Making your home more energy efficient is good for the environment and for your power bills. A typical family uses around 10,000kWh of electricity a year. At about 19 cents per kWh (excluding fixed daily charges) that’s $1,900 a year. Here are some tips for making your property more energy efficient:
- Run your dishwasher only with a full load.
- Instead of turning up the heat in your home, put on a sweater or snuggle up to a hot water bottle.
- Turn off lights, appliances and computers wen you’re not using them.
- Make sure you switch off equipment on ‘stand-by’ (with display lights and clocks visible) such as televisions, DVD players, stereos and microwaves at the wall.
- Switch off your heated towel rail during the day or have an electrician fit a timer. Using it for 4 hours per day, rather than 24 hours per day will save you $100 per year.
- If you’re going away for more than two weeks turn your hot water cylinder off.
- Wash full loads of clothes using cold water and hang clothes out to dry instead of using the dryer.
- Use a thermostat and a timer on your heaters so they only come on when you need them and automatically turn off once the right temperature is reached.
- Avoid using open fires or unverified gas heaters to heat your home in winter.
- Try not to open the oven door too often – the temperature drops up to 14 degrees each time.
- Fill the kettle with cold water and only as much water as you need.
- Use lids on your pots. Uncovered pots use three times as much energy.
- Close windows, doors and curtains to keep in the head that has built up during the day.
- Identify any draughts from cracks and gaps and ask your landlord if you can have them sealed. You can buy draught stoppers from the hardware store. If your landlord is happy for you to do so contact the fire department for advice on how to safely plug the fireplace.
