How To Save On Energy Costs In Your Home

Energy bills are rising in Australia – although I don’t have to tell you that. You’ve probably opened your bill and been shocked at the numbers. Bills have gone up 183% on average in the last twenty years! (This is according to the ACCC. They are investigating the rising costs and will hand down a report on June 30, 2018.) So what can you do to save on energy costs around the house?

Replace incandescent lights with LED or energy savers

Lighting consumes about 8-15% of the total household energy budget, so reducing the power used on lights is one surefire way to reduce your energy bill. Replacing regular incandescent bulbs with LEDs (light emitting diodes) means they last longer (15,000-50,000 hours) and light your home more efficiently – usually four to seven times more on average. If converting your entire home to LEDs is out of the question, switch to fluorescent or “energy saver” bulbs – some bulbs use LEDs and have the same advantages.

Use power boards with a single switch

Foot-Switch power board is a novel way to turn off many appliances at once so you can save power. If you hook up a TV, lamp, and mobile phone charger, you can turn them all off before you go to bed.

Install thick blinds in summer, close doors in winter

To save on heating and cooling, installing thick blinds to maintain a lower temperature and keep the sun out is a good way to save. By closing doors in winter, you can keep heating bills down by concentrating the warmth in one or two rooms.

Save around the kitchen

There are many ways to save energy around the kitchen. First, you can set your fridge between 4-5 degrees and freezer at -15 to -18 degrees to maintain fresh food without using too much power. Also make sure it doesn’t face a sunny window, as this can use more power. Using the microwave to thaw food is inefficient: if possible, thaw products in the fridge overnight. Boiling water using an electric kettle is more efficient than the stove, too.

Switch to a new provider with EConnex

You can drive your power bills down even further by switching to a better, lower-cost plan with another energy provider. Econnex is a comparison site that shows you as many plans in your area as possible and shows your savings in real dollar terms. It’s a 100% online system so there are no annoying callbacks. You can sign up online using your phone – it only takes a few minutes. To see how much you can save here!