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Warm Walls Without Heating: You Can Save Energy With These 8 Tips

Heating without heating? That can work. How to make yourself warm and comfortable, how to save money and energy.

1. Leave the oven open: If you’ve had a cake or casserole in the oven, be sure to leave the oven door open after baking. The oven may be off, but the residual heat lingers on for a long time. It spreads pleasantly in the kitchen and warms everything up well. Make sure the oven is actually off, otherwise it’ll be an expensive treat.

2. Tiled stove or fireplace: A natural source of heat that you don’t need a heater for. However, there are a few things to consider here. The Federal Environment Agency advises in particular to buy a stove with a high energy efficiency class and, above all, to only burn dry and untreated wood. Get good advice beforehand, because burned wood can also be harmful to your health. Because wood never burns completely, but releases pollutant emissions during combustion. In addition, dust gets into the air and more than 90 percent of it is fine dust.

3. Candles: Candle temperatures can reach 1400 degrees Celsius on the surface of the yellow flame. This heat warms the surrounding air. The warm air rises and is distributed throughout the room. You can use this method for a short time in small rooms and short corridors. It only increases the temperature by about two degrees. For this reason, this is absolutely not a permanent solution and above all you should always keep an eye on the burning candles.

4. Seal windows and doors: If you have leaky windows and doors, this can lead to a lot of heat loss and the drafts also make the rooms feel colder. To check the seals, pinch a piece of paper between the window frame and the sash. If the paper cannot be pulled out again when the window is closed, the window is tight at this point. So replace your seals, look for door slits on apartment doors and thus ensure more warmth in the rooms.

5. Radiant heater: This solution should only be used for a short time. Although a radiant heater heats up the surrounding air quickly, many models are expensive. Here, too, good advice is necessary due to sustainability.

6. Warm clothes: A classic that brings a lot. Many heat unnecessarily much, although somewhat warmer clothing would be sufficient. If you don’t necessarily have to walk around the apartment in a T-shirt in autumn and spring, you can save on the heating with a cardigan, a scarf or even warm slippers. Do you work in the home office? Then make yourself really warm here. Lay out a blanket and prepare a warm spelled pillow for your legs. Keep your feet warm and drink a stimulating ginger tea from time to time. You will see that you can do without heating for a long time, especially in the transition months.

7. Fan heater: the absolute emergency solution. If there is no other way and the heating has failed, fan heaters warm up incredibly quickly, but not very ecologically. The small models are not expensive, but due to their enormous energy consumption they are anything but sustainable. The power guzzlers should therefore definitely be operated with green electricity.

8. This last point is more of an indirect tip. Heat sustainably and specifically, then you generally save more heating costs! Use adjustable thermostats, ventilate properly and regularly and ensure good thermal insulation. If you use these tips, follow the instructions for heating and get well informed, you will definitely not freeze.

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Lifestyle

Versatile Savings Tips: How You Can Effectively Save Money and Energy

Rising energy and food prices are presenting more and more people with financial challenges. Many households can barely cope with their daily expenses. What to do when running costs eat up all income?

Take a close look at current contracts and insurance policies

The first step is to take a close look at existing contracts, advises the NRW consumer advice center. It is often possible to switch to cheaper tariffs, for example for insurance or mobile phone contracts. Many contracts are even superfluous and can be terminated subject to the contractually agreed deadline. That relieves the expenses.

Another spending trap is insurance. The following applies here: “As much as necessary, as little as possible,” advises the consumer advice center. Policies that only cover minor damage are often superfluous. For a standard vacation, for example, luggage insurance is often not necessary, since the loss of a suitcase is usually easy can be replaced. Mobile phone insurance usually has many gaps and pitfalls. You can usually save yourself this holey protection in the truest sense of the word. Glass and death benefit insurance are often dispensable. Extra equipment insurance for bicycles, laptops or glasses is only worthwhile for very expensive purchases. There are significant price differences for important insurance policies such as private liability or household insurance, so it is worth comparing prices. Modern policies often also offer better protection. Switching to annual payment can also save money.

