Summer cottage

Cutting down on energy waste at your cottage

Typically, the cottage ends up being the graveyard of old home appliances, which consume a lot of electricity. A 20-year-old fridge can easily consume up to twice the amount of electricity as a new device. With the cottage season kicking off in the spring, it’s also a good idea to replace your old light bulbs with energy-efficient LED lights.

Heating with electric heaters

If you use an electric heater to keep your cottage warm, don’t keep it on all the time. For example, a 2 kW heater will consume nearly 50 kWh  in a day if you keep it on all the time. 

Prepare for hot summer weather

Don’t let the hot air in and avoid using heat-generating equipment. Keep your doors and windows shut during daytime, cover the windows with curtains or blinds, turn off all unnecessary electrical equipment, avoid heating your oven or sauna, open windows on the shady side and use the cooler night air for ventilation.

Keep it cool in the summer

You need electricity to stay cool in the heat of summer.  A heat pump will keep your summer cottage cool but it can eat up a lot of electricity.  Using a fan or AC equipment can cost anywhere from less than 10 cents to a couple of euros per day, depending on the device and the way you use it. You can also use curtains or blinds to keep the rooms cool and it won’t cost you a thing. You’ll have to rely on automatic cooling when the green cooling tips are no longer enough.