ARCHIVED - Spain issues series of energy-saving guidelines to households and small businesses

Take a shower rather than a bath, lower the thermostats and don’t leave appliances on stand-by: these are some of the measures recommended by the Spanish government

Recommendations for households

• Choose a shower rather than a bath, and reduce water temperature to between 30 and 35ºC, which is warm enough “to feel comfortable in personal hygiene,” according to the government.
• During the summer, set the air-conditioning to a minimum of 27ºC and don’t raise heaters higher than 19ºC in winter.
• “Ventilate homes intelligently,” the guidance document states. In summer, people should open the windows in the morning to air the house, then close blinds and shutters against the sun.
• The government recommends thermostatic valves in houses to monitor home heating, and a sensible approach that involves not leaving the heating on when nobody’s home. Periodic checks of the thermostat and “adequate maintenance can lead to savings of 15%.”
• Householders should fully disconnect appliances when they go on holiday, paying special attention to the fridge and freezer, “which consume up to 30% of the total consumption of the house.” Likewise, equipment like laptops and TVs should never be left in stand-by mode, as they will continue “expending energy, even if they do not consume.”
• Households should replace incandescent lights with lower-consumption LED lights, which use 10 times less power and have a far longer lifespan. Bill payers should also make the most of natural light and the hours of sunlight to dry clothes, according to the government.

Recommendations for small businesses

• Where possible, businesses have been asked to study the practicality of switching from conventional boilers to aero-thermal and geothermal heat pumps and other renewable energy systems, and later, families will be offered incentives to switch to solar power.
• Earlier this month, official government buildings implemented a part-time work-from-home scheme, but at the moment this isn’t being recommended for small businesses, nor will they be forced to regulate the temperature in winter. The government has also scrapped the plan to force businesses to install self-closing doors, although companies have been asked to switch off the lights at night and in unused areas.
• Companies should avoid printing when it’s not necessary and if it is, use both sides of the printer and black and white ink only.