High electricity prices made Norwegians think about saving electricity.
According to Electric hub Household electricity consumption in southern priced areas decreased by up to 16 percent compared to 2021 and to 21 percent compared to 2020.
An important reason for the reduction in consumption is the enormous increase in demand for heat pumps, many of which are equipped with solar cells, and the general energy savings.
Some energy saving measures have almost no effect
But there are many who have taken the concept of energy saving to a new level.
When electricity prices began to rise a year ago, several stores were able to report that the demand for electricity meters that could be plugged into the outlet had increased. With such meters, you can find “power thieves” from household appliances.
By the way, there are many devices that have a standby mode, where they are not completely turned off. In some cases, they can draw nearly the same current as when they are turned on.
Turning off products completely, taking out cell phone chargers, and being active in turning off the lights in the rooms are constantly highlighted as possible ways to save some extra electricity.
What many people don’t think about is that removing such power thieves has almost no effect on power consumption. In any case, not in most months of the year when heating with panel ovens and heating cables is necessary.
Energy cannot disappear, it can only pass from one form to another.
The 1st law of thermodynamics
The reason is that all electrical devices, be they light bulbs, computers, TVs, game consoles or wireless routers, convert energy consumption directly or indirectly into heat.
There is a good reason why, for example, computers are equipped with cooling fans.
For home electronics, power in = heating out.
PS! This does not apply, for example, to electric motors, where most of the current is initially converted mainly into kinetic energy.
– Not that important
In practice, switching off these products has no other effect than that the panel ovens have to work harder.
– If electricity is used for heating, it won’t be as important with energy-saving measures during the time heating is needed, Sintef’s lead researcher Petter Nekså tells Nettavisen.
Emphasize that the situation is completely different if you have a heat pump and when you don’t need heating.
The Head of the Renewable Energy Section at Agder University’s Engineering Department, Associate Professor Tore Sandnes Vehus, blurs the picture a bit:
– “Inflow = heat output” can be rephrased as “inflow = function + excess heat”. Ideally, for a product that doesn’t convert energy, you want the excess heat to be as small as possible, says Vehus.
A good example is the transition from incandescent lamps to LED bulbs, where you still get light, but much less heat loss.
He also points out that panel ovens are in many cases more favorably placed in the room, most often under windows where they can use cold from the windows.
Heat pumps change the equation
It is important to note that the calculation changes if the house you live in is equipped with a heat pump.
A normal air-to-air heat pump typically generates 2-5 times more heat than a normal panel oven with the same electricity consumption, depending on the outside temperature and the type of panel oven.
This means that if the heat pump detects the heating from the electrical products turned off, it is a clear gain.
Another point is that electricity thieves like to use the same amount of electricity all year round:
– You don’t need heating all year round – and then it’s about using as little electricity as possible, Nekså points out.
What really matters
If you want to save on electricity consumption, you need to focus on the main sources of consumption. In Norway, this means that it is the warming itself that should be focused on.
Heat pumps, additional insulation, reduced heating in unused rooms or parts of the house, and smart energy management are what will have the greatest impact for most people.
