Cheap Electricity And Gas
Post on June 13th, 2015
The truth is that electricity and gas in Australia isn’t cheap. Costs for energy are on the rise as the demand for electricity and gas continues to grow nationwide. As a result, electricity retailers are charging more as electricity networks increase prices in order to renovate and build new electricity infrastructures to support the booming population coast-to-coast.
If you’re looking for cheap electricity and gas in Australia, you have come to the right place. Many homeowners in Australia don’t realize that you have the freedom to compare electricity retailers to choose cheap electricity and gas rates near you.
If you haven’t tried an electricity comparison yet, then you’re probably paying too much on your annual power bills. ElectricityWizard is here to do all the hard work for you at no obligation to you. Yes, that’s right. Our service is absolutely free and could large sums each year on annual power costs.
To get started on your energy savings, simply fill in the form below or call us at 1300 557 701 for more information!
But comparing suppliers is just the first step to making long-term changes to your energy bills. It also pays to consider just how much energy you’re using in your home. Reducing the amount of energy you draw from the grid not only reduces your bills, but reduces your impact on the environment too.
Electricity and gas use in Australia: conserve energy, save money
Today, 30% of the commercial energy worldwide is supplied by coal. In Australia, a whopping 95% of electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels. As a result, 1 kW of electricity generated by coal in a power station will produce 1 kg of greenhouse gas emissions that will be released as toxic waste into the atmosphere.
For every kilogram of coal that is burned, 3 kg of greenhouse gases are released into the environment.
With this information in mind, it’s clear that conserving energy around the house will save you money and benefit Mother Nature at the same time. Many homeowners don’t realize that the greatest energy cost on their annual power bill is from heating and cooling the home throughout the year.
Additionally, if appliances aren’t properly maintained and are operated at their lowest efficiency, they will waste unnecessary energy and reduce their operating life. Although many appliances today are technologically advanced, all of the bells and whistles can decrease the total lifecycle of each appliance.
Energy-efficient appliances
The next time you’re ready to buy a new appliance or replace an old model at home, consider first the energy-efficiency of the appliance you are buying. Although an energy-efficient appliance may be an initial investment, it will save you hundreds of dollars a year by reducing total electricity costs on your annual power bill.
For more information on finding the right appliances, have a look at the official Energy Rating website. They have all the information you need to know on what’s involved in your appliance’s energy rating, why they’ve given your model a particular rating, and also let you conduct an energy rating calculation to help you find a more efficient model.
But if you’re not in the market for a new appliance, here are some practical steps you can take today to reduce your energy use—and they won’t cost you a cent.
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How to save energy around your home
Here are our top tips to help you reduce your energy use and start saving money on your utilities:
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- It might sound obvious, but make sure you turn lights off when you’re not in the room, and make use of natural light instead.
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- Switch off any non-essential appliances at the wall when they’re not in use, instead of leaving them on standby mode. Appliances like your computer, your TV, the dryer, the washing machine, kettle, microwave, and your even phone charger still use power when they’re not turned on, so switching them off at the wall (or unplugging them altogether) goes a long way to reducing your energy use.
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- Do you use a clothes dryer regularly? Dryers are high-drawing appliances, so why not switch it off and take advantage of our beautiful Australian weather by drying your clothes outside? Drying just four loads of laundry outside a week, instead of using your dryer, both reduces your energy use and has the potential to reduce your electricity bill almost $150!
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- You can use the same approach for your home, by giving natural heating and cooling methods a try. During summer, keep your curtains, blinds, and windows closed during the day to stop the sun getting in. This will help to keep your house cooler, and when the sun has started to set you can just open up the windows, and let the evening air in to cool your house even further.
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- If the heat does get too much, use your fan instead of going straight away to the air conditioner. Using fans to cool your rooms averages out to be about 80% cheaper to use, and can help you save up to $200 a year on your power bill.
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- When you do turn on your air conditioner, don’t set it too low—you just want to cool the room down, not turn it into a fridge. Setting it to between 23°C and 26°C in summer can save roughly $80 on your power bill. For every degree that you increase it you’ll save roughly 10% on the cost of electricity it uses. You can use the same logic for winter, but in reverse.
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- Also, if you do use an air conditioner, confine it to one room only. It’s much more efficient—and cheaper—to cool one room, as opposed to your entire house.
- If you’ve got two fridges, think about whether you really need them both. The average four-person household can comfortably use one fridge, and reducing your use to one fridge has the potential to vastly reduce your energy use. Older fridges use anywhere from two to three times more electricity than newer, energy-efficient models, and running on only one fridge has the potential to save you up to an estimated $200 a year on your power bill.
Reducing your energy use doesn’t have to be hard. As you can see, it’s as simple as switching off any non-essential appliances, and making the most of the natural resources we have on hand. The beauty is that you’ll not only reduce your environmental impact, but you’ll end up reducing your electricity and gas bills too.
But as we’ve said, it’s just one piece of the puzzle to reducing your power bills for the long term.
Get a Better Deal on Your Electricity Bills
Getting a better deal on your electricity bill doesn’t have to be hard, you just have to know what to look for when comparing electricity suppliers and plans. Here are a few things to consider when comparing prices:
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- Read the terms and conditions – Like most things, look closely at the fine print of your plan. Make note of the tariff you’ll be on, and any caveats, clauses, and conditions. This is important so you can be aware of any rate or price changes in the future, and you can avoid any plans that make things expensive for you in the long run.
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- What type of plan are you getting? – The two usual types of plans you’ll find are fixed rate plans and variable rate plans. A fixed rate plan means your usage rate is locked in for the term of the contract, and variable rate plan means that the usage rate can be changed at your supplier’s discretion. So if you’d prefer the peace of mind of locking your usage rate in for the whole term and adjusting your energy use accordingly, go with a fixed rate; but if you’d prefer the opportunity to see your electricity rates go down, while also reducing your energy use, find a variable rate plan.
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- Match rates – With the amount of competition available in the energy market these days, suppliers are keen to get you as their customer, so much like other markets a lot of suppliers are willing to match, or even beat, rates set by their competitors. If you find a supplier who you feel like you want to go with, ask if they’re able to match or beat a rate set by a cheaper supplier—this puts the power in your hands, lets you get a better rate, and go with a supplier that you prefer.
- Ask about discounts – Much like matching rates, a lot of suppliers are willing to offer incentives to attract you as a customer, and discounts are no exception. Ask what discounts your supplier offers—some offer discounts for switching to paperless correspondence, setting up direct debit billing, or even for something as simple as paying your bill on time. But make sure you know the length of the discount, and what you’re actually getting discounted on.
As well as these points, it’s recommended that you compare electricity rates every 12 to 24 months. This lets you get more competitive rates regularly, so you can take advantage of any better deals, or any new technology that’s available.
But while it’s not a hard process, it helps to have someone give you a hand. That’s where we come in. We can help you get the plan that suits you, so you can reduce your annual electricity and gas prices, and reduce your energy use at the same.
At Electricity Wizard, we do all the hard work for you. When you call us, we’ll compare your rates and plans against our preferred suppliers available in your area and help you select a great plan for you to cut down costs and meet any other criteria you may have. Best of all, our service is completely free, so what do you have to lose?
Try us today! Call Electricity Wizard now on 1300 359 779 or fill out your details below to have one of our comparison specialists help you get a better deal on your energy bills starting today!