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Your home can be connected to the energy grid in two ways: with 2 wires (single-phase) or 3 or 4 wires (three-phase). Each type of connection has its advantages.
To calculate the consumption of electrical appliances in kWh, you have to take into account the capacity and the length of use. As an example, we calculate the annual energy consumption of a radio alarm and a vacuum cleaner.
A watt indicates the power of an electrical appliance. A kilowatt hour is the amount of energy that an appliance consumes when it operates for one hour.
A laptop uses far less power and emits less CO2 than a desktop, but always be aware of the stand-by mode of your computer and peripherals.
It costs more to install, does not suit every home, and the yield decreases when the weather is cold. However, the advantages luckily outweigh the disadvantages.
The numbers or scales on your thermostatic radiator valves do not correspond to a precise temperature but rather to a level of comfort. It's up to you to find the right setting!
The kilowatt-peak is a notion used to forecast the output of photovoltaic panels and therefore to compare them with each other.
The energy used by household appliances is calculated on the basis of their capacity (expressed in watts) and the length or frequency of use. Take a look at the overview of the use per electrical appliance.
It is difficult to give a precise figure, as various parameters come into play. The figures published by the Brussels regulator make it possible to identify broad trends.
Pellet stoves have several advantages: they are easy to use and efficient, as well as being environmentally-friendly. But they're also very expensive
The calorific value of gas is the energy that is released in the form of heat when it is burned. This is used to calculate your natural gas bill.
The consumption of electric cars depends on the model and the manufacturer. Most of the electric vehicles can cover up to 100 kilometres with 15 kWh.
To make sure that all consumers pay a fair price regardless of the caloric power of the gas received, gas consumption is calculated in kWh and not cubic metres.
EAN stands for 'European Article Numbering' and it is a unique combination of figures used to identify products. The EAN codes are also used to identify gas or electricity supply points.
Yes, if you own solar panels. The timer will allow you to heat your water using the electricity generated by your panels. Otherwise, installing a timer is of little or no benefit.
Cooling your home in the middle of a heatwave? It can be done! Fans, misting fans and cooler units will get the temperature down by a few degrees, and at a perfectly affordable price.
To improve the efficiency of your heat pump, maintain a constant temperature in your home, limit the temperature of the water and regularly maintain your system.
From now on the packaging of all light bulbs has to include an energy label. This label gives you information about the energy efficiency, the light output, the power and the lifespan of the bulb.
Charging modes define the way in which the electric car and the charging infrastructure communicate. There are several recharging modes depending on the recharging power.
To bleed your radiators, just follow a few simple steps to remove air bubbles or sludge.
The lifetime of an electric bike battery is not calculated in years but in number of recharge cycles. The most powerful batteries can hold up to 1000 recharge cycles.
Internet use means energy consumption and, therefore, CO2 production. Information and communication technologies yearly account for about 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. And this figure increases by 5 to 7% each year!
In order to make sense of the single-line diagram and the position diagram, you first need to understand the symbols used and what these plans represent. Follow our guide!
Place your fridge and/or freezer in the right place, perform regular maintenance on it and use it properly to reduce your energy bill.
Discover 10 practical tips to cut down on your gas consumption, without giving up on your creature comforts.
A tonne of carbon dioxide is a return trip between Paris and New York by plane. In terms of volume, this represents a cube the size of a three-storey building, or 8.20 metres in edge length.
Most of the people prefer an indoor temperature of 21°C. Heating your house while you are away from home, is a complete waste of energy and money.
A new energy label was launched in 2021. With no more "+” signs, the classification again extends from A to G. This is what has changed.
Nearly 10% of your electricity bill is due to the standby consumption of your devices. Read our tips for detecting and neutralising this phantom energy use.
This is a system that captures sunlight, converts it into heat and uses this to reheat the water in your pipes.
There are many estimates out there and not all pilot lights operate in the same way. Consulting different sources, you come across stated consumption levels ranging from 60 m³ a year, all the way up to 250 m³. Let's calculate your exact consumption.
In old homes, cracks and gaps provide sufficient fresh air. However, this is not the case in new, highly insulated and airtight homes. Ventilation is the message. Different systems exist to do this.
