Reduce your energy bill by 27% without blinking

I apologize for my sarcasm but I can’t help it every time I speak about these companies.

The same as you I see how month after month how they increase their prices without any scruples and what is worst the government does nothing to stop it.

The price of electricity reaches annual maximums normally in August (the month with maximum use of electricity due to the air con.) and our bill skyrockets.

Thus, according to calculations made by national newspaper EL PAÍS based on the figures obtained from the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC), the price of electricity for an average user has risen last August by around 10% compared to the same month last year and more than 3% compared to the month before.

Electricity prices in the wholesale market have continued to rise last July and have reached a new annual record. The average price has been 61.88 euros per megawatt hour (MWh), according to Omie, the market manager. This represents an increase of 5.85% compared to the month before and 27.25% compared to July 2017.

The annual average price is, at the end of July 2018, of 51.85 euros per MWh. It is 2% higher than in the same period last year and, in addition, it is the highest average price since 2008. If this trend continues, 2018 registered the second most expensive prices in the last decade.

Slight modifications big savings

All is not lost friends, some slight modifications of our uses and we could save 4.352 million euros per year, according to the Naturgy Foundation.

Residents in Spain could reduce their energy bills by 27.4% with slight improvements in their habits and by proper use of our electrical equipment. These are data from the latest edition of the Home Energy Efficiency Index of the Naturgy Foundation, based on 3,600 surveys nationwide.

2018 was the first year that there was an increase in the Efficiency Index since 2011, standing at 6.4 points, 1.1% more than in the previous edition, an improvement that although slight implies a change in trend. Citizens are increasingly aware of the benefits of saving and efficiency measures, as reflected in the fact that last year, they had a greater potential for energy savings in equipment (43.3%) and heating (25, 3%), while the percentages were lower in lighting (20%), air conditioning (18.3%) and hot water (13.7%). «The energy that can be saved is almost 50,000 GWh, equivalent to 18% of the total electricity demand in Spain in 2017. With this saving, it would also avoid the emission of 14.7 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, the same emissions made by 4.8 million passenger cars a year, 21% of the existing mobile fleet in Spain », explains the general director of the Naturgy Foundation, Martí Solà.

Change of habits, big savings

The habits that have improved in the last year, according to Naturgy, are as follows: Practically half of Spanish households had appliances of class A or higher (49.4%) and have improved knowledge about energy labelling. The use of the short program in the washing machine also evolved positively and the tendency to select that the dishwasher automatically choose the washing program increased, improving the efficiency.

39% of the bulbs in Spanish households are led, followed by those with low consumption (34%) and the least efficient bulbs, incandescent bulbs, and only represent 9%. There is 27% more households that have contracted the hourly discrimination and a greater energy culture is reflected, since three out of four surveyed people know that, adjusting to their needs the tariff and the contracted power, they can pay much less.

Among the negative aspects, the teams have increased the "stand by" lights and electrical devices in the homes and the number of houses that completely turn off the equipment before going out or going to bed has decreased. In addition, the systems for the reduction of air output in all windows in homes have worsened, the use of household appliances of greater consumption has increased simultaneously and the number of households without thermostats has grown to regulate individual heating.

The most efficient turn out to be the cheapest

The Naturgy Foundation also offers data on the most efficient homes. They are located in the Valencian Community, with a score of 6.61 points, followed by the Catalans (6.57%) and the Cantabrians (6.52%). Behind are Andalucía, Aragón, Murcia (6.50%) and Extremadura (6.49%).

At the same level as the national average (6.46%), Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha are located. On the opposite side, below the average, Castilla y León, País Vasco (6.40%), Galicia (6.36%), La Rioja (6.34%) and Baleares (6.31%). The regions with the least efficient households are located in Asturias, Navarra (6.23%) and Canarias (6.01%).

The profile of the most efficient households corresponds to a family of medium-high economic level, where he or the person in charge of the household is over 50 years old and the house is located in a municipality of between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants.