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Since 2022, electricity prices have increased so much that many of us now have to cut back to avoid a three-digit bill at the end of the month. But you still need to know the right steps to take to save electricity, which is not the easiest, especially for those who have known abundance in the past.
Knowing how to save electricity also means betting on moderation. However, this can prove essential for the planet and for future generations. In this guide, we have therefore chosen to highlight tips for limiting your energy expenditure, which the team has of course been able to experiment with on a daily basis. Take stock based on your usage, and choose the tips that suit you!
The first tip for saving electricity is, of course, to unplug the devices that consume it. Indeed, even when you are not using them, they can drain your energy without you even noticing. So, of course, it is not a question here of abandoning the food in the fridge to the whim of the coming heat waves. On the other hand, you can indeed do without certain less essential electronic devices. Here are which ones.
Should you really unplug your chargers ?
According to many specialists, the chargers of our everyday devices (smartphones, tablets, computers, etc.) consume electricity even when we do not plug any equipment into them. And it is true: the figures show that over the year, the flow from the mains socket does not really stop, in this case.
But there is a but. Indeed, these same numbers are so minimal that they can be considered completely negligible. We are talking about only a few dozen cents lost each year, here. Nothing more (unless you live in a castle). Suffice to say that on the scale of a monthly bill, it's as if nothing had happened. In short, at home, you can therefore do without the recommendation of unplugging unused chargers. The time you would spend plugging them back in could even turn out to be less profitable, in the end.
In the context of a real fleet of several dozen or even hundreds of chargers that would run all night, on the other hand, this advice is worth the cost.
Turn off the Wi-Fi
Few people know this, but the boxes that operators lend us are particularly power hungry. This time, we're talking about nearly one euro per month of expenses, in some cases.
So you'd do well to unplug your modem before going on vacation or teleworking: this could save you the price of a good Spotify subscription each year.
Beware of devices on standby
Your parents may have told you many times during your childhood: “devices on standby consume energy”! And it's true. So, to save electricity, you can think about really turning off your televisions or laptops. What's more, this could help extend the life of these devices.
Control electricity remotely with home automation
Now that we've covered the most used devices, you may be wondering how to save electricity with the connected objects in your smarthome. Here too, there are relatively simple tips. Already, you can trust the automatic power modes offered by some products like air purifiers. These indeed offer an excellent cost/performance ratio.
But also, with tools like Apple's Home app or Google Home, you can program the launch of certain equipment. Among the lessons to remember here, we think for example of connected thermostats with Apple HomeKit. All you have to do is use it to turn on the heating a few dozen minutes before arriving home, in order to arrive in a warm home without leaving the radiator on all day.
You can also decide to automatically open and close connected blinds depending on the sunlight, to limit the use of air conditioning in the summer. One last tip in this category: bet on a multiroom system with a reasonably sized speaker in each room. This way, your favorite artist will follow you at a moderate volume as you move around each room. This saves more energy than cranking the volume to the max from an XXL speaker installed at the other end of the apartment.
Monitor your energy consumption with your supplier
To understand how to save electricity, our advice is a first step. However, it all depends on your habits, your geolocation (prices change accordingly) but also your supplier.
In addition, companies like EDF or Enercoop now offer their users a table to track their energy consumption.
This allows you to identify the most significant expenditure items, with advice on how to reduce your consumption. Often, the most visual among us can even take advantage of illustrated graphs to better understand how to manage our energy consumption.
With this, do not hesitate to also compare your electricity prices with those of other suppliers. We thus know that today, EDF, although being the most popular in mainland France, is not necessarily the cheapest.
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Use electricity during off-peak hours
If your electricity supplier offers it, you should know that you can also use your electricity during off-peak hours. These are times when the price of energy is cheaper, but you still need to have chosen a subscription that offers this advantage.
EDF explains for example: “Peak Hours are at times of the day when overall electricity consumption in France is high, particularly between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. and between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Off-Peak Hours are distributed at times when electricity demand is lower: between 12pm and 5pm and/or between 8pm and 8am“.
Beware of your screens' refresh rate
To save electricity, you should also find out about the refresh rate of your smartphone screen. The same goes for the display frequency (the same unit) of your televisions, monitors and other laptops. This is usually measured in frames per second. Or in Hertz, it depends. Here, simply tell yourself that the higher the number, the higher the energy consumption.
So, an iPhone 15 Pro Max or a Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra running at one hundred and twenty frames per second will necessarily be more demanding than a third-generation iPhone SE at sixty frames per second. On high-end smartphones, however, we notice that the refresh rate is adaptive. Moreover, it is rare that we can control it manually (while this is more the case on TV).
The adaptive refresh rate is the best choice, because it can, for example, be limited to a few dozen frames per second when content does not require more (emails, reading blogs). It's automatic, and on the contrary, the system will switch to a higher frequency when you need to play online for example.
Energy saving mode is your friend
Speaking of gaming, we also recommend that you avoid the “game mode” on your mobile as much as possible, if it has the right to it. What's more, you can choose to activate the energy saving mode on devices that offer it. This is particularly the case for MacBook Airs, MacBook Pros and 99% of Android smartphones available on the market (new) today.
To learn more about saving energy with smartphones, you can also consult our guide specially dedicated to this purpose.
Air conditioning and heating
To save electricity, you should also better regulate the indoor temperature of your home. Whether it's a house or an apartment. You probably already know that limiting the air conditioning to a sufficient level is advisable: choose 25 degrees here if you can, but not less. Studies have shown that beyond this limit, we are not as productive as we should be. And of course, leaving the windows open when the air conditioner is on is out of the question.
This also applies to radiators, which let heat escape if the home is not airtight. In addition, closing the right doors at the right time further helps to reduce energy consumption. And to keep your heating bill to a minimum, especially if you use electricity, you should wear warm, long clothing, or a blanket in bed whenever possible.
To further reduce your electricity consumption, you can also limit the use of heating and switches by investing in a connected mirror. Installed outside, on the ledge of your window, it pivots according to the position of the sun, like a sunflower. This is to reflect the reflection of our star inside, when light is not naturally accessible due to the orientation of your windows.
Of course, switching to solar panels or other renewable energies such as pocket wind turbines is also recommended to save electricity. What's more, you might even end up producing a surplus, which you would then resell to suppliers who target the general public. Even smarter to offset the cost of the monthly bill!
To save electricity, you should also look into the classification system called “energy label”. This is now available throughout the European Union, and is mandatory for air conditioners, tumble dryers, ovens and refrigerators.
The rating goes from A to G, with A meaning that the appliance in question is much more energy-efficient than a product rated G. So, yes, you will pay more, but in the long term, you will see clear price differences on your electricity bill by choosing more energy-efficient equipment.
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