Save Power Challenge: Ask the home energy expert continued

Hi Mr Clark,

I have a really straight forward question which requires a straight forward answer.
Why has power gone up so sharply and suddenly in the last few years and why has the government done so little to help us?

Peter of Hurstville
Monday 15 November 2010 4:19PM

Hi Peter,

There is a comprehensive Q&A provided by Industry and Investment NSW on electricity prices which answers your question – see http://www.industry.nsw.gov.au/energy/customers/questions-electricity-gas-prices

To answer the second part of your question, the NSW Government has established a number of programs to help households reduce their power consumption and manage energy bills. For example, the Home Power Savings Program is providing a power savings retrofit and personalised action plan for 220,000 NSW households that are in need of assistance. There are many things you can do in your own home or business to manage your bills, and sites such as Save Power website will help.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:10pm

Matthew

We are a family of four, who are reasonably prudent about our use of power. Even so, we receive extraordinarily high electricity bills, circa $2,290 per quarter. We participated in the Government's Green Home assessment, however this failed to identify any particular cause(s) for such high bills. There does not appear to be a problem with the reading of the meter.
Could you shed any light on what we should do next?

Cheers, Sam

Sam 2225 of Bonnet Bay
Monday 15 November 2010 9:30PM

Hi Sam,

Hi Sam, those power bills are really very high so it will be worthwhile investigating further! There are a few options you might like to investigate:

• if you have an electric water heater, you may be connected to the continuous rather than off-peak tariff. If this is the case you could consider replacing your system with a low emission water heater such as solar or gas. You will be eligible for a rebate from the NSW government for this replacement.
• you could invest a small amount (around $100) on a power monitor to measure the power consumption of your main appliances like refrigerators, heaters, air conditioners and entertainment systems. This will help you work out whether any of these are using lots more power than others.
• if you have a pool, check that the pool pump is not running flat out
• if you have appliances you don't really need (eg a second fridge) then consider removing and recycling it using the Fridge Buyback program.
• for a lot more tips about every room in your house, see http://www.savepower.nsw.gov.au.

  Matthew Clark
  Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:17pm

Hi, I would like to have a "master switch" at my front door which would control or enable the switching off of all power in my house other than Refrigerator.
I would flick this to OFF when I go to bed and also whenever I leave home. It would need to cover power and light and I think it would greatly reduce my power usage especially when a light or appliance is left on accidentally.
Would such a switch be possible? What sort of cost would be involved to install it?

Petermac of Goulburn
Tuesday 16 November 2010 8:20AM

Hi Petermac

That sounds like a great idea and it will be worth investigating the possibility further with an electrician. A simple solution to cover some of your power use will be a smart power board which switches appliances off rather than putting them in standby. The standby on all your devices can make up about 10% of a typical power bill. You could also consider a motion sensor to turn your lights off automatically when you're not in a room, or remember to turn them off when you leave.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:26pm

As a renter it is really difficult to cut back on electricity costs. We are unable to install electricity saving hot water systems. We have done what we can with changing our light bulbs, turning appliances off at the wall and drying our clothes on the clothes horse. What else can we do except sit in the dark, the heat or the freezing cold not watching tv on our flatscreen and contemplating turning the fridge off?

Hayley of Waterloo
Tuesday 16 November 2010 9:51AM

Hi Haley

Hi Hayley, it sounds like you're making an effort to reduce your power bills which is great. There are quite a few things that renters can do to manage power costs, such as turning off lights when you're not in a room. As hot water is often the largest energy user in a home, taking shorter showers can make a large difference. If you have air conditioning, consider turning the temperature up to a comfortable 23 degrees or higher. Each degree warmer can save 15% off your cooling bills. Or you could use fans instead of the air conditioner for a fraction of the cost.

As a renter you may be eligible for the Home Power Savings Program which will give you a Personal Action Plan to save power in your home. Call 1300 662 416 or see http://www.savepower.nsw.gov.au/freehelp.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:35pm

We live in a 3b & 2bath rm fibro house in western sydney. Cooking gas, use off peak hot water system, 1 reverse air con for summer and 3 elec blankets for winter and 1 led tv. We use 5-10% more in water and electricity than 10 yrs ago but we now paid double for our bills. Please give us some advice. Thanks.

Go Sydney FC of Chester Hill
Tuesday 16 November 2010 10:35am

Hi

As a first step this summer think about running your air conditioner less, and to a warmer temperature (above 23 degrees). You could use fans instead of or with your air conditioner, and only cool the rooms that you are using. To make your home more comfortable, you could install insulation if you haven't already. You might consider changing your off peak electric water heater with an alternative such as solar or gas hot water. You could save energy by replacing any old refrigerators with a newer energy efficient model. There are lots of ways to save power at low or no up front cost – see http://www.savepower.nsw.gov.au for many more ideas.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:41pm

Matthew, appreciate your time coming on here to tell me to turn off lights, unplug appliances, and live without hot running water... but when is enough enough! They (experts like you) say that electricity will triple in the next 10 years – that means I have to earn $24,000 a year JUST to pay my power bill! WHAT THE ...
I am sick of politicians and the like telling me the bleeding obvious "turn lights off" how is this a SOLUTION? I NEED LIGHTS!

