As the heat is expected to be severe in the future, the government has requested power saving nationwide for the first time in seven years, and is calling for cooperation in power saving within a reasonable range for three months until the end of September.

Under these circumstances, energy-saving houses called "ZEH" are attracting attention.

"ZEH" is an abbreviation of "Net Zero Energy House". By generating electricity by solar power generation while reducing power consumption by energy saving, energy consumption for one year is deducted and "substantially zero". It is a house that aims to become.



Of these, in the houses sold by major housing manufacturers, heat insulating materials are used for the walls and ceilings, and the large windows have high heat insulating performance.



The windows are designed to lengthen the eaves of the balcony to prevent direct sunlight from entering, while allowing outside light to be taken in during the day so that no lighting is needed.

In addition to generating electricity from solar panels installed on the roof, it also has a fuel cell that extracts hydrogen from gas to generate electricity.



In addition, a dedicated monitor makes it possible to see at a glance the amount of electricity used and the amount of power generated.



Yu Sugiyama of the major housing maker "Sekisui House" said, "By" visualizing "electric power, the purchasers of ZEH houses have increased their awareness of saving electricity and have become an opportunity for children to become aware of environmental issues. The construction cost is a little higher than that of a general house, but considering that the electricity bill can be suppressed and the surplus electricity can be sold, the initial cost can be recovered in about 10 years. "



According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 24% of newly built custom-built detached houses built in the 2nd year of Reiwa are called "ZEH", which is gradually becoming popular.

Power saving at home

We talked to Tomoko Akimoto, Managing Director of the "Global Warming Prevention National Net," which conducts "eco-diagnosis" of households, about what kind of measures can be taken in each household to save electricity.



Among them, Managing Director Akimoto said about the air conditioner that consumes the most electricity in the summer, "I think that some people use the air conditioner at 25 degrees or 26 degrees, but if you raise the set temperature by 1 degree, , Power consumption changes by about 13%. Therefore, raise the set temperature by 1 degree to close to 28 degrees. Then, use a circulator or a fan together with the air conditioner to circulate the air in the room. It is more effective. "



Also,


before using the air conditioner, especially at night, open the windows to replace the warm air in the room,


▽ put a heat insulating sheet on the windows, use blinds, etc. to keep the outside heat in the room as much as possible. It is said that the power saving effect can be enhanced by not putting it in.



Furthermore, it is said that


▽ the heat retention function of rice cookers and electric kettles should not be used for a long time, and


▽ hair dryers should be used after thoroughly removing water from the hair with a towel in advance, which will lead to power saving. increase.



On the other hand, what you should be careful about when saving electricity is that

▽ the


air conditioner consumes the most power when it starts up, so if you go out for a short time, you can reduce the power consumption by not turning off the air conditioner.


He pointed out that it consumes the most power at times and when shutting down, so it is better to put it in sleep mode when interrupting work for a short time to save power.



Managing Director Akimoto said, "In order to save electricity, it is important to save energy on a daily basis. First of all, I would like you to check how much electricity you are using on a daily basis by reviewing the monthly usage." rice field.