The rise in electricity prices is changing consumption habits In the home. The constant information about the rise in energy costs is introducing changes in the home of greater substance than expected. A study carried out by the multinational LG ensures that 85% of households confess that they have changed the way they use appliances. 44% of Spaniards state that they have changed their hours of use to off-peak hours, while 39% have reduced the frequency of use of some devices. The electricity price has once again exceeded this March 2 the threshold of 300 euros with gas at maximum. It grows almost 100 euros in a single day to 341.52 euros per megawatt-hour.
Specifically, 84.6% of Spaniards have modified their consumption habits as a result of the increase in the price of electricity. LG’s study is based on a survey of 1,700 people conducted this February. According to the responses received, 44.2% of those surveyed confess to having changed their schedules for the use of household appliances in recent months towards night and weekend hours when electricity prices are usually lower, seeking savings on your bill. According to LG data and taking into account the current price of electricity, the savings are considerable between different devices. LG ensures that the use of efficient appliances allows savings of up to 1,992 euros throughout the useful life of a refrigerator compared to less efficient models. In the case of washing machines, this saving can reach 416 euros in their average useful life. If we talk about drying, in dryers the savings in their entire useful life can reach 3,302 euros.
39.6% of those surveyed state that they have reduced the frequency of use of some home appliances. Among other measures taken by Spaniards, it is worth starting to use ECO programs (21.4%) or acquiring new, more efficient appliances (15.8%). Only 15.4% of those interviewed claimed not to have changed their consumption habits, noting notable differences within this percentage between women (10.6%) and men (20.5%) and among the youngest (8. 5% among respondents aged 18 to 34) and the elderly (22% in those over 65).
Regarding regional differences, Asturians (26%) and Madrid (24%) are the most reluctant to change their habits, while 94% of Galicians claim to have conditioned their day to day by the price of electricity. 69.1% of those responsible for paying for supplies in the home state that they are more aware of the total energy consumption of the home as a result of the current economic situation. This percentage rises to 76.1% in the range between 18 and 34 years. By region, this response is found in 79% of Andalusians and 75% of Navarrese, and only in 58% of Riojans and 63% of Catalans. Of the remaining percentage, 27.2% say that they were previously fully aware of the energy consumption of their home and only 3.6% confess that they still do not know exactly what the overall energy consumption of their home is.
Assess appliances
These data contrast with knowledge of the energy rating of each household appliance separately: barely 28.1% of Spaniards claim to know the energy rating of all household appliances and 18.5% openly confess that they do not know any. One year after its entry into force, only 55.4% of Spaniards know of the existence of a new energy label at European level. This figure becomes more worrying when verifying that, of these, only 59.6% would know how to identify what the labeling changes with respect to the previous one consist of. This percentage is higher among young people between 18 and 34 years old (69.5%) than among those over 65 years old (52.7%).
On March 1, 2021, a new energy label for household appliances came into force throughout the European Union to adapt the previous efficiency classification to new products, after it became obsolete thanks to technological advances in recent years. With this labeling, manufacturers are forced to reinvent themselves and innovate to achieve the new, more sustainable classifications, which range between A and G (eliminating A+, A++ and A+++) and include new variables such as noise level or capacity.