Our savings tips: How to calculate your electricity consumption and find power guzzlers

Especially in times of rising electricity costs, it is worth taking a closer look at energy consumption. Because with little effort, you can quickly save a lot of energy and money. And the best part is that you're not only doing your wallet a favor, but also the environment. We'll show you how to calculate your consumption and find power guzzlers. We also give you tips on how to reduce your electricity consumption.

What are the largest consumers of electricity in the household?

Is it the TV? Or the washing machine? The dryer, the refrigerator or the vacuum cleaner? Good question! The fact is that the average German household is full of electrical appliances. But which ones "eat" the most electricity?

Especially in the home office, the printer, the monitors and the computer or laptop cause high power consumption. Often these devices are in operation all the time, including during breaks. Ideally, you should switch off desk lamps, monitor and computer completely and also pull the plug if you are away from your desk for a long time.

Computers and office equipment therefore account for the largest electricity consumption – closely followed by electric water heating as well as televisions and audio equipment. The following illustration shows how the other electrical devices divide the electricity:

Saving electricity made easy! In his video, influencer and expert Robin Schmid takes you through the world of power guzzlers in your own household and explains where particularly high savings potential is hidden:

What is the best way to save electricity?

1. Save power with the timer

Constant availability is practical, but it doesn't have to be. In many households, some devices run permanently, even though they are only used at certain times. A good example is hot water heating, which is especially necessary in the mornings and evenings. You can save electricity with both a boiler and an instantaneous water heater. Modern devices usually have timer functions.

With the timer function, you can easily save electricity.

Wi-Fi is also usually not needed around the clock. To save power, you don't even have to unplug the router completely. It is enough to deactivate some functions via the settings. Select the option "the wireless network will only be switched off when no WLAN network device is active" so that you don't suddenly find yourself sitting in front of your laptop without internet.

2. The biggest hidden power guzzler: stand-by

In general, you should remember: Everything that is connected to the power grid consumes energy: smartphone chargers that are constantly connected to the socket, hi-fi systems, game consoles, the appliances in the bathroom, even washing machines, washer-dryers or dryers and dishwashers. The solution: Plug out of the socket! The more convenient alternative is practical power strips with switches, which allow you to unplug several devices at the same time. Then you have your electricity consumption under control and can actually reduce it to zero.

3. Use clever energy-saving helpers

Not all sockets are the same. Some models help you save electricity. We have put together three clever little helpers:

• If several electrical appliances are used at the same time, a multiple socket with a toggle switch is ideal. It allows you to turn devices such as your computer, monitor, and printer on and off at the same time.
• A so-called master-slave power strip is also useful. If the main device (master) is switched off, the other devices (slaves) are also disconnected from the power supply.
• If you don't want to do without standby mode, smart sockets are a good alternative. They detect when a device is "dormant" and automatically turn off the energy supply.

Those who spend more time at home consume more electricity. Ergo: The savings potential is increasing.

4. Save electricity in the kitchen

In the kitchen, you can save on the refrigerator as well as on cooking and baking. Of course, energy-efficient appliances make a big difference. There are also a few good tricks and tricks:

• Avoid placing the refrigerator next to heat sources. Heating, stove or dishwasher should therefore be as far away as possible.
• Set the refrigerator correctly. The optimal temperature in the refrigerator is 5 to 7 degrees Celsius, in the freezer at -18 degrees Celsius. Each degree higher reduces energy consumption by 6 percent.
• Pots and pans should be made of materials that conduct heat well, such as steel and Teflon.
• Match the size of the cookware to the size of the plate so that heat does not disappear unused into the air.
• By the way, for the same reason, it is advisable to use a lid for pots and pans.
• Preheating the oven is usually not necessary and consumes energy unnecessarily.
• Only run the dishwasher when it is really full and use the Eco program.

5. Save money in the bathroom

Another household activity that consumes a lot of energy is washing, drying and ironing. You can also easily save energy here:

• Use an appliance with an energy efficiency class of A+++.
• Make sure that the laundry drum is as completely filled as possible.
• Shift down a gear during the revolutions. In most cases, it is sufficient to spin the laundry at 1,000 revolutions per minute.
• Wash lightly soiled coloured laundry at 30 or 40 degrees Celsius. Boiled laundry is also clean at 60 degrees Celsius.
• If possible, dry laundry in the fresh air.
• Iron at the lowest possible temperatures and use the residual heat of the iron.

