Five years ago, utility bills were annoying because you had to fill out a lot of receipts, although the bills themselves were pennies.
Now they send us ready-made receipts, but the prices in them are no longer a joke. Tariffs will only go up from here.
But if earlier electricity and water could be saved in one way — turn them off, then now consumers will be helped by energy-saving household appliances and light bulbs, as well as meters that utility companies can install themselves.
Growth in an era of decline
At the beginning of December, the city authorities announced that utility rates for Muscovites would increase by almost a third.
1 kW h of electricity for owners of electric stoves in 2009 will cost 2.11 rubles instead of 1.66 rubles in 2008 (owners of gas stoves will pay 3.01 rubles instead of 2.37 rubles).
For cold water in residential buildings equipped with running water, sewerage and bathrooms with hot water supply, you will have to pay 107.15 rubles (last year — 81.84 rubles) per month per person.
The new tariff for hot water supply is 354.3 rubles, last year's was 274.9 rubles. You will have to pay 24.3 rubles for gas instead of 19.4 rubles. In general, rent and utility bills for a Moscow family of three living in an ordinary apartment (50 sq. m.) now cost almost 2.5 thousand rubles — twice as much as five years ago.
And the growth rate is unlikely to slow down: it is difficult to determine how tariffs for the population relate to the cost of services. «With the non-transparent, commercially secret activities of monopolies, it is absurd to talk about the transparency and accuracy of tariffs,» notes Ivan Grachev, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Energy, in an interview with the publication «Russian Federation Today.»
Saving on utilities, especially during a crisis, is made relevant not only by the price of the issue. If earlier everything was reduced to propaganda posters calling for turning off the water and lights, today there are devices that help save automatically. In Europe, where utility costs traditionally account for a significant share of family budgets, the use of special meters and energy-saving devices has long been the norm.
In Germany, for example, 1 cubic meter of cold water costs ?1.91 — six times more than ours, and 1 kW h of electricity — four times more: more than ?0.2. Since the Russian tariff policy is moving in a western direction, the potential for price growth is impressive.
For example, in Germany there is no permanent light in the entrances: there is a switch in the stairwells that turns on the light for a few minutes, which is enough to walk up the stairs and open the door. Many Germans have long since abandoned incandescent lamps in favor of energy-saving ones, most use preferential tariffs: dishwashers and washing machines work mainly at night. The same with water.
For an ordinary German family, washing dishes under running water is wild: as a rule, there are two sinks in the kitchen. And if there is no dishwasher, both sinks are filled with water: one with detergent, the other for rinsing clean dishes.
In Russia, ordinary consumers of utilities can save on water (the share of water supply in the total basket of utility payments is 25%) and electricity (up to 15% — in houses with electric stoves). In the first case, a special meter will help, in the second — a meter and energy-saving devices: lamps and household appliances.
For now, all this is a novelty for most of our compatriots. «There is no household energy saving in Russia, we see that raising tariffs does not lead to an understanding that electricity is a valuable resource that needs to be saved,— notes Konstantin Simonov, head of the National Energy Security Fund. —Even basic energy saving measures like using energy-saving lamps are hard to take hold. People do not believe that expensive energy-saving lamps can pay for themselves.»
Obsolete Edison
In three years, Europe plans to completely ban the sale of incandescent lamps, invented in the early 19th century in France and introduced into use by the American inventor Thomas Edison. From September 2009, the sale of 100-watt bulbs will be banned, a year later the same fate will befall 75-watt bulbs, in 2011 — 60-watt bulbs, in 2012 — 40- and 25-watt bulbs. This decision of the EU Council at the level of energy ministers is one of the measures to increase the energy efficiency of the European economy by 20% by 2020. According to expert estimates, thanks to the transition to energy-saving lamps, the EU will save ?5-10 billion per year. Not bad, especially considering that, for example, according to Philips, which occupies about a quarter of the world lighting market, half of Europeans have already abandoned incandescent bulbs.
