Smart Energy & Water Use
Reducing Apartment Utility Bills: A 12-Month Plan
A month-by-month plan for cutting electricity, gas, and water bills in a city apartment, sequential, sustainable, and tenant-friendly.
The Journal
Every entry from the UrbanEthica editorial team.
Practical guides on sustainable city living, transit, waste, energy, community and beginner-friendly habits, 105 articles and counting.
All articles
Smart Energy & Water Use
Smart Energy & Water Use
Energy Monitor Plugs: Worth the Investment?
A practical review of plug-in energy monitors, what they actually measure, what you can do with the data, and whether they belong in your flat.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Should Renters Install a Smart Thermostat?
An honest assessment of when smart thermostats make sense for tenants, and when a basic programmable thermostat does the same job for much less.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Summer Cooling Without Air Conditioning
How to keep a city flat liveable through hot summer days without installing AC, practical techniques that work in real heat.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Winter Heating Savings: A Realistic Tenant’s Playbook
How to reduce winter heating costs by 20-40 percent without sacrificing comfort or modifying the property.
Smart Energy & Water Use
The Renter’s Guide to Low-Flow Showerheads
How to dramatically reduce shower water use without alerting your landlord or sacrificing the morning experience.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Switching to LEDs: The Most Underrated Apartment Energy Upgrade
A practical guide to switching apartment lighting to LEDs, what to buy, what to avoid, and why this single upgrade has the best return of any energy intervention.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Phantom Load: The Standby Electricity Bill You Didn’t Know You Were Paying
How standby power consumption quietly inflates electricity bills, and the simple interventions that eliminate most of it.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Smart Home Energy Habits Without the Smart Home
You don't need a £2000 smart-home system to optimise your energy use. Here are the habits that deliver most of the same benefits without buying new gadgets.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Which Energy-Efficient Appliances Are Actually Worth the Upgrade?
A practical guide to when replacing an old appliance with a more efficient one pays back, and when the embedded carbon of the new one outweighs the savings.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Water Conservation in an Apartment: What Genuinely Saves Litres
A clear guide to reducing apartment water use, what actually saves litres, what's mostly performance, and how to think about water from a city flat.
Smart Energy & Water Use
Cutting Your Energy Bill: The Renter-Friendly Playbook
A practical guide for tenants to cut their energy bill by 20-40 percent without spending money on the property or arguing with the landlord.