ENVIRONMENT AND SAVING ENERGY
SSH is concerned about the environment and tries to save energy in different ways. What do we do?
When we renovate or do maintenance work we improve insulation and use certified wood. We replace (electrical) equipment with energy saving devices and we use energy-efficient light bulbs.

In addition to taking these measures, SSH Short Stay is also asking its guests to deal with the use of energy consciously. Here you will read how you can best do so:

Heating
Most Short Stay guests come from countries that are a lot warmer than Holland’s moderate maritime climate. You may be used to walking around in shorts and t-shirt at home, even in winter. In The Netherlands this dress code costs a lot of energy in the cold months of the year! Of course you want to be comfortable in your own home. Just consider wearing a warm sweater or jumper before you turn up the heat.

Heating costs constitute about 75% of the total energy costs. The following tips to keep consumption low are simple:

• Turn off the heat when you leave your room
• Turn the heat to low or turn it off one hour before going to bed
• The heat can be set 2 degrees lower if you wear an extra sweater or socks
• Close the curtains in the evenings/ at night

Ventilation
It is very important to ventilate all areas of your apartment.If you do not ventilate regularly, the air becomes humid and unhealthy. Furthermore, it costs a lot more energy to heat amoist room

Therefore, air your room daily in the following ways:
- open your window at least 15 minutes a day while you are at home.
- leave any air vents open at all times
- air the shower/bathroom at least 2 hours to prevent fungus from growing

Cooking
You can also save energy by cooking sensibly:
• Leave the lid on the pan as much as possible
• Setting a cooking ring to maximum capacity is not always necessary
• Do not put more water in a pan than necessary

Electricity
A large number of simple measures can be taken to save electricity:
Turn off all lights when going out
- Do not turn on any unnecessary lights when at home
- If you have a TV set, do not put it to stand-by but turn it off
- Never set your refrigerator to maximum capacity
- Turn off your computer if you have one. Screensavers are voracious power consumers.
- Do your laundry at a lower temperature, detergents work fine at 30° or 40° Celsius.

Cooling
• Allow food to cool off before you put it in the refrigerator
• Refrigerators work best at a temperature of 4º C and freezers work best at a temperature of -18º C. Colder makes no sense and costs more power and money.
• Defrost your freezer regularly (every two months or as soon as there is a layer of ice in it).
• Turn your refrigerator off if you do not plan to use it for a while. Do open the door a crack to prevent mildew. An empty refrigerator uses more energy than a full one.
• Make sure that your refrigerator or freezer can release its own heat properly. Keep them at least 10 cm from the wall for this reason.