Energy billHow much money do you spend on energy at home? How do you try to reduce costs? We ask these questions weekly to a Dutchman. Today: Valentijn (38) from Leeuwarden.
How do you live?
“In 2019 I moved with my family from a poorly insulated 1930s home to a newly built house with energy label A. A huge step for us. I live there with my girlfriend and daughter (17). We are the first residents and our terraced house has a living space of 150 square meters.
Would you like to participate in this section with your name? Mail to [email protected]. This episode of ‘Energy Account’ has been assessed by energy performance consultant and real estate agent Fabian Grotenhuis from Dieren.
The house had three solar panels as standard with a yield of only 250 watt peak each. We removed those in 2020 and installed fifteen new ones of 340 watt peak each. They face south, just like our living room and garden. We do not have a heat pump, but we do have an electric car and we cook on electricity.
The move to new construction was a conscious choice for us. We are not handymen ourselves and this requires a lot less maintenance. All appliances are also new and economical, everything here is designed for sustainability. That appealed to me. Apart from the extreme winter days, we need little to nothing here.”
What kind of energy contract do you have?
,,In September 2021 I signed a 3-year contract with Greenchoice. Given the increased energy prices, I am very happy with that. I used to change supplier every year, but now for the first time I have locked it up for a long time due to the increasing turmoil in the energy market. We pay an advance of 160 euros. That is deliberately too much, because of the electric car. My employer reimburses those costs. This is automatic, the data from the charging station’s app is read and forwarded.
Last year we consumed 9500 kWh of electricity, but we also generated 4850 kWh. The largest consumption is in the car, because I am on the road a lot. Last year it cost about 7000 kWh. Our gas consumption was 750 cubic meters. In the end, last year we came to about 140 euros per month, a large part of which was reimbursed by my employer because the car is the major consumer in our household.”
What do you do to lower your energy bill?
“Those extra solar panels are now going like clockwork. We have already had a lot of sun this year, because halfway through the year we are already at 3150 kilowatt hours of generated power. In the house we always have the thermostat set to 19 degrees. We have underfloor heating downstairs and the radiators are never on upstairs.
We have LED lighting everywhere, and motion sensors in the downstairs and upstairs hallways. Our dryer is a heat pump dryer, but they use very little. With a south-facing garden, the laundry often hangs outside. We have a shower and a bath and that bath is used regularly. About three or four times a week. I think that is our major consumer of gas. I never go in there myself, but I can’t manage a house without a bath with two women, can I?
I’ve thought about a heat pump, but my gas costs are now about 70 euros per month. For now I think that’s too big an investment for what it would bring me. Maybe when my energy contract expires.”
The last name of Valentijn is known to the editors. Exceptionally, it will not be shared online at the request of the interviewee.
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