Intro

Energy price rises

Energy prices have risen considerably since 2021. The prices for gas and for electricity have doubled compared to what they were in 2020. In 2023, the prices dropped slightly, but we are not going to see a return of the prices we had a few years ago.

The utilities invoice is for a limited amount of water use, but has a hefty total after the Brussels-based water companies increased their rates by 14.5% in 2023.


Impact on students with a student room

This can have an impact on you as a student. Check your tenancy agreement or contact your landlord to find out how your use of utilities is calculated.

Is there an amount included as a ‘fixed monthly cost’?

Then you will not usually receive a separate final bill at the end of the year.

Is there talk of a ‘monthly deposit or provision’ (maandelijks voorschot or provisie in Dutch)?

In that case, your use is calculated individually using the cost price that the landlord has paid to the energy supplier.

Note: That usually includes your use and a contribution for the use of shared communal facilities (think about heating, kitchen devices, lighting in the hallways, etc.).

You can adjust your use by paying attention to a few things. With our tips, you’ll keep your invoice as low as possible.

Do it for the planet

Money isn’t an issue for you? Do it for the planet. The European climate goals aim at a 55% drop in greenhouse gases relative to the figures for 1990. And housing in Brussels is responsible for 36% of energy use. If we all work together, we will reduce usage!

Secret users

When they’re on standby, some electric devices keep using power, even though it looks like they’re turned off. This is also known as ‘vampire power’.

Did you know that almost 10% of your daily energy use is due to electric devices in standby mode? 10%!

Tip 1
When your devices are not used regularly, don’t just turn them off, but unplug them at the power. This includes coffee machines, kettles, your microwave, TV, etc.

On standby, a coffee machine uses between 6 and 7 watts. You save approximately 10 euro a year by unplugging the power after use.

Are you going home on the weekends and during the holidays? Before you leave, make sure there are no devices or chargers in the electrical sockets.

KiloWattKot - Stiekeme verbruikers - waterkoker

Tip 2
Unplug devices and chargers from the power when they’ve finished charging.

A laptop in ‘Sleep’ mode still uses one third as much power. Even if a charger is not connected to your computer, it uses a small amount of ‘vampire power’. On average, you pay 33 euro per year for a computer that is plugged in without being used. At energids.be you’ll learn all there is to know about standby and vampire power.

  • Tip 3
    Make it easy on yourself: buy a power strip with an on/off switch to group your electrical devices and make it easy to turn off the power.

  • Tip 4
    Nerd mode: Buy a timer switch and put this in the power socket. It will turn off your devices following a specific schedule.

Lights out!

KiloWattKot - verlichting - checklist

Tip 5
It looks obvious, but it’s forgotten about way too often: turn off the lights when you leave a room.
Whether it’s your own room, the communal area of the toilet. Think that you also pay for energy use in communal areas.

Tip 6
Choose LED lighting!
Incandescent light bulbs have not been sold for quite some time now, but if you still have one in your room, you’re best replacing it with an LED light.

incandescent light

Energy-saving light

LED light

60 watts

18 watts

7 watts

LED lights are more expensive than energy-saving lights, but will also work for a while longer, with an average of 35,000 hours of use instead of just 5,000 hours of use. It doesn’t make any difference if you turn them on and off a lot—which is an issue with energy-saving bulbs. Furthermore, LED lights are more environmentally friendly: they contain fewer dangerous materials than energy-saving lights.

Warm - Warm€r - Hot

Whether it’s in relation to a boiler, gas fire or electric fire, heating uses an enormous amount of energy.

Did you know that by turning the heating down just 1 degree, you use 7% less energy?

For comparison

Leave a lamp on in your room for 10 hours 2 cent
Have a 2000 watt electric heater heat your room for 10 hours5 euro
KiloWattKot - verwarming - zetel

Tip 7
Not popular, but certainly effective: think about whether the heating really needs to be turned on.
A jumper, socks and slippers will go a long way towards making you comfortable in your student room. Energy saving: 100%!

Tip 8
Give your radiator the chance to heat up a room.
Don’t put furniture in front of your radiator and make sure there aren’t any curtains hanging over it.

KiloWattKot - Verwarming - Breien

Tip 9
Don’t let the warm air escape.
Cover cracks, holes and splits wherever possible. Use sealing strips and sealing tape to keep cold air out.
Pro-tip: Hold a lit match to cracks and the flame will immediately show whether there’s a draft.

Tip 10
Leave your curtains open when the sun is shining so that it can warm up inside. Free!
At night, you’re best closing the curtains to better insulate windows. The room will cool down less quickly this way.

  • Tip 11
    Open your window for fifteen minutes every day to freshen your room.
    What if you don’t have continuous ventilation in your room? Regularly air it out, even in winter. A quarter of an hour is enough—and you’ll avoid letting the walls cool down. In next to no time, your room will be warm again and you’ll have fresh air.

  • Tip 12
    Make it cosy together: make the most of the communal areas of your student house.
    Organise a games night or sit next to each other on the couch for a film. Body warmth also helps to heat a room.

  • Tip 13
    Keep an eye on the energy use and heating in communal areas.
    What if your student house party is coming to its end? Turn off the radiators before everyone goes to sleep the night off. Remember that the communal costs are shared among all residents.

