Remember when you were a child and you didn’t have a care in the world? It was all so simple then. No responsibilities or bills to pay, and heck, I bet you even had a full head of hair!
While we can’t help you turn back the clock with your responsibilities or your hair, we can help you out by providing a few simple tips for reducing that annoying power bill.
Read on to learn 5 of the easiest money saving hacks for eliminating unnecessary power drains, while keeping your hard earned money where it belongs: in your pocket.
Book a Melbourne Electrician to find out more Ph: 1300 SPHERE5 Money Saving Hacks for Reducing Your Power Bill
- Unplug Appliances on ‘Standby’
All over your home, many unused appliances are left unnecessarily plugged into power outlets, drawing energy even on standby.
Per appliance, this Phantom Load mightn’t seem like much, but when you add the power drawn from all standby, or vampire power, appliances together, it can account for up to 10% to 30% of your total power bill. Leaving you with nothing but an expensive debt to pay.
The list of usual suspects includes:
- Computers
- Mini fridges
- TVs
- Printers
- Sound Systems
- Video Game Consoles
- DVD, Blu-Ray and Cable TV Set Top Boxes
- Phone Chargers
- Coffee Machines
- Toasters
- Microwaves
- Be Aware of Shoulder and Off Peak Periods
When homes and businesses simultaneously consume mass amounts of power, it places a major strain on the nation’s electricity networks.
To reduce this strain, power companies often encourage people to use electricity outside of these busy periods by offering cheaper prices for electricity.
Times and prices will depend on both the area you live and the configuration of your power meter.
After contacting your energy provider to find out if you’re eligible, you’ll want to schedule your power consumption in the following two periods.
- Shoulder – the periods between peak and off peak
- Off Peak – The period of lowest consumption in your area
Generally, peak periods occur during business hours, reserving the nights, early mornings and weekends for shoulder and off peak.
Taking advantage of shoulder and off peak electricity pricing is a great way to save on your power bill, however, it is important to remember this will differ from area to area.
- Buy Energy Efficient Appliances
Purchasing newer, more energy efficient appliances for your home may cost a chunk of cash to begin with, but they will save you hundreds of dollars a year, essentially paying for themselves.
To make this easy for you, many appliances in Australia now have an energy-rating sticker identifying their level of efficiency.
Think of purchasing new appliances like an investment, the higher the energy- rating, the more you save in the long run.
- Install Dimmers on Your Light Switches
Installing dimmer switches in your home will help you reduce the power used on unnecessarily bright lights.
Using dimmers to tone down your lights by 15% to 20% will really help you save electricity and prolong the life of your light bulbs; that’s less trips to the supermarket and more money in your pocket.
- Use Your Pool Filter Pump Less in the Cooler Months
For those of you with a swimming pool, you’ll no doubt understand how much of a drain the pool’s filtration system is on your power; the longer the pump runs, the more you’re out of pocket.
The length of time you run the pump depends on the size of your pool and the surrounding environment, i.e. the amount of trees, loose leaves and grass that can find its way into the water.
In cooler months, your pools usage will most likely go down and so will the need for filtration.
If you do decide to lower the pump’s run time, keep an eye on pH and chlorine levels and consider getting a pool cover to protect the water from foreign organic matter. This will save you a lot of money during the cooler months, keeping the waters nice and clean while you wait for summer to roll in.
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Book a Melbourne Electrician to find out more Ph: 1300 SPHERE