Princessk of Chatswood
Tuesday 16 November 2010 11:55AM

Hi Princessk

There are many ways to save power, and each person will find that they are comfortable with different suggestions. Generally, I would suggest turning off lights and appliances that aren't needed – for example the lights in rooms that aren't being used, or switching off the DVD player when you're not watching a movie. Many of these tips are simple things that won't affect your lifestyle, but reduce the amount of electricity that you're paying for but not actually using.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:46pm

We can't afford to install solar or replace whitegoods with more efficient alternatives. With the increase in electricity charges we are even less likely to be able to afford these in the future.

Can you advise of financial assistance available to the "working poor"? We are not Centrelink beneficiaries and fall outside of existing Government aid.

Energy Australia suggested we ask the charities for help but since my wife and I both work I feel this is a misuse of the Charities?

We are striving to minimise our energy use as best we can but difficult with teenagers. Have all the low energy lightbulbs etc but the Energy companies just keep charging more for less power used.

Princessk of Chatswood
Tuesday 16 November 2010 12:37PM

Hi

It can be hard to manage your power bills with a large family, particularly if some of them are teenagers! It might be helpful to make reducing your power bills a challenge for the whole family. Perhaps make it a competition within your home, setting a power saving target and rewarding family members as they save power. Use some of our energy saving tips as part of the challenge. Giving each family member responsibility for managing their energy use could make a difference.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:52pm

Is it really necessary to turn the power off at all of the power points when going away? What benefits does this have?

Anna.B of Tamarama
Tuesday 16 November 2010 3:01PM

Hi Anna.B, You could save electricity and reduce your bills by turning appliances off at the power point when you're not there. Standby electricity used in all your appliances will add up, and mean you are spending money on your power bills during your holidays – look for any appliances which have a display or LED light and switch them off at the wall.

You don't need to turn everything off when you're not there. You probably want your fridge to stay on for example, unless you're leaving for a long time and don't have anything in it! However you will save quite a bit of power if you turn off your electric hot water system, television and other entertainment devices at the power point.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 03:58pm

What are the most energy efficient light globes to purchase for use on an outdoor light?

Tam of Clovelly
Tuesday 16 November 2010 3:07PM

Hi Tam, Depending on what you are using the light for, you might find that a solar outdoor light suits your purpose. It will not add anything to your power bill. Energy efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs might also be suitable. If you can’t find an energy efficient light that suits your purpose, a motion sensor will reduce the cost of running your outdoor light, making sure it only turns on when there is someone nearby.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 04:03pm

Hi, How do I save money, but keep all my tv, dvd and foxtel boxes on? I'm worried that if I switch them off at the wall, I need to reset them every time?

powerkid of Bondi
Tuesday 16 November 2010 3:12PM

Hi Powerkid, Generally, your TV, foxtel and DVD player should be ok to turn off at the wall as they will remember important settings such as channels etc. A power board that switches off the power to your entertainment systems rather than putting them in standby will make it easy to manage and mean you can turn them all off standby at once.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 04:09pm

Hi, Matthew,

This may be an urban myth, but is it true that if you have solar power panels and use less power than the panels generate – does that mean you're supplying the grid with power? Does that mean that the government then has to pay you for the power you supply?

T
Tuesday 16 November 2010 3:30PM

Hi T, in NSW solar panels will mostly be on a different power supply than the rest of your house, so all the power generated goes into the grid. The Solar Bonus Scheme pays the household a fixed tariff for all the electricity generated by the system, regardless of how much power you use in your home.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 04:13pm

Hi, Matthew,

My family is by no means low income but I think we epitomise the 'save power' logic. We turn off all the lights/appliances when not in use, wash only with a full load, short showers - we even use a torch during the night for toilet visits instead of turning on the lights.

All this, and yet the power bills keep rising. What else can we do?

Sally of Strathfield
Tuesday 16 November 2010 4:11PM

Hi Sally, it's great that you're making a real effort to reduce your power bills. Power bills are going up, and with your efforts to reduce you will already be making a good saving.

There are likely to be a few more things you could try to further reduce your consumption. See savepower.nsw.gov.au for many more tips and advice than I can cover in this short blog.

If you'd like to check how much energy you're using compared to other homes, you could use the NABERS tool. With your energy bills and some simple household information, NABERS will let you know whether you're a really efficient home or if there are still things you could do. The NABERS website also has a great Explorer tool that can give you detailed personal advice for your household.

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 04:22pm

Hi, Matthew,

Is the government offering any rebates/discounts for the purchase of smart power boards?

Also which hot water system is best for saving money in a 4 member family household, solar hot water or an instantaneous systems? This needs to take into consideration the cost of the water wastage in heating a solar system to end supply use on a standard household install.

For Petermac, it would be possible to put the fridge on a separate power supply and a master switch installed from the power box but this would be much more costly than convenient smart power boards and turing off lights. It would also mean no power in the house at all until the master switch is reactivated, not very convenient for a midnight toilet run or bed time reading!

Ben of Bronte
Tuesday 16 November 2010 4:15PM

If you are eligible for the Home Power Savings Scheme, you will receive a "smart power board" for free as part of your home assessment.

For advice on your hot water system, try using the NABERS Energy Explorer. This explorer includes a hot water calculator which will take into account your family's behaviour and give advice on which system is best for you. In terms of cost and greenhouse gas savings, a gas instant water heater and electric boosted solar hot water system may have similar benefits depending on your home. A gas-boosted solar system would generally be the most efficient system, but typically costs a little more to install.

Thanks for your advice to Petermac!

Matthew Clark
Tuesday 16 Nov 2010 04:27pm