You should also carefully check your current contracts for telephone, smartphone and internet. These are indispensable, but you can also save money here. You should first determine your actual needs. How many minutes are you on the phone? How much data volume do you use per month? If you know your needs, you can also compare the prices of different providers better. Product information sheets, which dealers must hand out on request, help with this. After the minimum contract period has expired, every telecommunications contract that is not actively extended, for example by a change of tariff or a new smartphone, can be terminated with one month’s notice. The change is therefore possible faster than you think. Porting your phone number is free regardless of the provider.

Pay attention to the fees for memberships and financial institutions and check the legal situation

If you have subscriptions or memberships, for example for magazines, streaming services or a gym, then you should also put them to the test. These are often particularly cheap or even free in the first few months, but over time high costs can arise. Especially a long minimum contract term of up to two years is often a cost trap in difficult financial times. Some contracts are automatically extended by a further year if you do not cancel in good time. The advice of the consumer advice center: check existing contracts, prioritize them and note the notice periods in order to end unnecessary memberships and subscriptions in good time.

Financial institutions have very different price models and fees for a current account or the use of a credit card. Some banks charge flat rates for account management, others charge a basic price plus costs for individual booking processes. Free account management is also still offered. Some banks also offer special conditions for students, trainees, pensioners or union members. A comparison of different banks can therefore be useful in order to reduce running costs. You can usually terminate current accounts at any time and without notice. There are no fees for closing the account. Particular caution is necessary with loans: the installments and additional costs put a strain on the budget. You should not exhaust the overdraft facility either, because double-digit interest rates are due here. In the case of acute and major financial problems, debt counseling should be sought in good time.

Rising costs for providers mean that prices in current contracts rise. However, this is not easily possible. Because once a contract has been concluded for a specific price to be paid regularly, the contractual partner cannot unilaterally change it. It is different if a price adjustment clause is agreed in the contract, on which the provider bases his price increase. Such clauses are usually found in the fine print, but are subject to strict requirements. In many cases they are ineffective, so that the providers cannot refer to them. So it’s worth taking a close look.

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Lifestyle

Heat Water With a Saucepan or Kettle? This Saves You Energy and Costs in The Household

When boiling water, everyone uses a different variant. It is interesting whether you save more energy and costs if you use the kettle or if the saucepan is more economical.

Where does the water boil faster and more energy-efficiently?

Water is traditionally boiled either in a kettle or in a saucepan. But the question of what actually saves more energy and thus costs can usually be answered off the bat.

If you take a look at the time aspect, you might think: If you heat the water in a saucepan, it will take a lot more time. With the kettle, on the other hand, the water is usually heated in just a few minutes. A fallacy would now be that it is more economical to use the kettle. Because the bill was often made without modern induction cookers. Induction cookers heat water just as quickly as the kettle.

According to Stiftung Warentest, the kettle is the best choice when you compare the time, energy requirements and energy costs. The basic prices of 0.27 euros/kWh for electricity and around 0.07 for gas were used. The differences to the induction hob are minimal: while the kettle took an average of 3 minutes and 18 seconds to boil the water, the induction hob needed 4 minutes and 36 seconds. The energy requirement of the kettle was 115 Wh, that of the induction cooker 123 Wh; the corresponding energy costs amounted to 3.1 cents per liter for the kettle and 3.3 cents per liter for the induction hob. The differences seem minimal at first, but add up over time, so that you can save money with the kettle in the long run.

The relevance of the amount of water

If you only want to boil a small amount of water, for example for tea, it is advisable to use the kettle. The Öko-Institut points out other advantages of the kettle compared to the saucepan: it saves time, is easy to use, does not have to be monitored and is therefore safer. In addition, kettles are very cheap to buy. You should not use a metal kettle: These are not particularly energy-efficient, as they store the energy and therefore more is needed to boil the water. It is also important to descale the kettle regularly; this saves you time and energy.