Acquire some good habits and adopt a few simple gestures for a more palatable energy bill.
It is difficult to give a precise answer to this question. In fact, the direct and indirect CO2 emissions of your home depend on a great many parameters: the energy performance of your home, the electricity consumption, the type of heating, etc.
Yes, the heat pump can be an effective and very energy-efficient solution for heating an apartment, even during renovation. You just have to pay attention to a few particularities of the situation.
Yes, provided you follow a few precautions and coordinate with other occupants of the building to avoid any danger and comply with the regulations.
No. On the other hand, the Energy Performance Certificate for Buildings does help you to compare properties in terms of their energy performance.
With the disappearance of incandescent bulbs, you now have the choice between halogen bulbs, fluorescent tubes and LEDs.
The good news is that you can put up your festive lights without sending your energy consumption and CO2 emissions sky high! Let us shed some light on the right equipment for guilt-free light-ups!
Your electricity consumption is determined every year on the basis of the difference between the reading displayed by the meter and that of the previous year. This counts the number of kilowatt hours delivered to you.
Learn how to play about with your washing machine's programmes and options, do your laundry at the right time and be sure to maintain your machine.
Whether from natural or human sources, electromagnetic fields and radiation are omnipresent in our environment.
Based on data, you can easily calculate how much it costs to recharge the battery on your electric bike. Here’s an explanation.
In Belgium, solar panels generally achieve their best performance in May and June, when the weather conditions are most favourable.
To replace your incandescent light bulbs, you can choose between halogen bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs and LEDs.
Induction hobs are more expensive to buy but they offer a whole range of advantages: high performance, precision, safety, easy maintenance... so they are worth looking into! Cooking with gas is still more economical though.
Today, underfloor heating systems are efficient, environmentally friendly and no longer pose any health risks. But what type should you choose?
You will make huge savings by replacing your boiler if it is more than fifteen to twenty years old. Was it installed before 1978? It will soon no longer be compatible with the gas in Brussels. Another reason for getting ahead!
Your electrical installation will be declared non-compliant if it poses a risk to people's safety: the most common causes include no electrical diagram, no differential switch and cable insulation faults.
When the choice of how to heat the water is sound, the expense can change from excessive to very affordable - and very ecological...
TL tubes are gradually giving way to LED alternatives, which are more efficient and warm. Two options are possible: replace TL tubes with LED tubes while keeping the existing structure or place LED panels with the same light power.
Insulating a pitched roof from the outside is quick and helps to avoid heat losses from the living space. Call in a professional to carry out this delicate work!
A heating system that gives just the right temperature when you want it? Comfortable and economical. But if you want proper control over your heating, you first need to know how all these devices communicate with each other.
Yes it is! Combining a condensing boiler and a thermodynamic boiler allows you to harness the 2 most efficient technologies available on the market for your heating and hot water. A win-win solution for your pocket and the environment!
Give the building a good airing, reduce vapour emissions, identify the causes and put the pertinent steps in place.
The smart meter or intelligent meter is an electronic meter that is capable of recording and transmitting power consumption data. Smart meters will be rolled out in Brussels gradually.
Developing some good practices both when buying and using electronic devices will help you to reduce their energy consumption. Follow our guide!
Sometimes the public lighting is left on even during daylight hours. This may be due to repair work, a malfunction or an incorrect signal from Elia.
Whether you have an analogue or digital meter, there are solutions for closely monitoring the electricity consumption of each of your devices.
There are three types of portable electric cooler. Everything depends on what you need, the budget you want to spend and the outside temperature. Let's look at them in that in order...
The advantage of this system is that the electricity used at night and during the weekend and legal holidays, is billed at a lower rate. The rate charged during the day is slightly higher than the ordinary rate and the installation costs are heavier.
Energy labels provide information about the consumption of devices. This means that you can compare them and make a fully informed purchase.
A heat pump powered by natural gas recovers the heat that is released as part of the combustion process. Which means the appliance delivers enhanced heat efficiency that outstrips its electric counterpart and it is well placed to replace a heating boiler.
The dual hourly rate is based on the principle of two different prices for electricity: during the daytime it is slightly higher than the single rate, while at night as well as during the weekend and public holidays it is lower.
