Everyone's habits have an impact for us to be able to achieve climate neutrality. There are many good solutions in the energy world that help you use energy more efficiently and economically and are part of your personal green journey.

Start by reducing consumption

The most economical electricity is unused electricity. Therefore, when looking for solutions to reduce your environmental footprint, you should first look into how to reduce electricity consumption. This does not mean that you have to make sacrifices on the quality of life - it is simply worth doing smarter choices.

The biggest saving potential lies in heating. If you are also one of those people who chooses electric blower or heater when cold temperatures arrive, then you should know that although the devices themselves are affordable, their energy consumption is often quite high.

A much smarter solution than electric heating is heat pump. The heat pump is a popular heating system that is both energy-efficient and wallet-friendly in its operation.

The initial investment in a heat pump may be higher, but as electricity bills will be significantly lower in the future, the decision pays off fairly quickly.

Next, it's worth looking at older household appliances, which consume many times more energy than modern appliances. When buying a new household appliance, an energy label is a good visual aid, which provides information on the energy and water consumption of large household appliances. It is estimated that A+++ energy class equipment saves a total of 45% more energy compared to energy class A, which has long been considered the pinnacle.

For energy-efficient lighting use LED light sources and luminaires both indoors and outdoors. Another option is to equip lighting systems with dim and motion sensors that turn on the light only when needed.

Choose renewable energy

Green thinking is becoming increasingly popular. Today, nearly 27,000 Eesti Energia customers use 100% green energy, and this number has grown significantly.

If at the beginning of 2019, on average, only every twentieth Estonian home chose Green Energy . Interest has grown so much that now every third new customer already chooses electricity made from 100% from renewable energy sources.

The choice of renewable energy is affordable for everyone and does not have as much of an impact on electricity bills as is generally thought. According to calculations, the price of a kilowatt-hour of Green Energy is on average 5% more expensive than a fixed price in the electricity package. Thus, when the electricity bill is € 20, the preference for renewable energy usually adds only 70 cents.

Catch the sun

Producing solar energy is not just a new hot trend, but a clearly profitable investment in the long run that increases the market value of the building. Today the cost of building a solar power plant has decreased, while the efficiency and durability of the systems have increased.

In general, it is possible to halve the electricity bill with solar panels, with a new storage solution even up to 70%. The price of batteries has gone down which makes storage solutions also more affordable.

If the stock exchange price of electricity remains at a similarly high level as at present, then the payback period for a small house solution may be even almost half as short as initially expected from electricity prices in previous years. Installation of solar panels not only protects against rising electricity prices, but also makes the owners happy, because by selling energy to the grid gives better income.

Autumn is a good time to start planning a solar power plant, because in that case the solar park is ready for spring and you can benefit from the entire year's solar energy.

When choosing a car, go electric

In the Estonian transport sector, the growth in the popularity of electric transport has been stubborn, and myths also play a role. One of the most common myths is that electric cars are not more environmentally friendly than cars with internal combustion engines.

The way in which the electricity from the charger is produced plays a decisive role in the ecological footprint of electric cars. If electricity is produced from renewable energy sources, it has almost no effect on the environment. Electric cars work without emissions and noise and thus make a significant contribution to ensuring that the air we we breathe in, would be cleaner.

The daily and tangible impact of smart electric transport on people will be cleaner urban air and smaller electricity bills. For society, this means a natural and comfortable but irreversible move towards carbon neutrality.