freezer, fridge, oven, microwave, toaster, dishwasher, blender, heater, television, play station, tablet, camera, washing machine, lamp, radio, mixer, phone, vacuum cleaner, hairdryer, straightener, electric toothbrush, xbox, wii, charger, dishwasher, grill, digibox, computer, laptop, clothes dryer, shaver, VCR, knife sharpener, bread machine, leaf blower, branch chopper, waffle iron, sauna stove, curler, modem, dance carpet, drill, Christmas lights, dvd-player, motorbed, massage chair, waffle iron, video camera, curler, fan, heater, water cooker, mobile, charger, printer, electric piano, humidifier, alarm clock, glue gun, copy machine, burglar alarm, sewing machine, air-source heat pump, juice maker, smoothie maker, oven fan, sandwich grill, flash card, whirlpool, water heater, air conditioning, shaver, fire alarm, …
T he list of electric appliances is endless. The list could go on forever. These are the things that we find in our homes. Our task was to list down all electric appliances that we could find at home. So that’s what we did. The list was pretty long.
The next step was to ask our parents what they had at home of this list when they were our age. Of course the list was shorter. Then we went as far as to ask our grandparents when they were our age. That list was pretty short.
We were asked to compare these list with the consumption of electricity in Finland since 1940’s. Of course the studies showed how the use of electricity has increased along the introduction of new electric appliances.
Some of us also made an experiment: what could we live without and how long? The vacuum cleaner is very easy to avoid – if you want to live in dirt! This is an extract of one study:
“I made a list in my home. We have at least 31 electronic device (that is probably an understatement…) but I use about 12 of them daily. I don’t need for example play station, sauna, vacuum cleaner or coffee maker every day. I could live without using the coffee maker, blender, electric kettle, coffee machine and so on. But Christmas light are important for me in winter so maybe I couldn’t live without them. I also like sauna. I use it about once a month, so I could live without it, too. I could use the phone less, lamps and heaters as well.
In my mom’s childhood she almost had all the electronic device that I have nowadays except a coffee maker, bread machine, play station, tablet, hair straightener or electric toothbrush. She had a lot even though she isn’t from a rich family, just a farmer’s daughter.”
“My ten ways how I can use less energy:
“My own sacrifice that I’m willing to make:
I could live just with my phone, charger, lamps, air-source heat pump, oven, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, oven fan, burglar alarm, TV, clocks, sauna, water heater, washing machine, air conditioning, vacuum cleaner, fire alarm and the Internet. The rest of the electric equipment I wouldn’t necessarily need.”
“My contribution to achieve a better world:
“Surviving life without a bread grill
I have been without the bread grill for almost two weeks. And life has been really hard. I also tried to use the phone less. It was an experiment of only one evening and it almost killed me. But now I try to use the phone ate least 10 minutes less per day than what I would normally do.”
10 things to do –list
“Things I could live without or use less:
But what is going to happen in the future? Where is all this reckless consumption of electricity leading to? Where is it all coming from? We’ll find soon…
Team Finland
T he list of electric appliances is endless. The list could go on forever. These are the things that we find in our homes. Our task was to list down all electric appliances that we could find at home. So that’s what we did. The list was pretty long.
The next step was to ask our parents what they had at home of this list when they were our age. Of course the list was shorter. Then we went as far as to ask our grandparents when they were our age. That list was pretty short.
We were asked to compare these list with the consumption of electricity in Finland since 1940’s. Of course the studies showed how the use of electricity has increased along the introduction of new electric appliances.
Some of us also made an experiment: what could we live without and how long? The vacuum cleaner is very easy to avoid – if you want to live in dirt! This is an extract of one study:
“I made a list in my home. We have at least 31 electronic device (that is probably an understatement…) but I use about 12 of them daily. I don’t need for example play station, sauna, vacuum cleaner or coffee maker every day. I could live without using the coffee maker, blender, electric kettle, coffee machine and so on. But Christmas light are important for me in winter so maybe I couldn’t live without them. I also like sauna. I use it about once a month, so I could live without it, too. I could use the phone less, lamps and heaters as well.
In my mom’s childhood she almost had all the electronic device that I have nowadays except a coffee maker, bread machine, play station, tablet, hair straightener or electric toothbrush. She had a lot even though she isn’t from a rich family, just a farmer’s daughter.”
“My ten ways how I can use less energy:
- turning the lights off when not needing them
- turning the television off when not watching it
- turning down the temperature a notch
- not turning yet the dish washer on only half full
- or the washing machine
- hoovering not until it’s really messy
- turning the radio off when not listening to it
- using the phone, tablet and the television less
- I like the electric toothbrush so much that I won’t put that in this list
- walking, biking, taking the bus to school; this would be environmentally friendly – sometimes I do that already now!”
“My own sacrifice that I’m willing to make:
I could live just with my phone, charger, lamps, air-source heat pump, oven, dishwasher, fridge, freezer, oven fan, burglar alarm, TV, clocks, sauna, water heater, washing machine, air conditioning, vacuum cleaner, fire alarm and the Internet. The rest of the electric equipment I wouldn’t necessarily need.”
“My contribution to achieve a better world:
- spending less time in the shower
- turning off the lights more often
- turning of the electric device when not using them
- using candle light more
- walking or running from place to place
- favoring public transportation
- recycling my clothes
- fixing broken things
- not always buying new things
- taking the train instead of the plane”
“Surviving life without a bread grill
I have been without the bread grill for almost two weeks. And life has been really hard. I also tried to use the phone less. It was an experiment of only one evening and it almost killed me. But now I try to use the phone ate least 10 minutes less per day than what I would normally do.”
10 things to do –list
- one light per room is enough
- at day time, open the blinds instead of putting the lights on
- switch the chargers off when they are not in operation
- turn the TV off if you are not watching it
- turn the light off when you leave the room
- have days when you try to use as little energy as possible
- keep the electricity on only as long as you need it
- turn the heating down and wear warmer clothes instead
- don’t use the things that use a lot of energy too often
- eat fast food so you don’t have to use the stove or oven.
“Things I could live without or use less:
- all my dad’s cool work stuff, maybe xbox and wii, hairdryer or flatiron but not without both
- I could use less TV and play station etc. Less phone but I can’t live without it because I have to contact my family and friends.”
But what is going to happen in the future? Where is all this reckless consumption of electricity leading to? Where is it all coming from? We’ll find soon…
Team Finland