How to Reduce Your Power Bill: Compare and You Could Save with Cheaper Rates

How To Reduce Power Bill

Post on June 13th, 2015

How to reduce your power bill and save

To start off on the right foot, one of the quickest ways to possibly save on your power bill takes almost no time at all. The use of an accurate electricity comparison service will help you to compare cheaper rates near you that could dramatically lower the amount that you pay for power each year! You can also use our helpful tips on how to reduce your power bill to conserve energy and save even more money…

But first, how much power are you wasting? According to statistics from leading electricity retailers in Australia, Endeavour Energy and Ausgrid, the average household in Australia:

• Wastes up to $80 per year on power by leaving large appliances on standby mode.
• Could save $80 in the summer on air-conditioning by leaving the thermostat between 23°C and 26°C.
• Could save $150 per power bill by drying clothes outside each month instead of using an electric clothes dryer.

How to reduce your power bill in 11 easy steps

On top of those tips mentioned above, we’ve got a few tips of our own that we like to use, that can see you save money on your bill. The best part? Some of them are completely free. It’s as easy as flicking off a switch!

1. Start with your computer. When a computer is on standby mode, it takes up 15.7% of the total power used in your home. If you leave your computer on 24 hours a day, it will cost you at the minimum $12.14 per month. Turning off your computer when it is not in use could save you up to $145 per year by conserving electricity!
2. Turn off your TV manually. When you turn off your television using a remote control, it places the device on standby mode. Just like with your computer, a television on standby could cost you $10.56 on your electricity bill, even when it’s not in use. What a waste! The next time you watch TV, take a moment to turn off your television manually to save more than $100 per year.
3. Unplug your microwave when it is not in use. Many people don’t realize that an appliance as simple as a microwave oven will use electricity when it is plugged in 24 hours a day. To make it easy to remember to unplug this appliance, plug it into a power strip in your kitchen that you can turn off or disconnect from the wall each night before you go to bed. On another note, it’s best to use your microwave as opposed to your oven range whenever you can, especially when heating small meals; microwave ovens use significantly less power than standard ovens for cooking.
4. Make sure to turn the lights off whenever you’re not in the room. It might sound obvious, but we all forget—and every little bit of energy saving helps.
5. If you’ve got a hot water storage system, this is a large energy drain. Adjusting the temperature of your hot water down from 80°C to 60°C can save you up to $70 a year—and at this temperature, it’s hot enough that you won’t notice any perceivable difference.
6. Make the most of natural cooling methods, and during the hot summer months keep your windows, curtains, and blinds closed during the day. This blocks the majority of the sun’s rays, helping to keep your house cooler—and protects you from a surprise sunburn, too! When the sun’s gone down, simply open up your windows and let in the cooler night air.
7. It might be hard, but think twice before using your air conditioner to cool down the room. Give the fan a try instead. As well as moving air around the room to continually provide a cool breeze, you’ll also be looking at saving up to $200 a year on your electricity costs.
8. We understand that sometimes you do need that extra help, so if you absolutely must use the air conditioner, keep it to one room only. Close all the doors and windows, and as we said up above, set it to between 23°C to 26°C. Every degree warmer you keep the temperature saves roughly 10% of its energy use, saving you up to $80 on your electricity bill—and after all, you’re just trying to cool the room down, not turn it into a freezer.
9. And speaking of freezers, do you really need that second fridge? An average four person household can survive comfortably on just one fridge, so consider ditching the drinks fridge. Older models can use up to two or three times the electricity as newer, energy-efficient models, saving you up to $200 a year on your bill.
10. When it comes to replacing things, here’s a bright idea: replace your old light globes with new LED or energy saving bulbs. These not only last up to five times longer, but they’re almost four times more energy efficient, which over the course of a year is a huge saving.
11. Run high energy load devices like your washing machine and dishwasher at night during off-peak electricity hours. This not only saves you money on your usage, but also means you’re more likely to be running a full load for each appliance. Running a half load of dishes, or the washing machine, uses almost as much electricity and water as a full load, so take the time to make sure it’s full—it saves you money, and is better for the environment.

While it might sound obvious, these simple steps are likely to save you hundreds on your electricity bill each year, which is nothing to sneeze at. You’ll not only be doing your bit to reduce your energy footprint, but also fight rising utility costs at the same time.

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Get a better deal on your electricity bills

So while there are simple changes to your energy use habits that you can put in place to help you to reduce your power bill, we also recommend looking around and doing a price comparison on electricity plans and suppliers. This helps you get a better rate on your electricity, and also choose a supplier that’s right for your household.

And it doesn’t have to be difficult. Here’s how we recommend you go about comparing electricity companies and plans, to get a better deal on your electricity bill:

• Get out your most recent electricity bills and find out what tariff (or rate) you’re on. You can normally find this information on the last page or so, along with your electricity usage for that billing period. Make a note of your current usage rate—this is the key piece of information you’ll use to compare plans.
• Find out when your household uses the most electricity. You might use most of your energy during peak hours, or you might use more during off-peak hours. Finding this out can help you choose a supplier that offers a better rate for the times you use your electricity the most.
• Check to see if you’re currently getting any discounts, or special deals. If you are, factor this into your rates comparison; if not, it pays to be a bit cheeky: you can ask your current supplier if they are willing to offer a discount, or special rate, to keep you as a customer. If you’re already planning on switching suppliers, it can’t hurt to ask!

Now that you’ve got all the basic information you need, it’s time to look around and compare other plans. Whether you’re doing it over the phone or by yourself online, keep the following questions in mind when seeing what else is out there:

• Does this supplier increase their rates each year? Suppliers usually keep their rate increases in line with the CPI, but there are some that may not cap their price rises. If you find one of these, we recommend you avoid them, as this can be a sign that they’re looking at raising their rates in the future.
• Does this supplier charge any moving or disconnection fees? Moving house is never easy, so make sure you find this out up front—it’s one less thing to worry about in the future, if you do need to move house.
• Do they have any discounts they can offer you? As with your current supplier, your new supplier might offer discounts as a way to make their plan seem more appealing to you. You might be able to receive discounts on things as simple as opting in to email correspondence, paying your bill on time regularly, or setting up direct debit.
• But check to see if they’re offering a percentage discount, or a credit off your bill, and whether it’s for your usage rates or your entire bill. You want to make sure you know what you’re getting a discount on, to be able to see if it’s actually worth it or not.
• Is this supplier willing to matching a rate—or even beat one—offered by a competitor? With all the competition in the electricity market today, some suppliers are willing to do this, so it doesn’t hurt to ask. It gives you the chance to get a better deal, while going with the supplier that suits you.

While it’s not comprehensive, this is a simple rundown of the questions to ask when comparing your electricity plan.

But if it sounds like a lot of work, and you feel like you need some support—worry not, that’s where we can help.

Let us help you reduce your power bill today

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 the right 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!