It was with great trepidation that I opened our quarterly electricity bill today. And deservedly so for on the good news front, it is down 5 kWh from same period last year. Bad news is that is a jaw dropping $347. And this is despite all the efforts I’ve made in turning off lights, using the heater sparingly, turning off at the powerpoints, etc…
Yes I know that reducing electricity consumption is good for the environment but without seeing a tangible outcome in the form of a reduced bill it is hard to maintain the enthusiasm and justify the nagging I give my family to be conscious of their behaviour.
So I’ve decided to think of ways to make conserving electricity fun. Here are my top three ideas …
1. One night a week have a “no electricity night”. Dinner by candlelight, perhaps a fire with toasted marshmallows, BBQ, reading nighttime story book by torch, tell ghost stories, daggy disco dancing, lie outside and look at the stars …. Not sure how my hubby will cope with this though unless he invents a pedal powered computer but hopefully he’ll embrace the challenge!
2. Showering in the dark. Whilst I’m a morning shower person usually there is a certain peace and tranquility that can be attained via showering in a dark room and once or twice a week I will switch off and gain some serenity. It also means that I have more time in the morning to get breakfasts, make lunches etc. And for those showers in the morning I really don’t need to turn on the lights especially now I have a lovely, freshly painted bathroom.
3. Play – find the power switch – with my 5 year old and turn them off practicing counting at the same time! The TV switch will be a challenge as I can’t for the life of me find the switch!
Does anyone have any other ideas?
If you are using onpeak/offpeak Energy Australia rates, be aware of what times the changeovers are: 7am, 2pm, 8pm, 10pm on weekdays. Compared to offpeak, any power usage in shoulder periods cost 1.7x more, and peak periods cost 4.6x more (and peak is 2.7x more than shoulder period).
So, avoid doing major activity at peak times. e.g. dishwasher, washing machine, ironing, vacuuming etc. If you were gung ho, you could even run a crockpot overnight (off peak) for breakfast/dinner (divide, fridge, thaw & reheat portions) ± use gas stove heating at peak times. You get a relief on the weekends & public holidays, as there is no peak period. I also do not have a TV & never use a dryer.
We’ve also just come through winter, so you have to be realistic about energy costs & make that the most expensive time of the year (energy wise). Something to keep in context, is the actual cost of different activities e.g. by my calculations (could be wrong), a 30W light bulb costs 90¢ to leave on 24/7 for 1 week, and $45 for 1 year. In contrast, a 1000W electric heater costs 40¢ per peak hour.
If you don’t have onpeak/offpeak, this doesn’t apply to you.
Finally, AFAIK, electricity prices rose in July 2010 in NSW, and are due to rise further, so it pays to alter your lifestyle wisely. Personally I find down clothes from Lands End (landsend.com America) to be excellent investments. Look in their Overstocks section, and search for “down”. I wear these jackets indoors continuously during winter. The leftover colours are cheap (e.g. US$10), shipping is reasonable, and I prefer them to wool which we get locally. Otherwise, warm clothes in general are IMO good investments.
Awesome comment thanks! To be honest I’ve never really considered peak and off peak times so that is definitely on my agenda. I’ve also just realised that this time last year I was working full time whereas this year on maternity leave so my consumption at home would be considerably more. Which means that I’m not doing too badly after all. But still will look at other ways to save
How I’ve managed to not buy new clothes!…
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