Tip 14
Decorating = insulating
Make it warmer in your room by putting carpets on the floor. This is not just cosy, but also energy conscious. The carpets mean there is less cold air able to escape through the floor.

  • Tip 15
    Set the radiator to 3.
    Did you know that the little knob on the side of your central-heating radiator has an in-built thermostat? The number represents a desired temperature and tells the radiator how quickly it needs to heat up. When the room has reached this temperature, the water flow to the radiator is turned off.

  • StandTemperatuur
    *6°C
    115°C
    217°C - perfect for nights
    320° - normal temperature
    424°
    528° - sweat

Chilling in your student house

Your refrigerator and deep freezer need to remain plugged in when you’re using them, but these tips will help you avoid using more energy than needed.

KiloWattKot - Energy label

Energy labels

Do you have a communal kitchen or would you like to have a refrigerator of your own in your student room? Pay attention to the energy label! They currently range from A to G. With the right decision, you’ll cut your related energy use by upwards of ten per cent or twenty per cent per year.

What does a product with one of these labels look like?

KiloWattKot - koelkast en vriezer - koelkast

Tip 16
Empty your refrigerator and fill your deep freezer.
The emptier your refrigerator is, the less energy it uses. Regularly remove any spoiled food. Still have a full fridge? Leave enough empty space between products for air to circulate. The ideal temperature for a refrigerator is 4 °C to 6 °C.

Unlike refrigerators, freezers use more energy the emptier they are. What if you don’t have any food to fill your deep freezer with? Use Styrofoam to fill the empty space. The ideal temperature of a deep freezer is -18 °C. Every degree lower uses 5% more energy.

KiloWattKot - koelkast en vriezer - vriezer

Tip 17
Defrost!
Defrost your deep freezer regularly. Ice forming on the wall pushes the energy use considerably higher. You need to take four simple steps to defrost your deep freezer:

  1. Remove all the food … and Styrofoam.
  2. Turn off the deep freezer.
  3. Put a bowl with hot water in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
  4. Clean the inside of the freezer with a mix of vinegar, lemon and water.

The ideal temperature

Refrigerator

Deep freezer

4° tot 6°

-18°

Energy eaters

Saving money by cooking for yourself? Following these tips and save energy!

  • Tip 18
    Only put as much water in the kettle as needed.
    Kettles really gobble up energy. Only boil the amount of water you actually need. Regularly descale your kettle with vinegar

  • Tip 19
    Take your food out of the freezer an hour before you start cooking it.
    Let meat and fish defrost in the fridge. You’re best defrosting fruit and vegetables under cold, running water. This doesn’t just save you time and energy, but also helps to stop the loss of nutrients.

  • Tip 20
    It’s better to use the microwave to warm something up.
    You use about 75% less energy than heating on the stove top.

  • Tip 21
    Don’t open the door of your oven while you’re baking.
    If you do, the temperature in the oven can drop by as much as 20 °C.

KiloWattKot - keuken - oven

Tip 22
Put a lid on the saucepan while you’re cooking.
With a lid, you use up to 90% less energy!

Pro-tip: Did you know that you can also cook pasta in hot water instead of boiling water? Wait until your water boils, throw your pasta in and turn the heat off. Your pasta will continue to cook in the hot water. It will take a bit longer.

KiloWattKot - keuken - Pasta

Tip 23
Use a smaller hob on the stove for a smaller saucepan.
You want to heat your food up, not the air around your saucepan.

Tip 24
One-pan meals are hip, easy and energy-friendly.
By using just one saucepan, you use less energy and you save time and water when you wash up. The internet is full of delicious one-pan recipes, but you’ll find our favourites here.

The little drip that floods your water bill

Water use takes a relatively small bite out of your utilities bill. But don’t forget that part of your gas or electricity use is dedicated to making warm water come out of the tap.

Tip 25
For the die-hards: collect water with an empty bucket while you’re showering.
You can use this to flush the toilet or water your plants.

Tip 26
Put a full water bottle in the water reservoir of your toilet.
You can have up to 8 to 10 litres of water in the toilet reservoir. If you don’t have a water-saving flusher, place a full water bottle in the water reservoir to take up space. You’ll save up to 20% water every time you flush.

KiloWattKot - water - douche

Tip 27
Limit your time under the shower. And remember that the hotter the water, the higher your gas or electricity use.


Tip 28
Install a water-saving shower rose.

Regular shower rosewater-saving shower rose
10 to 13 litres per minute5 to 7 litres per minute

KiloWattKot - water - toilet

Tip 29
Leaking toilet or leaking tap? Report it to your landlord immediately!
Valuable water is lost and it has a huge effect on your invoice. As the tenants, you’re all responsible for reporting these kinds of problems.

Measure it and you’ll know it!

Tip 30
Keep an eye on your usage and follow up the impact your behaviour has.
If you make use of the MyKot model contract, you’ll find a reference in Article 6 to your individual counter for gas and/or electricity. Regularly check the meter (if it’s accessible) and keep an eye on how your use evolves.

Pro-tip: a handy helper here is EnergieID.be (digital) or our meter recording page (on paper).

Tip 31
Check your use with an energy meter.
Would you like to know how much a device uses? If you’re renting from Brik, you’re welcome to borrow an energy meter. Contact us!