Electricity. Sure, it keeps us comfortable and entertained, but we pay for the pleasure. Power bills can eat up a significant portion of the household budget – money that could otherwise be spent on all the fun and adventure of the Adelaide Hills.
There are the obvious ways to lower your power bills, such as choosing high-end insulation and installing solar panels, which are great options for those who are at the beginning of their building journey, but for anyone living in an established property, there are plenty of other savvy ways to minimise your energy expenses! Whether that’s from strategic cooling to replacing electricity with romance, here are eight savvy tips for living your most energy efficient life.
1. Choose energy efficient appliances
The stars you see on electrical appliances aren’t just for show – shopping based on this rating can make a huge difference to your power bill, especially if you are purchasing multiple items!
Let’s say you’re shopping for a 600L fridge and are deciding between a 3-star model or a slightly cheaper 2-star model. According to Energy Rating, the organisation behind the system, moving up just that single star will save you approximately $430 over the life of the product – savings that will more than cover the slightly higher upfront cost. Plus, the more stars you add, the greater the savings will be!
2. Tweak the thermostat
Even in the enviable surrounds of the Adelaide Hills, the quest to keep your home at the ideal temperature will take up the largest portion of your power bill (around 40% on average). But by simply adjusting your thermostat you can significantly reduce your energy use!
For every degree you adjust your temperature, you reduce the running costs of your heating and cooling system by as much as 10%! In summer, shade your windows and set your air conditioner to between 24C and 27C. In winter, let the sun in and set your heater to between 18C and 21C. And don’t forget to check that your fridge and freezer thermostats are set in an appropriate range too.
3. Be selective with your heating and cooling
Another way to reduce your bills is to isolate your heating and cooling to the rooms that you use most frequently. Close the doors of spare bedrooms, home offices and any other dormant spaces, and heat or cool only those that are currently in use.
4. Cool off elsewhere in the heat of summer
Why cool off at home when there’s so much Adelaide Hills summer fun to be had? Make a splash at Mount Barker Mountain Pool, catch a flick in the perfectly chilled Wallis Cinema or have a taste of the cool climate wines of the Adelaide Hills at a number of light and breezy cellar doors. And if you’re still looking for more outdoor activities, wander through the shaded nature of Mount Lofty Botanic Garden. Remember too that Newenham is only a 40 minute drive from the sun and sand of Glenelg!
5. Switch to LEDs
LEDs hit the mainstream a long time ago. Nevertheless, many people continue to purchase traditional types of light bulb, like incandescent, halogen and fluorescent, based purely on the sticker price.
While these other bulbs may be cheaper at the checkout, they can’t compete with LEDs in terms of efficiency. By converting almost all their energy to light rather than heat, LEDs are 50% more efficient than fluorescent, 3.5x-6x more efficient than halogen, and 5x-8x more efficient than incandescent. What’s more, they last much times longer, resulting in serious savings over time.
6. Turn it (completely) off
Many appliances have a standby or sleep mode, where they’re not turned on, but they’re not quite turned off either. On average standby power accounts for 3% of Australian household power usage, which might not sound like much, but over the course of a year this can add up to $50 or more – money that is better in your pocket than the power company’s.
Where possible switch appliances off at the wall or install smart plugs that do it for you.
7. Be water wise
After heating and cooling systems, the second largest energy user in Australian homes is the water heater, accounting for nearly a quarter of the average power bill.
The simplest way to reduce this cost is to shorten your showers, which reduces your water use too so you’ll be benefiting the planet too! A four-minute shower is a nice number to aim for and investing in a shower timer will help you build the habit. If you’re brave enough to turn off the heat, not only will you reduce your energy consumption, you’ll receive all the amazing health benefits associated with cold showers!
Washing your clothes in cold water and hanging them on the line rather than throwing them in the dryer can also make a real dent in your power bill.
8. Make energy efficiency romantic
Who says an energy efficient lifestyle needs to be stale or boring? There are a number of ways to both decrease home power use and increase home romance. Think dinners by candlelight, board games over TV, cuddling up by the fire in winter and relaxing outdoors in summer.
The Adelaide Hills is a romantic place to be, and if that romance leads to a lower power bill, all the better!
Set up your home for the future – considering the ways you can reduce your homes energy is a clever design idea and could even become a major drawcard to potential purchasers in the future.
If you’d like to know more about living at Newenham or securing your future here, simply call our Sales Team on 0429 107 497 or visit the Sales & Information Centre at 164 Flaxley Road, Mount Barker – click here for open hours.
Come and experience Newenham for yourself.
