and gas prices.

The situation is getting worse and worse due to the war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia.

Fuel prices have also skyrocketed*, as

reported.

Experts give a gloomy forecast for the further development of energy costs* and speak of a real panic development on the markets.

It is all the more important not to throw money out the window unnecessarily at the moment and to use resources consciously.

With a few tricks, consumers can save a lot of money when heating and purchasing electricity.

High electricity and heating costs: Consumers save a lot of money with these tricks

The tips and tricks are discussed in more detail later in the article.

Here is an overview of some points that consumers should consider in order to save energy and ultimately money:

• Ventilation instead of continuous ventilation, targeted heating instead of continuous heating.

• Programming switch-on and switch-off times on the heating.

• Use digitally programmable and controllable radiator thermostats to individually adapt the heating rhythm to the needs of each room.

• Turn off the light when leaving a room.

• Switch off devices, do not leave them in stand-by mode.

• Use of multiple sockets.

• Invest in energy-saving devices.

• Use energy efficient lightbulbs.

There is currently not much more consumers can do than heed the tips and save energy.

When asked by the

what consumers can do if they receive an increase notification, Udo Siverding, energy expert at the North Rhine-Westphalia Consumer Center, replied: "Look and compare how terrible it is." If necessary, it can help to switch providers.

However, consumers should not have too high hopes that it is significantly cheaper with another provider.

All that remains is to hope for the relief package decided by the traffic light coalition in February: A key element is the early abolition of the EEG surcharge to promote green electricity in July.

The coalition expects the energy suppliers to pass the full amount of the relief on to households.

According to Verivox, this would save around 89 euros for a household with an electricity consumption of 4000 kilowatt hours this year.

Rising electricity and gas prices: According to experts, the traffic light relief package is not enough

Part of the relief package is also a one-off heating subsidy for low earners.

He should be paid in the summer.

A single household should receive a subsidy of 135 euros in the summer, families correspondingly more.

Far too little, say consumer advocates.

"If energy prices continue to rise sharply, households with low incomes in particular must also be given more support than was assumed a few weeks ago," wrote energy expert Thomas Engelke from the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations on Tuesday on Twitter.

In his opinion, the heating subsidy should be raised to well over 500 euros, as the

reports.

Rising energy prices: How consumers save electricity and gas

First report, November 4, 2021:

Electricity and gas prices continue to skyrocket in Germany.

Demands for relief for consumers are becoming louder in politics.

The left, for example, proposes a one-off payment of 200 euros, which should be paid out to around 13 million people at risk of poverty on December 1st.

But apart from the efforts of politicians, there are a few things that consumers can do themselves to reduce the annual electricity and heating bills -

reveals which ones.

The Baden-Württemberg Consumer Advice Center has published some helpful tips that can be used to save electricity and gas, and thus real money.

First on the topic of heating: The heating should be set individually to the actual heat requirement of the household, writes the consumer advice center.

The programmed switch-on and switch-off times of the heating should be checked.

Electricity and gas prices are rising: This is how consumers can actively reduce heating costs

Above all, the individual rising and sleeping times play a major role.

Ideally, the room temperature should drop to around 17 degrees Celsius at night, especially in the bedroom.

This is not only the best temperature for sleeping, but also saves electricity and gas.

The bedroom should not be overheated during the day either, otherwise the heat will only have to be vented out unnecessarily in the evening.

In order to be able to control more precisely how many degrees is heated and when, it can also make sense to spend some money and buy a digitally programmable and controllable radiator thermostat.

They are not cheap, but you can save in the long run.

For example, instead of letting the heating run constantly at level 5, a smart radiator thermostat recognizes the room temperature and automatically heats less when the set comfortable temperature is reached in the room.

In addition, it can also be programmed on which days and times the heating should be to which temperature.

Are you always two days in the office and three days in the home office?

Then it is possible to program the controller so that the study is only heated on the three home office days.

In this way, unnecessary heating costs can be reduced in the long term, since you no longer have to think about turning off the radiator.

High electricity and heating bills: This is how consumers save electricity

And now on the topic of saving electricity: Turning off the lights when you leave the room and switching off devices after use goes without saying. However, there is one important point that consumers should definitely pay attention to.

Because the stand-by operation of electrical appliances - such as televisions, stereo systems or coffee machines - "from 20 to 24 hours a day can cause costs of over 70 euros a year in an average household," writes the consumer advice center.

“At 20 euros, the stereo system accounts for the largest share of this consumption.

After all, a computer with a connected printer causes costs of 17 euros in stand-by mode,” it says.

Hence the tip: Plug strips should be installed between the electrical devices and the socket so that several devices can be switched off at the same time instead of just putting them in stand-by mode.

It should be ensured that they have a "real" off switch.

Alternatively, of course, the plug can be pulled out of each individual device after use.

High electricity and heating bills?

Save money with these tricks

The Baden-Württemberg consumer advice center advises on the subject of light: “When buying, pay attention to the Kelvin specification (K): 2,700 K promise a warm light and still lower the electricity bill.

Anyone who prefers daylight white chooses 5,000 K and more.” In general, old light bulbs should be replaced with modern LEDs.

Finally, you should generally pay attention to low consumption when making new purchases.

Even if the products may be slightly more expensive when purchased in the energy-saving version, the savings in high electricity costs clearly pay off over many years - especially with energy guzzlers such as refrigerators and freezers, washing machines and dryers.

By the way: You can save a lot with a few tricks, not only when it comes to heating and electricity consumption.

There are also a few nasty shopping traps in the supermarket that make customers dig deeper into their pockets.

*

reveals which tricks customers should know in order to save when shopping*.