Electricity is an essential part of everyday life, without which everything would grind to a halt and life would literally be darker. For those living in a rental apartment, choosing an electricity contract is an important decision, as you will feel it in your wallet every month.

In most Lumo homes, the electricity contract is the responsibility of the resident, so it is important to learn about the different electricity contract options before moving.

An apartment uses an average of 2,000 kWh of electricity per year, with the sauna, bathroom underfloor heating and oven consuming the most electricity.

However, electricity consumption in apartment buildings is relatively low, and when choosing an electricity contract, the most important thing to consider is what is important to you: affordability, flexibility, carefreeness or the possibility of influencing the total of your electricity bill.

Väre’s Growth Specialist, Sami Seppänen, explains the most important things to consider when signing an electricity contract.

In an electricity contract, the price can either be completely fixed until the end of the contract period or it can vary depending on the market situation.

In fixed-term contracts, the price does not change during the contract period. Of all the contract types, a fully fixed-price and fixed-term contract is the one where the price of your electricity contract does not change during the contract period, which brings stability and predictability to everyday life. If the fixed-term contract also includes a consumption impact, it may lower or increase the price you pay for electricity.

In non-fixed-term contracts, prices may vary from time to time depending on the market situation, but changes will always be announced in advance. A non-fixed-term contract can be a good choice if you do not want to commit for a longer period.

Exchange electricity, on the other hand, follows the market prices on a daily basis, which means that prices can fluctuate a lot at different times. Future prices are only announced up until the end of the next day, which makes predicting your own costs more challenging. Exchange electricity is an excellent choice when you have the opportunity to schedule your electricity consumption and want complete freedom to influence the total of your electricity bill.

By choosing an environmentally friendly electricity contract, you support the production of renewable energy and reduce your carbon footprint. Choosing green electricity reduces emissions because it promotes the use of renewable energy sources and reduces dependence on fossil fuels.

When consumers choose green electricity, electricity producers invest more in renewable energy, such as solar, hydro, wind and bioenergy, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide emissions. Choosing green electricity thus increases the profitability of renewable energy and its share in electricity production, which in turn reduces carbon dioxide emissions and other harmful environmental impacts.

Your own carbon footprint can also be reduced through other zero-emission forms of production, such as nuclear power. Environmentally friendly production methods are always certified with guarantees of origin, so you can be sure that the electricity you buy has been produced with zero emissions.

Affordability. If your highest priority in an electricity contract is affordability, a fixed-term contract will usually be cheaper than a non-fixed-term contract. In a contract with a consumption impact, the basic price of energy is cheaper than a fixed-price contract, but the consumption impact may either increase or decrease the price you pay for energy.

Exchange electricity is the best option when you want to monitor electricity prices on a daily basis and are not concerned about constant price fluctuations. However, exchange electricity is most beneficial when you are able to schedule your electricity consumption for the most affordable times of the day.

Flexibility. If the most important thing when choosing an electricity contract is that you do not want to commit to it for a longer period of time, it is a good idea to choose a contract that is valid until further notice. However, the prices of non-fixed-term contracts follow market prices and may therefore vary from time to time.

Carefreeness. It is not always possible to schedule your electricity consumption for the most affordable times of the day, or you may not want to worry about when you consume electricity. In this case, it is a good idea to choose an electricity contract where the electricity price remains the same or where you always know about future price changes in good time.

Opportunity to influence. If you want to partially or completely influence the total of your electricity bill through your electricity consumption, you should choose either a contract with a consumption impact or exchange electricity. However, consumption in apartments is usually so low that you cannot influence your own consumption in the same way as in an electrically heated small house, for example.