Saving electricity also continues when showering. Do not set the instantaneous water heater all the way up. With a shower saver head, half of the water consumption can be reduced – the less water that needs to be heated.

To make sure we are comfortable in winter, the heating season begins around mid-October.

6. Save electricity on lighting

Light sources have a major influence on the effect of a room. If you are in the room at the moment, that's a good thing. However, by turning off light sources that are not needed, you can save a lot of electricity. This is no secret, but it is often underestimated or forgotten. If the latter is the case, motion detectors and automatic shutdowns are a good help. Especially in the hallway and, for example, in the guest toilet, motion detectors are an energy-saving alternative. In these rooms, it is particularly common to forget to turn off the light. If you value a cosy ambience in the living rooms and still want to save energy, we recommend dimmers.

By the way, you should always replace old light bulbs. Energy-saving lamps and LED lights have a significantly better efficiency. With LED lights, you can save up to 85% electricity with the same brightness compared to regular bulbs. An additional advantage: High-quality LEDs have a service life of up to 15 years.

What electricity consumption is normal?

The electricity consumption of a household depends on various factors. For example, it matters how often and for how long you operate which electronic devices (and how power-hungry they are). In addition, the number of people living in the household has an influence on electricity consumption. Whether you live in an apartment or a house and it is an old or new building also changes it. If you want to know how much electricity you consume, you can use this formula:

If you want to know exactly how much electricity you use, take a look at your electricity bill. On this you will find your exact annual consumption. To better assess whether your annual consumption is too high or low, the following facts about electricity consumption will help you: A family with two children consumes an average of 2,900 kWh (kilowatt hours) of electricity per year, couples 2,100 kWh and a single household 1,500 kWh.

The larger the household, the higher the average electricity consumption. Because a household with two people logically consumes more than a one-person household. But: With each additional family member, the additional consumption decreases. This is because, for example, household appliances such as the refrigerator or the light are shared and thus shared. So the most economical way to live together is to live together – in the family or in a shared flat. And of course, a cheap electricity tariff will help you reduce your costs.

What consumes how much electricity?

If you want to permanently reduce electricity consumption in your household, it is important to identify the power guzzlers and render them harmless. With an electricity meter, you can quickly find power guzzlers. Alternatively, you can calculate the power consumption of your devices.

Determine consumption with electricity meter

Current meters are connected to the socket and sit between the socket and the end device. They allow you to measure current electricity consumption, but also consumption over a certain period of time. Among other things, you can control the power consumption of your washing machine while it is switched off. Is your washing machine a device with a high power consumption? Then install a power switch between the socket and the plug and the energy guzzler will no longer take the money out of your pocket. With a washing machine that doesn't run every day anyway, the profit is obvious.

A current meter is simply plugged in between the plug and the socket - and you know how much electricity is consumed in stand-by.

An electricity meter does not have to be expensive: You can borrow electricity meters from many consumer centers.

Calculate electricity consumption in kWh

To quickly calculate the daily electricity consumption of an electrical appliance in kWh, multiply the consumption of the appliance in watts by the number of hours the appliance is in use per day. Finally, divide this number by 1,000. And you already know the daily electricity consumption. This way, you won't miss any hidden power guzzlers in your household. This will help you find out if it makes sense to buy more energy-efficient new appliances.

Example calculation: Electricity costs for a TV

Let's say your TV consumes 100 watts per hour and your electricity price is 0.37 euros per kWh. Let's continue with the average daily TV duration in Germany, which was 195 minutes in 2022, i.e. 3.25 hours, i.e. the use of your TV will cost you just under EUR 0.12 per day (100 W x 3.25 h ÷ 1,000 W = 0.325 kWh/day x EUR 0.37/kWh = EUR 0.12025/day). At first glance, this amount seems low. However, if it is extrapolated to the entire year, electricity costs of just under 44 euros (0.12025 EUR/day x 365 days = 43.89125 EUR/year) are incurred. Of course, there can be additional costs if your TV is often in standby mode, for example. Therefore, you can also save a lot of electricity and money by consciously using the electronic devices in your household.