If you have an induction cooker with a boost function at home, the water can usually be heated just as quickly as with a kettle. However, the stove is usually very expensive to buy; Although you can save energy by cooking on an induction stove, the initial costs are usually not covered by using it to boil water.

It is important that you do not use the kettle before boiling large quantities of water, for example for pasta or other food: If you first boil the water in the kettle and then tip it into the saucepan, you suffer a double loss of energy.

Conclusion

To save time and energy, the kettle is worth it; especially in small amounts. If you are dealing with larger quantities, you should not pour them out, but heat the water in the saucepan right away.

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Lifestyle

Save Money and Energy: Washing Clothes at 30 or 40 Degrees – That’s How Big The Difference is

It doesn’t matter whether you wash the laundry at 30 or 40 degrees? No – because lower temperatures not only save energy and costs. You also have another advantage. How big is the difference really?

Washing at low temperatures: what about cleanliness?

As far as washing the laundry is concerned, many fall into a certain routine after a while – and then always wash at the usual number of degrees. At first glance, the difference between 30 and 40 degrees sounds very small; after all, it is just 10 degrees more that are generated in your washing machine. However, these 10 degrees are by no means low for the washing machine: it requires almost twice the energy if it has to bring the temperature to a full 40 instead of just 30 degrees.

The worry that the laundry won’t get really clean or isn’t hygienic if you wash it at lower temperatures is usually unfounded. Washing machine technology is so advanced today that laundry can be cleaned at just 20 degrees. A so-called hot wash (a wash cycle that can heat up to 90 degrees) is only necessary in the case of contagious diseases or a special need for hygiene – according to the Stiftung Warentest.

If you want to be on the safe side that the laundry is completely germ-free even at 30 degrees, you should let it dry in the fresh air if possible. Here, the sun kills various germs with the help of UV radiation.

Focus on costs and the environment

When comparing the washing temperatures, it can be seen that there is no noticeable difference in the cleaning effect.
However, if you take a look at power consumption and the environment, you can see some significant differences:

If you normally wash at 60 degrees and now turn it down to 40 degrees, about 50 percent of the electricity costs are saved
If you calculate this down from 60 to 30 degrees, you save as much as 67 percent.
Depending on the electricity provider, you save around 40 euros if you wash about three times a week. It is therefore worth switching to lower temperatures.
You are also doing something good for the environment, as the lower energy consumption and CO2 emissions can only be reduced by washing at lower temperatures; and by up to 35 percent. The Federal Environment Agency recommends: Washing permanently at the lowest possible temperature and only choosing a program at 60 degrees once a month to prevent the growth of germs in the washing machine. For example, bedding or towels should be washed.

Conclusion: washing at low temperatures – so what’s the point?

Unless you have an illness or other reason that makes you forced to do a hot wash, try to do a hot wash only once a month. You don’t lose anything when it comes to cleanliness: Today’s washing machine technology and detergents ensure clean laundry even at low temperatures.

If you wash at low temperatures, this offers advantages for you and the environment. On the one hand you can save money in the long run, on the other hand you also help to reduce CO2 emissions. In summary, there are no disadvantages for you if you wash at low temperatures.

The initial question as to whether it makes a difference to wash laundry at 30 or 40 degrees can therefore be answered in the affirmative. There is no noticeable difference in terms of cleanliness, but all the more so in terms of the environment and the costs involved.

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Food

Forget Coffee and Energy Drinks: These Foods Naturally Increase Performance

It sounds almost too good to be true: there are some foods that increase performance without the unhealthy sugar or caffeine. Here we give you 9 tips to increase your performance naturally.

Tip 1: The eternal reminder: drink enough water!

Drink a lot – a sentence that you hear particularly often in summer. What does that have to do with the increase in performance? Quite simply: if you drink enough water, your blood automatically becomes more fluid. This in turn means that oxygen and nutrients reach the brain faster. The result? Increased ability to concentrate!

Tip 2: Superfood nuts – what’s up with the good reputation?

