Published: The Daily Telegraph Date: 12 December 2010
Stand-out participant ... Renae Dimovski and son Lucas.
Source: The Sunday Telegraph
For Renae Dimovski from Mount Warrigal in the Illawarra region, the Save Power Challenge "really whipped us into electric shape" and the real bonus is the savings her family made on their last bill, which, virtually halved. In fact, the actual cash saving on their quarterly bill was close to $700, which is a significant saving over one year.
Renae is one of six participants in the recent eight-week Daily Telegraph/Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW (DECCW) Save Power Challenge. One month on, she says the family made a lot of the changes recommended by their assessor and put simply, "they have been nothing but good for us."
Interestingly, the changes were quite simple. They ranged from ensuring family members took shorter showers, "four minutes max," says Renae, to turning off the second fridge and only using the pool filter two hours a day rather than four.
"I also stopped using the dryer so often and now I hang the towels out to air rather than washing them every day," Renae says.
As for whether she's still using her power monitor, Renae says it's been a great help.
"I've popped it in a central place in the house and I often take a quick glance to see what's running and you would be surprised at the amount of electricity some of the appliances in the house use. Even my electric kettle gives a huge reading.
"I must admit it has been a huge result for a relatively small effort and I'm lovin' it," she says.
Kelly Ackers
Kelly Ackers from Rutherford in the upper Hunter is also a big fan of her power monitor because "it really lets you see what a big difference a few small things can make. I'm always checking it as it sits next to my kitchen sink."
The Ackers family also made a significant saving on their quarterly bill "despite a big jump in electricity prices, we still saved $40."
Kelly also intends to continue on along the same power saving path having implemented most of the changes recommended by her assessor.
"We made a lot of small changes such as stopping draughts and putting in new blinds to keep summer heat out and winter warmth in," she says. "We also installed a new showerhead and an eco-switch which has proven to be very handy. We connected it to our entertainment system and it allows us to switch everything off with the flick of one switch.
"We're also looking at a few other options our assessor suggested such as more insulation. The Save Power Challenge has just been a really positive experience," she concludes.