Simple Tips to Reduce Your Electricity Bill

Lowering your electricity bills and improving your household's energy efficiency doesn't have to be complicated. Instead, making a few simple and small steps can make a massive difference to your bills over the long run. 

If you dread the day your next bill is delivered to your home or can't understand why your usage costs are so high, learning about your usage habits and sustainable swaps and solutions can make all the difference to your bills. 

Today's guide from HOOD will help you find simple solutions to lower your usage and bills, so you won't have to stress when it comes time for your next bill to arrive. 

The Biggest Contributor to Your Homes Electricity Bill

While your electricity bill will outline your overall usage across a certain period, you won’t be able to see exactly what is using up the most energy. The most common areas in your home that are energy hot spots include; heating and cooling, appliances, water heating and then lighting. 

Tips to Reduce Your Bills

Install Energy Efficient Lighting

LED lights are very energy efficient and long-lasting. They last 5-10 times longer than halogen light bulbs and use significantly less energy, saving you up to 80% of your lighting costs. You can also utilise reading lamps and smaller wattage lights to illuminate your room instead of relying on a single high-energy usage bulb, as well as utilising natural light during the day. 

Heating and Cooling

Did you know for every 1 degree of extra cooling or heating, your energy usage can rise by 5 to 10%? So for those that want to keep their home cool without eating away at their electricity bill, it's important to set your systems at an optimal temperature. The ideal temperature range to put your cooler at is between 22 to 24 degrees; for heaters, this range lies at 18 to 20 degrees. You can also ensure that you keep your windows and curtains closed to keep the cool air or heat inside your home.

You should also make sure that before the start of summer and winter, you give your heater and coolers a good clean, especially their filters. This will allow your system to perform to its best ability without overheating or working itself and using more energy. 

Water Heating and Laundry 

Hot water takes more energy to heat and will often raise your electricity usage and bills. If you want to make a difference in your bills, changing to a cold wash on your machine is a great option. Opting for a cold wash will also help to lengthen the life of your clothes and the quality of pieces with more delicate materials. Just make sure you're using a detergent that is suited for cold water. You should also make sure to only put a load on if your washing machine is full. Finally, to save more costs in summer, you can skip using your dryer and let your clothes air dry out in the sun; this will save you a significant amount. 

Switch Off or Readjust Appliances

Standby appliances can cost a typical household over $100 per year in wasted electricity. Turning off your appliances at the switch is always a simple tip that will save you costs in the long run. Even if your devices are plugged in and switched on but not being used, they'll still have some electricity running through them, which means your usage is still slowly rising. While remembering to switch your appliances off at the switch is a great action, unplugging your plugs from the wall will ensure that the appliance won't bump up your bills. Remember, standby is still using power!

You can also adjust your appliance settings, such as your fridge, to save costs. Most manufacturers recommend setting your fridge at 4-5 degrees and your freezer between -15 to -18. These temperatures will keep your fridge and freezer at optimal temperatures for safe food storage while ensuring that your appliance isn't overrunning itself to match higher temperatures. In addition, checking the setting of your tv's brightness and making sure that you're using eco settings on your dishwasher, dryers and washing machines, among others, will again ensure a lower operational usage cost for your electricity bill. 

Draft Proof Your Home

Small gaps and cracks around your home's windows and entryways can result in warm air from your heating system and cold air from your AC in summer escaping and wasting your energy consumption. Sealing up these drafty spots is a simple solution that will help increase your home's energy efficiency and ensure that your home stays nice and toasty in winter and cool and comfortable throughout summer. You can also increase your home's insulation to help better control temperatures, saving you significant dollars on your electricity bills. 

Find the Right Electricity Provider to Save on Household Costs

You should never stop shopping around to find the right energy provider for your household usage. Even if you're happy with your current contract and rates sitting still without looking around at the other offers available, you might be missing out on a better deal that suits your lifestyle and usage habits. 

Energy companies are constantly changing their services and prices, so while you might have initially signed up with a good deal, there could be a better one out there by the time you're nearly through your contract. 

If you want to make the switch and find an energy provider that fits your needs and will help lower your electricity bills, HOOD can help! Whether you want to find an energy retailer for an urgent power connection or want more accessible customer services, contact us with your inquiry, and our team will help you as soon as possible.