Whether in trail mix, muesli bars or just plain: Nuts have long had the reputation of being good for concentration. Not only do they deliver a lot of energy to our brain, they also contain vitamins, magnesium, potassium and the omega-3 fatty acids that are so important for concentration. They also support metabolism and the immune system.
A little tip: Walnuts are particularly suitable for a great boost in concentration.

Tip 3: The classic fruit under the magnifying glass

Besides sweets, fruit is probably one of the most popular snacks for in between. Compared to the former, however, it performs significantly better. Bananas and red berries are particularly recommended. In addition to important minerals such as potassium, iron and magnesium, bananas also contain many vitamins and three different types of sugar – a real energy bomb. Berries such as cherries, blueberries or strawberries, on the other hand, are particularly good for after exercise because they help against sore muscles due to their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances. They are also good for nerve cells in the brain.

Tip 4: Pumpkin Seeds and Legumes: How Effective Are They?

In fact, legumes are real all-rounders. They contain special carbohydrates that keep the blood sugar level constant, which in turn strengthens the ability to concentrate. Antioxidants, iron and zinc also promote brain performance.

Pumpkin seeds contain magnesium and are good for the muscles, so they are also good as a small snack after exercise.

Tip 5: Green tea, a real miracle cure?

Although you might not expect it, green tea is a good substitute for those who only drink coffee for the caffeine. Because it also contains caffeine – but in the healthy version. In contrast to the caffeine from coffee, the caffeine from green tea works more slowly, but is much gentler and lasts longer.

Tip 6: Vegetables make you happy

When it comes to vegetables, avocado and chili are particularly recommended. The former is good for the brain due to the many minerals and unsaturated fatty acids, while the latter primarily promotes the happiness hormone endorphin. Ginger also has great properties, for example it has an antibacterial and calming effect.

Root vegetables are also well suited for low concentration and performance, and beetroot shines here in particular, as it ensures better oxygen supply to the muscles and sufficient detoxification.

Tip 7: And animal products?

Many may even have guessed it: Here eggs are suitable for increasing performance. Because in addition to choline for brain function and cholesterol for the formation and strengthening of brain cells, an egg also contains proteins and healthy fats to protect our brain.

In addition, fish is also suitable as a dish for particularly good memory – because this is strengthened by the many omega-3 fatty acids contained in fish. Fish is said to even reduce the likelihood of dementia.

Tip 8: Don’t worry – you can snack too!

While traditional sweets and sugar aren’t great for improving focus and performance, there are exceptions. For example dark chocolate. The higher the cocoa content, the healthier it is because it contains flavonoids that improve concentration and blood flow. It also reduces stress and has a calming effect.

Tip 9: Support for sports

Those who are more interested in sports can rely on carbohydrates (e.g. grain products) for better endurance and protein for muscle building. Industrially manufactured products such as protein bars can be used, but look for low sugar and high-quality protein sources if you like it healthy.

Conclusion: In the end one can say: The right diet has a lot more effect than you think. Minerals, carbohydrates and omega-3 fatty acids, along with various vitamins and phytochemicals are good for concentration and the brain. Carbohydrates and proteins for a physically demanding body. Without coffee, sweets and sugar you can increase your own performance in a healthy and delicious way.

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Food

Fattening or Energy Supplier: How Good Are Bananas Really?

Bananas are considered to be a source of energy and are a popular food among children and adults. Let’s take a look at the popular fruit.

Exotic fruit: banana

The exotic fruit, which has meanwhile become a matter of course, contains a lot of fructose; the exact amount depends on how ripe it is. The riper a banana is, the more fructose and less starch it contains. You can usually recognize a ripe state by a bright yellow color and possibly also the first brown spots. It is then considered to be easier to digest than green bananas, the consumption of which is controversial. In the green state, the starch content outweighs the fructose. Beyond the green degree of ripeness, the banana is considered to be easily digestible. The fructose makes the banana a good supplier of energy.

Regardless, all bananas are high in carbohydrates. These can be burned off quickly, especially during sports. But even if you don’t exercise, you can eat bananas because they are very filling. In addition, the banana contains many vitamins. For example, the content of vitamin B6 is very high; you also take in vitamin C, potassium and magnesium, among other things. When the banana turns brown, it loses its vitamins. Bananas are also said to contain antioxidants.