In Russia, there is much more scope for saving on electricity. According to Tatyana Lee, Philips Marketing Manager in Russia, the incandescent lamp market is currently worth about ?110 million, while the energy-saving lamp market is about ?65 million. And the cheapest energy-saving lamp is 10-20 times more expensive than a regular one. For example, a regular 100-watt incandescent lamp in Moscow costs about 10 rubles, while a similar 23-watt energy-saving lamp with similar consumer qualities costs about 200 rubles. This is what scares Russian consumers away.
Few people believe that buying one light bulb for the price of several can save money. «The most economical energy-saving lamps for the home last more than ten years,» explains Vladimir Gabrielyan, Vice President and General Manager of Philips «Lighting Solutions» in Eastern Europe and the Balkans. «At the same time, you can replace a 100-watt incandescent lamp with a 20-watt energy-saving one — the light will be the same, but the energy consumption will decrease five times.»
While electricity rates were low, these details were mostly looked into by specialists. According to Greenpeace Russia, lighting accounts for more than 15% of the average apartment's electricity consumption. «By replacing incandescent bulbs with energy-saving ones, you can save up to 15 kWh per person per month,» says Vladimir Chuprov, head of the energy program at Greenpeace Russia.
«A simple calculation shows that by replacing incandescent lamps with energy-saving lamps in a three-room apartment, you save more than 2.5 thousand rubles a year,» says Vladimir Gabrielyan. It is clear that an energy-saving lamp will pay for itself no sooner than in a year, and if it burns for at least three hours a day. But over the next four years, it will bring its owner 100 rubles in savings per year. In May 2005, ecologist Chuprov paid for 160 kWh of electricity, in June — only 70. Savings of up to 100 rubles a month were provided by energy-saving lamps — exotic at that time.
There are three key manufacturers of lamps in the world — conventional and energy-saving: General Electric, Osram and Philips. «Energy-saving lamps from different manufacturers differ slightly in design, but the range and consumer characteristics are basically the same,» says Vladimir Avdeev, head of the technical information group of the sales department of MPO Elektromontazh. Some Chinese manufacturers are no worse — for example, Camelion. They are cheaper. «Another thing is lamps from unknown Chinese companies, which are sold almost by weight in various hypermarkets,» the specialist clarifies. «They are very cheap — 60-70 rubles, but the light from them is not bright enough, and they do not last long.»
«Buyers first look at the power, then at the shape (the main thing is that the lamp fits into the lamp),» says Vladimir Avdeev from «MPO Elektromontazh». — The next criterion is the service life, however, few people pay attention to this, although the service life is different: in most cases, from 6 to 15 thousand hours». By the way, there is another argument in favor of energy-saving lamps.
«Most incandescent lamps only work properly in a vertical position,» Avdeev explains. «If the socket in the lamp is located horizontally, the incandescent lamp (regardless of the manufacturer) will burn out in a month: a horizontally lying filament will stretch out and quickly burst.» Depending on the manufacturer, energy-saving lamps need different voltage for normal operation. For example, Osram lamps require at least 180 volts to maintain combustion.
«Of course, this is not suitable for all villagers, since in rural areas the voltage can be lower,» Avdeev warns. Many energy-saving lamps do not light up immediately — it takes a moment for the cathodes to warm up.
It will take some more time for the lamp to warm up and reach maximum glow. It might seem like a trifle, but it significantly extends the service life.
Some people perceive the relative minus in operation as a plus: the «flashing» energy-saving lamp does not blind a person who came in from the dark. In addition, if previously energy-saving lamps only worked at positive temperatures, now they shine even in severe frost, and they can be used outdoors.
Household «tariffs»
Another option for saving electricity at home is energy-efficient household appliances: energy consumption class A and higher. «Here the payback period is different, because these are quite expensive devices,» notes Vladimir Chuprov. «For example, my class A refrigerator paid off the difference in cost with cheaper, but less energy-efficient models in about three years.»
However, it is not easy to find modern equipment of classes B to G. For example, ten years ago about 20% of household refrigerators sold in Europe had energy efficiency class A, and in some countries the share of such refrigerators reached 50%. Manufacturers were constantly tightening their standards, and in 2003 two new classes were introduced: A+ and A++.
