Although it started from the first months of the year, the phenomenon of higher bills it is still on the agenda, also because it is affecting millions of Italian families. In fact, in addition to the numerous problems that populate the local and national newspapers, it is now also necessary to consume less electricity or gas in order not to end up with an excessively expensive bill. The increase in gas prices has increased as never before and, in purely monetary terms, translates into an annual expenditure of over €1,000 more than last yearat the same consumption of course.
Gas is one of the indispensable elements for living today, since it serves not only to increase the temperature of one’s home, but also to cook any food with a gas stove. For this reason, we thought we’d offer you a small list of products that can improve the efficiency of your homeso as to allow you to mitigate the phenomenon of rising bills as much as possible.
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Save on your gas bill
Heat diffuser for stoves
If you want to consume less gas, we advise you to buy first a good heat diffuser for stoves. It is the ideal product for distributing heat quickly and evenly, made entirely of stainless steel, which is why it is resistant and at the same time durable over time. It is suitable for any existing material, such as iron and ceramics. Thanks to its design, this item is safe and above all, easy to use. Clearly, it is possible to use it with different cookers, such as induction, gas and electric ones.
Hot air generator
Are you afraid of rising bills? An intelligent way to save on gas could be to equip yourself with a hot air generator like the one we reported. The advantage of this product is the total absence of smoke, odors and condensation, as well as running silently. Of course, it is an article more suitable for work environments, but the fact remains that you can also use it at home, because the heating will be very fast. However, be careful of its high consumption, in order to prevent it from having a boomerang effect, therefore our advice is to use it not on an ongoing basis.
Low consumption fan heater
On the same wavelength as the previous product, it could be convenient to heat the domestic environment with a small but high-performance low-consumption fan heater. This model has the peculiarity of using 50% of the energy required by traditional systems to produce the same level of heatwhich means it will be the perfect product for this period of high energy cost increases.
Electric cooker
With this product you can save on the gas bill, slightly interfering with the electricity bill. We are talking about the Beper electric cooker, excellent for being able to cook a large number of foods efficiently. owns an aluminum tray and a steel grillwhich ensures a constant temperature. Furthermore, this stove reaches the ideal temperature in just a few minutes from being switched on, an excellent factor in terms of electricity consumption. Then present the classic two knobs relating to temperature regulation and the shutdown timer.
Thermostat
One of the best products to effectively save on your gas bill is certainly a smart thermostat. Among the many solutions on the market, we strongly advise you to buy the 3rd generation Google Nest. It is an article that manages to control gas consumption to save on the bill. This item can learn your habits i.e. the temperature you prefer when you are at home and automatically lower it during working/school/university hours. For this reason, it is able to create – through the preferred temperature – a personalized schedule and the time required to heat the home. It is compatible with OpenTherm technology, therefore it is a must to have a compatible boiler.
Flow restrictor for shower
It will seem trivial to you, but in reality it is not. Acquire a water flow restrictor it is essential to save on your gas bill. In fact, consuming less hot water in the shower, without compromising the outlet pressure, limits the use of the boiler, which is why waste is reduced. The product we recommend is the one made by Pepte, compatible with 95% of faucets present on the market and in homes.
Thermal solar panel
The installation of one or more solar panels dedicated exclusively to hot water is certainly the best solution to reduce gas consumption for water heating, even if the initial investment is much higher than in other methods previously suggested . However, with a solar thermal panel you will be sure of saving significant amounts of money every month once the investment has been recovered, as the panel uses solar energy to produce heat and therefore with zero bill costs. The model we report is available in different sizes, so that you can buy the one that best suits your needs. We start from a minimum of 100 liters to a maximum of 240 litres. The intermediate solution is 180 litres. The pipes are strongeven in case of heavy hail, as well as the structure that holds the tank, covered in painted galvanized steel. The structure can also be installed on flat or sloping roofs and terraces.
How to save on your gas bill
Although they are excellent, the products listed above are useful for optimizing consumption and not so much for drastically reducing gas costs. To notice big improvements on the bill, it is necessary to change the way we use gas in daily life, obviously trying not to compromise too much.
Heating system
What makes the gas costs soar on your bill is without a shadow of a doubt the heating system, regardless of which solution you have installed in your home. If you have a central heating system, tweaking your thermostat could make all the difference. In fact, it is sufficient to lower the latter by a few degrees to ensure that the heating system does not use much gas. By doing this you probably won’t notice big temperature differences, but you could see a good decrease in heating costs on your next bills.
If adjusting your thermostat manually isn’t your thing, you might consider a programmable model, so you can set a specific heating setting for when you’re away from home or when you go to sleep. The maintenance of these appliances is essential, as it will keep the heating system efficient for longer and, consequently, lower bills. If necessary, call an expert and have him check the status of your system, in order to receive targeted suggestions on how to make it work properly.
Water heater
After the thermostat, the water heater is certainly the one that affects the gas bill the most. Here too you can implement a series of measures with the aim of reducing consumption without making any compromises. Most boilers have a dial with which you can change the water temperature. We suggest lowering it a bit, just enough to save a certain amount of euros which could lighten the expenses of many Italians. In fact, we often tend to let the water out so hot that we burn our skin, but this doesn’t make much sense, especially in summer, when the taps tend to stay hot and therefore let out already lukewarm water. Then make sure that the boiler is regularly serviced, in order to avoid spending significant amounts of money for a possible repair. If your model is old, consider replacing it with one of the latest generation, so that you can then save money in the long run.
A note should also be made for i hot water storage tanks. Although these are insulated, they waste around 30% of their energy through heat loss, so insulating the hot water pipes connected to your system can reduce this waste and save you money.
Home appliances
As for household appliances such as dishwashers, you should try to use them in the eco mode, so that they can operate at lower temperatures. In the case of the dishwasher, be sure to turn it on only when it is full. If you are about to buy one, check the water energy label and opt for the one with the best rating. Similar speech with the washing machine. Washing clothes with too hot water increases the gas bill, so don’t worry about reducing the temperature, also because the appliance, if of quality, will still be able to clean clothes effectively. Then always adjust the water level just enough for the load of clothes and try to wash clothes only when the drum is full.
Thermal solar panel
How not to mention then the advantages of solar thermal panels, which undoubtedly prove to be the best solution for saving gas when water needs to be heated. In fact, this type of panel uses solar energy to heat the water, which is then used to heat the house or to operate the boiler. The installation is not as complicated as it seems and can be done by anyone with a minimum of knowledge on the subject. Furthermore, the thermal solar panels can be combined with other existing heating systems, such as the gas boiler, so in case of absence of sun you can go back to the classic heating system in seconds. The advantages in the bill, as mentioned, will be immediately visible, even if it must be said that the initial investment is quite important. However, we are talking about an eco-sustainable solution, with a useful life of over 25 years, which means that once installed you will no longer have to worry about replacing it. The investment will therefore be fully recovered and you will then benefit from less expensive bills. Finally, with a thermal solar panel, you will do your part to keep the planet healthy.
Isolation
As a last tip, but not the least, is to add extra insulation on the ceilingsince the typical walls of the latter affect the temperature of the rest of the environment, especially for the loft homesi.e. those obtained from a single environment, usually an abandoned industrial space of considerable surface area.
