How to reduce high electricity bills?

With electricity bills taking a bigger and bigger chunk out of our household budget every year, taking steps now to reduce high electricity bills can save you $$$ and help protect the environment in the long term.

Smart tips on how to save electricity at home

Saving electricity around the home is totally doable. It takes some forethought, smart upgrades, and a bit of time but you can make a big difference to your energy bills if you really want to save.

• Upgrade your lighting to LED bulbs.
• Turn off appliances at the plug where practical to remove standby power wastage.
• Turn off the lights as you leave the room.
• Open windows or use ceiling fans rather than switching on the air conditioner in summer.
• Close windows and keep the warmth in using curtains and ceiling insulation during winter.
• Hang the washing out on the line rather than using the dryer. Washing lines cost $0 to run.
• Use the quick wash setting on your washing machine if clothes are not excessively dirty.
• Buy energy-efficient appliances – use the Energy Star Rating system. Find out more – energy.gov.au
• Opt for lower energy hot water system options such as instant gas hot water, solar, or heat pump water heaters.
• Set the fridge/freezer to its most efficient operating temperature – fridge 4 to 5℃ and freezer to -15 to 18℃. Also, make sure the seals are in top condition.
• Use the Eco setting on the dishwasher.
• Build energy-efficient homes – incorporating energy-efficient features into your home design can ensure you use less energy over the long term.
• Upgrade older energy-hungry appliances – and downsize where practical. (If the kids have all moved out do you really need that double-door refrigerator or the 10kg washing machine?)
• Install water-efficient tapware and showerheads – to lower water heating expenses.
• Switch large appliances to economy tariffs connection – eg. electric hot water system, pool equipment
• Use appliances like the dishwasher or washing machine during off-peak tariff times (if connected to the time-of-use tariff option) or during the day if you have solar power.
• Keep large appliances well maintained – faulty appliances often need to work harder to operate at a base level using more power. Eg air conditioners or water heaters.

Shop around for a good electricity deal. There is a myriad of electricity retailers all competing for customers like you which can help you get a great deal on power. You can compare prices and deals using the Australian Government Energy Made Easy site energymadeeasy.gov.au

Using solar power to reduce high electricity bills

Reducing your electricity costs in the long term can also be achieved by investing in a quality solar power system for your home. Solar power utilises free energy from the sun to generate electricity for your household.

Solar PV systems offer a payback period of around 3 to 5 years. This means that after that period you will have saved as much on electricity as you spent on the system installation. This means the solar power system will be saving you money every day of the year from then on. As solar PV systems have a useful life of around 25 years that’s a great green energy investment for your home and the environment for about a quarter of a century.

Cancel out much of the electricity use throughout the day by utilising the power generated by your solar PV system and use the feed-in tariff system to cancel out the cost of night electricity use or install a solar battery. Check the rates your local electricity retailers are offering for feed-in electricity before you sign up for any new electricity contracts.

Queensland receives an abundance of sunlight throughout most of the year. Australia has one of the highest uptakes of solar with 21% of homes with solar power. Why wouldn’t you get on board and start saving on your electricity bill using solar power?

If you already have solar power installed and don’t seem to be getting the savings you’d hoped we recommend asking a solar electrician to check over the system to ensure there are no faults and all components such as the panels and solar inverter are working effectively.

References; https://www.energy.gov.au/household-guides/reduce-energy-bills