At Alvast we attach great importance to sustainability. To make the world a better place and reduce CO2 emissions from our buildings, we need your help! At Alvast we not only stand for a more sustainable planet, but we also want to help you as a resident reduce your energy costs. Energy prices continue to rise and we believe it is important that our residents experience as few problems as possible. 

In addition to offering an EcoBox, full of energy-saving products, we are happy to provide you with tips and tricks to save even more energy and thus reduce your energy costs: 

Tip 1: Heat from the sun

A golden tip to save on gas when opening the curtains. When the sun shines, the sun heats your house and you can turn off the heating or turn it down a degree. This is not recommended in the height of winter, but you can safely use this tip in the autumn. Conversely, it is smart to keep the curtains closed in the evening, so that the heat stays inside. 

Tip 2: Pay attention to idle consumption

Did you know that many devices you have on standby still use energy? With some devices this is even the case if you turn them off completely. To save electricity, it is wise to pull all plugs from the socket. Another solution is to purchase a energy saving plug. This switches off standby mode completely. Do you want to do more to reduce your energy consumption than just purchase a energy-saving plug? Then the EcoBox is perfect for you! A box put together by Alvast, full of energy-saving resources and extra tips and tricks to reduce your energy costs. With the EcoBox you can save an average of up to €455 in energy costs. 

Tip 3: Use energy-efficient appliances

Modern electrical appliances consume much less energy than old models. White goods appliances are one of the largest energy consumers. But how can you best save on this and what should you pay attention to when purchasing new white goods? When purchasing the device, pay attention to the label. Choose a device with the A+++ label. A few years ago, label B was also energy efficient, but nowadays that is no longer sufficient. Of course, exchanging these devices costs money, but you will earn this back in no time because they are energy efficient. 

Tip 4: Use your washing machine in a smart way

As we described above, white goods are one of the largest energy consumers. This also includes a washing machine. Only turn on the washing machine when the drum is completely full, this prevents you from having to start the washing machine several times a day for the same type of laundry. Wash the laundry as cold as possible, this ensures that you use less hot water. T-shirts and pants can easily be washed at 30-40 degrees. Finally, make sure you run the shortest program possible. The shorter the washing machine runs, the less power consumption. 

Tip 5: Shower shorter

Heating water requires a lot of energy consumption. It is therefore wise to be more economical and therefore take shorter showers. But how do you know exactly how long you can shower for to still save hot water? Shower for a maximum of 5 minutes, you can easily keep track of this with the shower timer from our EcoBox, which is also easy to install in the shower. If you shower for 5 minutes as standard, instead of the average 9 minutes, you save about 15.000 liters of water and 60m3 of gas per year. Another option is to use a water-saving shower head. While a normal shower head lets through about 9 liters of water per minute, a water-saving shower head lets through about 7 liters per minute. Not sure if you already have a water-saving shower head? Then put the shower head in a bucket and turn on the shower. If there is more than 7 liters in it after one minute, you do not have a water-saving shower head. 

Hopefully these tips are useful to you and you can start living energy-efficiently!