Savings in your apartment...
Do you realize what costs you incur in connection with...
operation of your apartment?
Do you know what actions you can take to reduce your bills?
In this article, we will try to tell you several ways to reduce the costs of maintaining your property.
You can probably guess that the direct contact of your apartment with the surroundings has a big impact. A south-facing apartment will always be warmer than a north-facing apartment.
Most people do not take such aspects into account when making a purchase and this is a big mistake.
Think about how much you want to ultimately pay for your bills?
It is also worth mentioning other aspects of the apartment's location relative to the cardinal directions.
Probably not all of us know that the sun travels along the ellipse of the horizon every day. The position of the sun has a very important impact on the natural lighting of our apartment, as well as on our well-being!
Important questions to ask yourself when choosing an apartment location are:
Where exactly is the apartment located?
Ground floor in a skyscraper? This is not entirely a good choice, remember that every object casts a shadow!
Check if the floor is insulated?
Is there a garage or maybe a basement under the ground floor?
Top floor in a tenement house?
What about a gable apartment located on the top floor of a building?
Remember that the top floors are exposed, especially to weather conditions such as wind, snow, rain.
Each of us knows that an apartment has six sides, which means that the apartment on the top floor is more exposed than the middle apartment.
Insulating the building also significantly affects the economy of your apartment.
You've probably heard of the term "thermal insulation", building insulation.
Here, everyone realizes that this is especially important in the case of older buildings that were constructed using weaker technologies.
Cooperatives and communities are also aware of this, which translates into the fact that thermal insulation modernizations are carried out on an ongoing basis.
It is worth knowing that the material from which the building was built has a significant impact on thermal insulation. Bricks are one of the best insulators, if we compare them, for example, to a large slab. In turn, the primary market is new technologies, where all standards are dictated by restrictive regulations. The materials are new, so their coefficients are similar to those provided in the tables by the manufacturers. Of course, as you might have guessed, a new apartment will usually have better thermal characteristics.
The next thing is the so-called thermal energy measurement.
As each of you has probably noticed, one apartment has a heat allocator, the other one does not. This is due to the different policies of communities and cooperatives.
Of course, you must be aware that different companies bill the same utilities and the rates may differ between companies. Remember that flat-rate fees are higher if no dividers are installed.
This is worth taking into account. By analyzing several bills from different housing estates, we can see large price differences.
The quality of windows and doors is equally important.
It is worth checking windows and doors before purchasing.
We check the technical condition, open and close, check the operation of mechanisms and the condition of seals. Window and door joinery has a significant impact on the aesthetics of the apartment as well as reducing heating and electricity costs. There are various glazing packages, frames and profiles on the market. There are many solutions. Nowadays, we see triple-glazed and glued windows more and more often.
Did you realize how important it is to maintain your windows after purchase and properly tune them?
Preparing your windows for winter is another important activity that will ensure that your windows last longer. The manufacturer recommends spraying the seal with silicone to make it flexible and protect it against low temperatures in winter.
Another action recommended by window manufacturers is to change the seal pressure in the window. We should increase the downforce in winter and reduce it in summer.
Remember that most companies offer warranty service only for the first 5 years, so it is worth using the knowledge of professionals during this period.
Do you know what electricity bills include?
Research shows that most Poles pay for electricity without realizing what exactly they are paying for.
The invoices are full of various ingredients:
fixed and variable fees, both for the energy itself and for its distribution.
Most of us feel the price increases in energy companies on our own. You probably guess that the owner of a residential premises in a multi-family building has fewer opportunities than a home owner to optimize electricity expenses. It is worth finding out what tariff we have and what its specifications are.
What is worth doing and what not to do and when?
Can you change your energy supplier?
You'll see that this can result in big savings on your invoice - up to 25 percent.
Do you know the term heat and energy performance?
Anyone who has bought an apartment has heard the term "energy performance certificate". This means the amount of heat demand to heat a specific area of the premises. Regarding this document, it is worth knowing that:
Developers most often issue one certificate for the entire investment. Ultimately, the energy characteristics in a specific apartment may differ little from those declared by the developer, which ultimately affects the annual bills.
On the secondary market, the buyer has the right to request such a certificate from the seller, of which he will certainly be informed by a real estate agent or a notary during the sale of the residential premises.
If you managed to get to this part of the article, it's a good sign. Thanks to the acquired knowledge, you will start saving more on your bills.