It’s easier than you think to save electricity. Here’s some recommendations we’ve pulled together:
Opening your curtains in the morning maximises the free heat from the sun. Closing your curtains at dusk, will help to trap the warmth in your home.
Adding an extra layer of material to your curtains can also help keep your home warm. You can source curtain lining from a variety of places, or pick up some second hand curtains to add onto your existing curtains as a great low cost approach.
Draught stoppers help prevent heat escaping by covering up the gaps underneath doors and windows. For a low-cost option, it can be as simple as rolling up a towel, or for the sewing enthusiast you can make your own!
Adding products like v-seal to your front or back doors or window frames is another good low-cost solution that helps to keep the warm air in and the cold air out.
LED lightbulbs use up to 85% less electricity than traditional bulbs.
Replacing your bulbs with LED lights, could save you up to $100 per year (or more!).
In winter, there’s nothing nicer than a long hot shower. Except that extended shower could be adding a whole lot of extra cost to your bill. Hot water usage makes up around 30% of your power bill.
You can keep the costs of hot water down by:
Did you know? A dripping hot water tap could be costing you more than you know. If it’s dripping at one drip per second, it could be adding about $10 per month to your bills!
Washing clothes in hot water can cost up to 10 times more electricity than a cold wash. According to EECA, changing four loads of laundry from a hot to a cold wash, will save you about $60 - $80 a year!
While clothes dryers may be convenient, each load costs about $1. Drying clothes in a carport, under a verandah or even in the garage might take a bit longer, but it will also save you money in the long run.
Whether you’re running a washing machine, looking at buying a new fridge / freezer or thinking about putting on your clothes dryer – the appliances we use contribute a lot to the amount we pay in our monthly power bill.
If you’re buying a new appliance, the Energy Rating Label makes it easy to compare energy efficiency and running costs. More stars on the label means it’s more energy efficient.
You can find out more about energy ratings here https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/energy-rating-labels-explained.
How much is it costing to run that appliance?
Appliances in our homes all cost different amounts to run. If you'd like to check out how much your appliances might be costing you, visit https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/appliance-running-costs
