Electricity bills take a huge portion of every Australian households’ income. As a result, this has urged many people to look at different methods to cut their energy costs down. There are myriad of ways to achieve this, starting with the major power consumers in your home.
Switch to Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
Amongst all the types of light bulbs, incandescent bulbs are the most less-efficient. Incandescent bulbs generate more heat than light and consume large amounts of energy in the process. Changing incandescent light bulbs into more energy-efficient LED bulbs, will significantly reduce the amount of electricity consumed by your lighting systems, which accounts for more or less 18% of your electric bills. In addition, LED light bulbs last longer than incandescent, which is more cost-effective, in the long run.
Buy and Use Energy Efficient Appliances
Thanks to advances in technology, manufacturers are now able to design and develop appliances that are not only more contemporary, but also energy-efficient. From LED TVs to smart-cooling refrigerators, there is a wide range of energy-efficient appliances that you can choose. Yes, they may cost more upfront, but you will be thankful to have shed those extra dollars as you see your electricity consumption go down. New energy-efficient appliances consume at least 20% or 30% less electricity than your normal appliances.
Clean and Maintain Your Air Conditioners
Air conditioners are a necessity, especially in a country like Australia. That being said, a house or an establishments’ cooling system contributes to almost half of their electricity bills. Fortunately, there are ways to reduce costs without you having to suffer in the sweltering heat.
If an air conditioning unit is under direct sunlight, you may want to consider planting tall trees around the unit, however, not too close though as this will hinder the air flow. Or better yet place an awning over them.
Another way is by having your air conditioning units regularly cleaned and maintained. Cleaning improves the unit’s efficiency and keeps it from using more power than it has to.
Have a professional air conditioner cleaning and maintenance company check your unit’s filters, refrigerants, and other components to ensure they are in good working condition. In addition, if the system is more than ten years old, it is worth considering having it replaced with a newer and more energy-efficient model.
Eliminate Energy Vampires
Energy vampires are those electrical appliances that consume power and electricity even when they are not in use and remain plugged into a power source or electrical outlet.
These include televisions left on standby modes, modems and printers that are left plugged into sockets even after you turn them off. Even when phone chargers are not charging a phone, they are still consuming small amounts of electricity. Hence, the reason chargers left plugged in become warm because electricity is still running through their wires and circuits.
Much of the energy saving ideas mentioned here require more than just a lifestyle change on your part. For all it is worth, those small changes will save you money that you can use for the most important things in life.
