Heating and hot water use the most electricity

The energy crisis in Europe and Norway affect us all - including you who are a student and live in student housing where electricity is included in the rent. As the situation is now, we all have to use less electricity - not only because of the high cost, but also because electricity is a scarce commodity.

Heating and hot water consume the most electricity in Norwegian homes, so if you manage to keep your consumption down, you can save both electricity and money. If you, who live in our student accommodation, are aware of your electricity consumption, you help keep rent prices down as well.

How to save electricity:

1. Don't waste heat:
   Ventilate quickly and efficiently with the window wide open for a few minutes, rather than leaving the window open all day and night when the panel oven or radiator is on.

2. Turn down the heat if you can adjust your oven:
   By lowering the indoor temperature by 1 degree, you reduce consumption by 5%. The indoor temperature can preferably be 19-20 degrees. If you have a separate bedroom, the bedroom can be as cold as 15 degrees (provided you have a warm duvet).

3. Challenge: Be super fast in the shower!
   Try to reduce the time you spend in the shower. A maximum of five minutes is the goal! Set a timer and create a challenge for yourself or the collective you live in to shower as quickly as possible (and still get completely clean!). Remember to give a reward!

4. Fill up the dishwasher:
   Don't let the water run when you wash dishes, it is actually more energy-saving to fill the dishwasher completely and put it on, than to wash dishes by hand.

5. Do you have curtains?
   They do more than shield you from visibility from the outside! Pull them back during the day (the sun heats up the room) and pull them for the evening (the curtains reduce heat loss from cold windows).
   Read more: How to cool down your dorm during summer.

6. Keep the cold inside the fridge
   Hot food should cool on the counter before putting it in the fridge, while frozen food can be thawed in the fridge - this way you keep the temperature stable and save electricity!

7. Use the right pot/pan
   When the pot fits the hob you are going to use, you minimize the use of electricity.

8. Choose board games over Playstation!
   Playstation is a real electricity thief! At least, remember to pull out the plug when it is not in use.

9. Lower the temperature when you are traveling:
   Lower the temperature when you travel home at the weekend or go on holiday, both the heaters/radiators in the home and heating cables in the bathroom. It is quick to heat up a small dormitory again when you return.

10. Turn off the light:
    Switch off the lights in rooms you do not use and when you leave your dorm/apartment or common rooms in the student housing.