Tip: Bananas are recommended for both diarrhea and constipation. But watch out for any intolerances. Especially people with a fructose intolerance should be careful with bananas due to their fructose content. The fructose-glucose ratio in particular determines intolerances. However, intolerances express themselves individually.

Bananas as a calorie bomb?

Bananas are often considered fattening foods. A banana has about 114 calories; depending on your weight, that’s about 88 to 124 kilocalories. In general, you can count on 88 to 95 kilocalories per 100 grams. Bananas don’t usually make you fat; however, you should pay attention to the total number of calories and a healthy lifestyle. It also depends on how you eat the banana; Dried bananas contain a lot of fructose, so you can count on around 290 kilocalories for 100 grams.

It’s recommended not to eat more than three raw bananas a day, but opinions differ on this as well. The German Society for Nutrition (DGE) recommends 250 g of fruit a day – preferably a healthy mix.

Good to know: Ripe bananas can have an alcohol content of up to 0.6 percent. In general, ripe fruit contains a certain amount of alcohol. Tip: It is best to store your bananas at a temperature of 12 to 14 degrees Celsius; the refrigerator is not suitable for storing them, as they can then turn black.

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Food

Ayurvedic Nutrition: Food For More Life Energy and Immunity

Eating healthy: Ayurveda is only good for long-term health, but supports people holistically and provides more life energy. With these simple tips, Ayurveda can be easily integrated into your everyday life.

Ayurvedic Diet: What is Ayurveda?

Ayurveda is an Indian healing art and means “the knowledge of life”. The focus here is on human health – and not on the disease. Ayurveda starts where you can do something for yourself. It’s about your individual constitution and how you can find your physical and mental balance again, for example through nutrition, a certain way of life, but also through your mental attitude to life.

Ayurveda speaks of three different doshas (constitutions): Vata, Pitta and Kapha. The doshas are responsible for the different predispositions or characteristics of a person and they control the physical and mental functions. Each person has different constitutions, which in turn results in an individual, unique combination.

The more balanced you are in your physical and mental constitution, the more life energy you can release. The doshas can also be found in the seasonal cycle. The cold and dryness of winter (Vata). The heat of fire in summer (Pitta). And the dampness and coolness of spring and early summer (kapha). With certain foods, you can not only balance your individual constitution, but also adapt your diet to the seasons in order to gain as much life energy as possible and strengthen your immune system.

Ayurveda: The study of the human constitution – the three doshas of Ayurvedic nutrition

Typical characteristics of Vata (space and air):
Lots of thinking
High creativity
mental flexibility
absent-mindedness
Delicate body
Thin hair and skin
Typical characteristics of Pitta (fire):
High assertiveness and implementation skills
Lots of power and energy
Red hair
freckles
Loud voice
Small eyes, piercing stare
intelligence
Typical characteristics of Kapha (water and earth):
indolence, heaviness
down-to-earth
Quiet
serenity
Fat hair
Big eyes
Loud clear voice

Ayurvedic nutrition in everyday life – these foods strengthen and protect you every day

Healthy eating doesn’t just taste good: With a balanced and wholesome diet, with the right amount and combination of foods, you can make a huge difference in terms of health. The Ayurvedic diet is vegetarian with lots of vegetables and rice and cannot do without spices. Everything is possible, nothing is neccesary! Depending on your taste, tolerance, season and region, you can of course live out your preferences. Regular consumption of the following foods promotes your health and prevents diseases:
honey
almonds
Cashews
sesame
raisins
dates
figs
pomegranate
Grapes
mango
Ginger
cardamom
garlic (cooked)
turmeric
Cinammon
Each food has a specific effect on your body, as well as on the doshas. For example, if you have excess Vata, you can include dates or raisins in your diet to increase your Kapha percentage again. The above foods boost your immune system and are also healthy sugar alternatives.

