June 1, 2020
Change of season always plays a big role for household energy usage and expenses.
Winter time alwaysmeans greater use of heating, drying and other appliances, and this year with the COVID19 crisis, many more of us will be spending more time than ever at home and we'll be using more lighting, heating, computers and other equipment than ever before, so everyone expects winter bills to be higher than ever.
Saving on energy basically consists of two things: using as little energy as possible, and paying as little as possible for the energy you use.
To help you minimise the double impact of a wintertime lock-in, Bill Hero has prepared some energy savings tips for your home
The first recommendation for minimising your heating costs is to wear warmer clothes! You might find it a bit much to wear thermals and a beanie, but you should at least wear a jumper! It's much easier to stay warm when you've got some insulation working in your favour.
Also, make sure you close your doors and windows, and also close your curtains and blinds. If necessary, block out drafts with a door snake or use foam seals for your windows
Set your heater thermostat to 18-20°C, and try to avoid ever having it higher than 22°C. Every degree higher that 20°C uses around 10% more energy
As the days get darker, we're all using more lighting for longer periods. If you haven't done this already, now's the time to replace every single incandescent globe in your home with an equivalent rated LED. LEDs use significantly less power.
Halogen downlights are especially wasteful. It's sometimes possible to just replace the halogen globe with an LED, or if that wont work you should look into replacing your light fittings with LEDs.
Try to limit your shower time to 4 minutes. This will save you money off your energy and water bills.
If you can, try setting your hot water a degree or two cooler. Many hot water systems are set to deliver scalding hot water which you need to mix down with cold anyway.
Nearly every home is full of electronic devices and chargers, and you might have heard about the 'vampire power' that chargers can consume, even when the device its meant to charge is not even plugged in.
Thankfully, vampire power is much less of an issue than it used to be, with better and more efficient devices and appliances now the norm, and programs like the International Energy Agency's 'One Watt' initiative which has advocated since 2010 for stand-by consumption in all electronic devices to never exceed 1 watt.
Still, any power saving is a good power saving, and will help your wallet as well as the planet, so wherever possible, switch appliances off at the outlet to reduce your stand-by power costs.
Check the forecast and hang your washing outside to make the most of the winter sun. Get yourself an indoor clothes rack and use it. Only use your dryer when there's no alternative - your clothes will last much longer and you'll consume much less power.
For many homes, its possible to delay actually running the dishwasher until late in the evening.
If you're on a time of use tariff this can directly save you money. But even if you're not, running your dishwasher at off-peak times late in the evening is still a good policy, as this will contribute toward shaving just a little bit off the evening peak load, and will contribute toward minimising network and generation costs for everyone, including you.
No matter how little energy you manage to use, it makes sense to ensure you're also paying as little as possible for it.
That job is hard and boring, unless you're using Bill Hero. We'll monitor every bill for you, and we'll switch you whenever we find savings greater than your Bothered Threshold.