A separate point is electric heaters. You can’t heat the street, and ecologist Chuprov calls for insulating windows: “In winter, electric heaters in Moscow apartments consume up to 1.5 thousand MW, and this is a lot — about 10% of the capacity that Moscow has.”
It is advisable to install electricity meters with two or three tariffs. In the first case, you have access to daytime (1.60 rubles per 1 kW h of electricity in houses with electric stoves) and night tariffs (four times cheaper). If the meter is more advanced — the division into tariffs is different: peak (less than 1.60 rubles for a house with electric stoves), semi-peak (about 1 ruble) and minimum — night (about 40 kopecks). «Relatives installed a two-tariff meter and are very happy with it,» says Vladimir Avdeev. «However, now they will never boil a kettle if the grace period is not long away.» «This is not so much an opportunity to save money as it is an opportunity for self-discipline,» says Andrey Lantsov, an employee of the Institute of Energy Efficiency Problems at the Moscow Power Engineering Institute (MPEI). «And if your children spend days in front of the TV or computer, you'll hardly notice the effect of saving money.» The effect of saving water is more noticeable.
We pay the full cost of preparation, delivery and heating of water (58 rubles per 1 m? of hot and 12 rubles per 1 m? of cold water). The bill for each apartment is issued based on the number of registered residents and the average consumption per person in the house. The average consumption in the house is probably higher than yours: in a multi-storey building there are leaks and unregistered residents. «A water meter will save you from paying for the average volume of water consumed in the house,» says Chuprov. «The cost of the service is up to 5 thousand rubles, and citizens who are entitled to benefits can install it for free.»
In practice, a family of three to five people can save up to 1,000 rubles a month on water. «When our neighbors in the building started installing water meters, my family and I were on vacation,» Vladimir Avdeev shares his experience. «I came back and found out that if we used to pay 35 m?, then after our neighbors installed meters, we paid twice as much. But when we got a meter, our consumption was only 17 m?, and we didn't limit ourselves.»
In the sales area of MPO Elektromontazh, there is a stand for water and electricity meters, but there is no point in trying to compare different models. «The choice of household electricity meters is especially large: electronic and mechanical, with telemetry and without,» Avdeev explains. «But you can only install those that are on the list approved by your electric company.»
For example, if you want to install a water meter, and your apartment is privatized, then the housing office will advise you to contact a private company. Usually, a technician is sent within two days. Installing two meters — for hot and cold water — will cost 4.5 thousand rubles (this will take at most an hour and a half). In addition, the «subscription fee» will be 30 rubles per month. The contractor will take care of all the paperwork: the client will only have to take the folder with the papers received from the technician to the housing office so that they can register the device.
The procedure is no more complicated with an electric meter. Their installation in Moscow and the region is carried out by the company «TsOPenergo». On its website, you can fill out an application for transfer to a multi-tariff meter. «The main advantage of this method is that there is no need to visit the branch of ZAO «TsOPenergo», since all questions that arise with the operator are resolved by phone,» the organization's website says. — The date and time of the work are discussed by phone. The cost of the service is 3.33 thousand rubles (minus 3% if you submitted the application online). Holders of social cards receive a 10% discount.
If saving in everyday life is limited to a short list of obvious suggestions, then in offices and especially in production the potential for savings is enormous.
According to Vladimir Gabrielyan, if all existing inefficient lighting installations are completely replaced with energy-efficient ones, in Russia alone it will be possible to save up to 60 terawatts of electricity per year (this is how much 30 average power plants generate) — and this is 6 billion in savings annually!
Not all decisions on optimization in industry are related to reducing energy intensity, — says Konstantin Simonov. — Sometimes it is easier to knock out tariff benefits than to save: a business first tries to find a political solution, and then thinks about the economy.
For example, Norilsk Nickel recently acquired a generating company, which, of course, will allow it to solve its problems with electricity quite quickly. As a result, in Russia, producing 1% of GDP requires three times more energy than in Europe, and twice as much as the world average.