Check the state and cleanliness of your photovoltaic panels regularly. Make sure that the installation’s cables are in good condition and that your inverter and green meter are working properly.
By adopting good habits and improving your installation, you will use less hot water and relieve your wallet.
Cogeneration is a system that generates both electricity and heat from a single fuel (natural gas).
Buy smart, make sure you limit your consumption and give your appliances a good end of life to reduce the costs for you and the environment!
For economic and environmental reasons, gradually switching from natural gas heating to renewable sources makes sense! The process is simple.
Yes! Today, underfloor heating systems are efficient, environmentally friendly and no longer pose any health risks.
Damp inside the home has a detrimental impact on the occupants' health, the building itself as well as on the building's energy consumption levels. So it's vital that it is dealt with.
Water causing moisture damage inside the home can only come from one of three sources: the sky, the ground or the people living inside the home.
Smart charging systems make it possible to control and optimize the recharging of electric vehicle batteries. A good plan for managing the balance of the electricity network and for recharging your vehicle at a lower cost!
With a PV heater you can store excess electricity generated by your photovoltaic panels as domestic hot water. This solution is worth considering if you produce more electricity than you consume.
When you are much more at home, you also consume more energy. A few simple saving tips will immediately have an impact on your energy bill.
Condensation may appear in overly insulated buildings, inside of which the air does not circulate properly. The solution? Ventilate!
In the Brussels-Capital Region, Sibelga, your distribution system operator, is responsible for reading gas and electricity meters.
If you have a variable contract with your energy supplier, you are directly affected by the global rise in gas and electricity prices.
Follow our advice for a well-laid-out kitchen that is more efficient, safe and a pleasure to work in, while consuming less energy.
Review your energy contracts, get a free energy audit, insulate, replace your boiler or install photovoltaic panels. There are a whole host of solutions for saving energy in a co-owned property!
Follow our advice to make the correct choices when buying domestic appliances for the kitchen and limit their consumption.
The arrival of winter coincides with shorter and colder days. If you want to get through the winter nice and warm without breaking the bank, whilst spending a thought for the environment, here are a few tips and tricks that will help you get your home ready for winter.
In Brussels the roll-out of the smart meter is being organised by Sibelga, the power and gas distribution network operator.
Make sure you let your house breathe by venting it! A few simple actions are enough to prevent your home from filling with moisture and pollutants.
Investing in a smart thermostat can help cut your energy consumption by optimising the heating in your home. But that doesn’t make it the right solution for everyone! Explanations.
Are you using electricity or natural gas without paying? If so, something is wrong. What usually causes this and what risks do you run?
New appliances can save you up to 30% on your bill. In addition, many old appliances are incompatible with the new rich gas being deployed in Brussels.
In some situations, infrared heaters can be attractive for the comfort they provide, although heating with direct electricity still has a cost.
New washing machines are connected, larger capacity and more powerful but also unfortunately less easy to repair.
If we don't do anything about it, digital pollution is liable to correspond to the worldwide CO2 emissions from road transport. But what can you, as an internet user, do to limit this pollution?
A dual hourly rate meter is used to distinguish between two rates for electricity: a slightly higher rate than the single rate during the daytime and a more advantageous rate than the single rate at night and during the weekend.
You have very extensive consumer rights. You can leave your energy supplier at any time for a more advantageous offer or cancel an energy contract signed with a direct seller.
The rates you get through collective energy purchasing are not systematically financially more rewarding than those you could get yourself by contacting a supplier directly. However, they are still profitable in certain cases.
Belgium uses up most electrical power between 5 pm and 8 pm on weekdays: offices and shops are still open for business, trains, trams and the underground system are operating at peak performance and people are getting dinner on at home. To avoid selective power cuts, there is only one thing for it: to drive down overall power consumption during these times.
In this lockdown, there are more people teleworking than ever before! Here are some useful tips to waste less energy, work in the best possible conditions and keep your energy bills under control.
As from the first days of spring, there are a whole range of simple and easy things you can do that will enable you to save energy and make sure that your heating installation is fully up and running for next winter. Before leaving on your holidays, a quick inspection of your electrical or gas-powered appliances is another must.
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The answer to all your energy questions in Brussels