Classic Ayurveda recommendations to stay healthy and fit

In Ayurveda, health does not only refer to purely physical health, but also includes mind and soul. According to Ayurveda, health is essentially based on nutrition. “Those who eat right don’t need medication,” is the core idea. If you don’t eat properly, medication won’t help. So when you start to nourish your body well, it affects your mental health as well. On the other hand, numerous studies have shown that mental health (a positive attitude towards yourself) also has a beneficial effect on physical health.

You can start with these tips for eating habits:
Eat the right amount: cupping your hands into a cup is roughly the size of your stomach.
Eating regularly and avoiding snacks: A meal takes three to five hours to digest.
Take your time and rest while eating: You absorb the energy you have while eating through your food. So stress is not exactly conducive.
Eat as fresh, high-quality food as possible: the more processed food is, the fewer nutrients it contains and the less healthy it is.
Balanced taste: Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and tart should be covered throughout the day to reduce cravings.
Correct food combination: Avoid carbohydrates in combination with dairy products.

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Cooking Tips

Energy Drink vs. Coffee – Which Provides More Energy?

Energy drinks and coffee are known for their stimulating effects as both drinks contain caffeine. But which drink provides more energy?

Pick-me-up with caffeine: energy drink and coffee

At first glance, energy drinks and coffee don’t seem to have much in common. One drink is cold, sweet as sugar and is preferably drunk quickly from cans. The other drink is usually comfortably warm, aromatic in taste and sometimes part of a relaxed ceremony. While energy drinks are particularly popular with young people, adults of all ages enjoy a good cup of coffee. However, one thing connects both drinks – the caffeine they contain. In addition, both drinks are absolutely trendy and score with a large number of variations. In addition, both energy suppliers are often viewed critically, as they are already consumed by young people as a stimulant and are therefore a reflection of our society, which is characterized by stress and pressure to perform.

The energy drink – flashy, caffeinated and dangerous?

Energy drinks are beverages that have a stimulating effect due to their ingredients. They come from Japan and were used here during the Second World War to improve the pilots’ vision thanks to the taurine they contain. The drink came to Europe at the end of the 1980s and was particularly popular in the techno scene. Since then, the sugar bombs have been an integral part of the beverage market. However, while coffee is the most popular drink among Germans, only a small group consumes energy drinks on a regular basis. Due to their colorful marketing and the promised increase in performance, young people in particular rely on energy drinks.
A coffee drink usually consists of coffee beans, water and, depending on taste, milk and sugar. The energy drink contains water, sugar, carbon dioxide, caffeine, taurine and many other additives. The effect of many ingredients is controversial. For example, experts disagree about the effect of taurine. While some studies state that taurine may have performance-enhancing effects, others state the complete opposite. Energy drinks have also come under criticism because they are often drunk with alcohol. The stimulating effect influences the self-assessment. An overdose of caffeine or alcohol can quickly occur. There is also the danger of judging yourself to be more alert than you really are, which sometimes provokes accidents.

Energy drink and caffeine – a comparison

But which drink actually contains more caffeine and how does it affect the body? If you convert the amount of caffeine to a liquid amount of 100 ml, normal filter coffee contains about 45 milligrams of caffeine, the energy drink contains about 30 to 40 milligrams. Due to the other ingredients, however, the effect of caffeine differs. A 250ml can of energy drink contains almost 30 grams of sugar. Sugar is not only a short-term source of energy, it also releases happiness hormones. The effect of the caffeine sets in after just 10 minutes – blood pressure and pulse rise.
In contrast to the effect of the caffeine in coffee, the performance-enhancing effect of the energy drink wears off after just one hour. Many consumers report feeling tired afterwards. The increased sugar is processed and the performance drops again. A coffee that is drunk without sugar keeps you awake and active a little longer, until the stimulating effect wears off here too. Due to the many additives in an energy drink, it is difficult to assess the effect. In some cases, there was even serious damage to health or even death. The sweet taste in particular encourages people to drink more, so that young people in particular quickly consume more caffeine than is healthy.

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