9 Tips for Reducing Your Electricity Usage

Are you looking to lower your power bill? The average electricity bill of a Sydney-sider is usually higher than it needs to be, and there is a lot of room for homeowners hoping to reduce their costs. By paying attention to how you’re using electricity and making small changes, you can save money while also helping the environment.

Here are our top nine energy saving tips for reducing electricity usage in your home:

1. Save Energy In Your Kitchen

Take a moment to think about all the electrical activity taking place in your kitchen. You have a refrigerator, stove, microwave, dishwasher, and maybe a blender or toaster. It’s no surprise that the kitchen is one of the biggest electrical hubs in your home and is a good place to start looking for ways to save energy.

Here are some of the ways you can reduce your electricity use in your kitchen:

Fridge

Your refrigerator runs 24 hours a day, naturally making it one of the most expensive household appliances.

The ideal fridge temperature to still keep your food cool while reducing energy use is 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. The ideal freezer temperature is minus 15 to minus 18 degrees.

Make sure your fridge door is sealed tight and that there are no gaps or cracks for cold air to escape. If you own a second fridge or freezer, only turn it on when you need to use it.

Dishwasher

To reduce the energy use of your dishwasher, use the economy cycle, and only run it when it’s completely full.

Cooking

You can reduce the cooking time of food by setting it out in the morning and giving it a chance to thaw. Try to use the microwave when you can, as (perhaps surprisingly) the microwave uses much less energy than an electric oven.

If you use a stove, keep lids on pots to reduce cooking times. Try to cook more at a single time and leave leftovers that can be reheated and used throughout the week.

2. Install Energy Efficient Lighting

Light bulbs require more energy than one might initially think. This is especially true if you use older types of light bulbs like incandescent or halogen.

You can reduce the electrical use of your lighting quite significantly by installing energy-efficient light bulbs. The most popular type of energy saving light bulbs are LED lights.

LED light bulbs use 75% less energy and last 25% longer than regular incandescent lights. They also produce a better quality light.

You can reduce the energy usage of your lights even more by getting a dimmer switch. This will allow you to selectively lower the brightness of lights, reducing the wattage, ultimately lowering the energy usage.

Want to learn more about the perfect energy efficient lighting? Check out our articles on choosing the right lighting for your kitchen and home.

3. Insulate Your Home

Insulation is a cost-effective way to improve the energy efficiency of your home by helping to lower your heating and cooling costs. It helps your home maintain a comfortable temperature by keeping the heat out during the summer and the cold out during the winter.

With insulation, your heating and cooling systems won’t have to work as hard to keep your home at the desired temperature. This will result in an overall lower energy usage. Proper insulation can save homes between a whopping 40 to 50% per year on electricity costs.

4. Adjust Your Thermostat

Heating and cooling can be very costly when used improperly. When heating your home, set your temperature to between 18 and 20 degrees. Every degree you set the system to above 20 degrees will lead to a 10% increase in your energy bill.

When cooling your home in the summer, set the temperature to 25 or 26 degrees. Similar to heating your home, each degree below 25 can add 10% to your electricity bill.

5. Wash Your Clothes In Cold Water

Hot water takes an immense amount of energy usage. You can save quite a bit on your energy bill every month by choosing to use cold water to wash your laundry.

If possible, use the eco setting on your washing machine and make sure you set the proper load size to reduce water usage.

6. Unplug Electronic Devices When Not In Use

Most electrical devices still draw a small amount of energy even when they aren’t being used. This includes televisions, computer monitors, phone chargers, home entertainment devices, and the like.

Unplug these devices when they aren’t in use. You can also plug them into a power strip that you can simply turn off when you aren’t using the devices.

7. Get Energy Monitoring

Tracking your electricity usage with an energy monitor will allow you to see how and when you are using electricity. This will help you identify opportunities to lower your energy usage and reduce your power bill.

Electricity monitoring is available to most smart meter customers. Other types of meters will require a meter attachment to access energy monitoring.

8. Lower Energy Use In The Bathroom

If you spend a lot of time taking hot showers, there is room for you to lower your energy bill. As we mentioned earlier, heating water takes a substantial amount of energy. Limiting your showers to ten minutes or less is a good practice to help reduce your electricity use.

You can lower your bill even more by installing a low flow showerhead. This will limit the amount of water that comes out of the showerhead resulting in less water usage and a lower energy cost.

9. Compare Electricity Providers

One of the simplest ways to reduce your energy costs is to compare offers between different companies. You can use a free energy comparison tool, Energy Made Easy to compare prices for a large number of energy retailers.

Wrapping Up

Managing your energy bill is much easier when you understand how certain factors impact your electricity usage. By implementing the tips above, you can start saving on your electricity bill each month.

Faraday Group offers a range of electrical services to ensure your home always has a stable and reliable source of power. We can help modernise your home by installing the latest smart home technology to help you accurately track your electricity usage. Get in touch to find out how we can save you money on your energy bill and ensure your home is safe and efficient this season.