Struggling with electricity bills?

[chrisp9au]

Maybe our recent, ongoing experience, might help others struggling with power bills...

We've had a couple of horrendous power bills in the last 6 months.
Which caused us to start asking questions of power companies, and ourselves!

Energywatch, http://www.energywatch.com.au/ advised that we could save 7% if swapped to AGL, which we agreed to.
A few days later our current supplier, Origin, came back and offered us 10%, which we agreed to! :D

Lesson, talk to Energywatch, find out what you can save by switching to a new supplier, then arm wrestle your current supplier!

We also asked for a review of our account, the way metering was being done etc.
We discovered we were not on the correct plan with regard to off peak metering so we should start saving a fair bit more as soon as they change our plan.

We contacted a few Solar Hot Water companies and asked for quotes for a system that, we are told, would have a significant impact on our bills.

One company, EcoSmart in Bendigo, http://ecosmart.rtrk.com.au/?scid=45502&kw=4356008&pub_cr_id=4914339142 sent a rep down who spent the best part of two hours drinking coffee and giving us lots of advice. Good value! She was horrified at our last bill!

Three things she suggested...

1. Change all our light bulbs to long life energy savers immediately.
2. Get a Centre Meter device to monitor our electricity usage.
3. Install special power sockets in hard to get at places to turn off devices that stay on stand by.


1. Has been done, we will see what the effect is, but just on the smaller wattage of these bulbs we know there will be a difference.

2. Checked on Centre Meter devices, made by Clipsal, $299 retail, or $179 on eBay! Found a couple of alternatives whilst researching, a device by 'Trec', on eBay for $99, and a monitor called Watts Clever for $75 plus $7.50 postage, also on eBay!

Finished up buying the Watts Clever unit. Now installed and giving us lots of information, and a real time insight on what goes on in our home! Picture attached.

The unit doesn't require installation, just a clip on sensor unit that clips over the supply cable in the meter box. Then there is a wireless monitor which we've put beneath our kitchen light switch as that gets used more than any other, and we thus get to be aware at all times of how much power we are using.

Tip, after clipping on the Sensor clip in the meter box, place the transmitter unit outside the meter box, especially if the meter box is metal, as high as possible we found best, and out of the rain.

Whilst it will be another 3 months before we see what effect these actions will have, the immediate awareness provided by this unit means we are switching things off all the time. We are so much more aware; for example the microwave is now switched off at the wall, we never tell the time by the clock on it! The electric jug uses 2000 watts, so we are very careful not to heat more water than we need! Denise has started cooking more with the electric fry/grill pan rather than the electric stove which is a major consumer of power. The list goes on and on.

We have an 18 year old grand daughter living with us, so we involved her in the initial setup and I suspect that was a very wise move. She now checks out the monitor and goes around turning lights off, unplugging things on standby, etc. It's been character changing!

The last suggestion above, number 3. will have to wait until our next trip to Bendigo to check out the remote switching power sockets, apparantly available from Harvey Norman for around $40. We are going to put one down behind the TV unit/complex, and another in the study where we have computers, printers etc.

Anyway, a bit of a rant, but we think we are going to save hundreds of dollars each quarter as a result,
Maybe you could save a bit for the new scope by giving the exercise a try? Involve the kids, switching things on and off, saves a lot of walking! :D

Note. The quote for solar hot water came today, $4,000 including the rebates.
So now we have to sit down and work out how long it will take us to recoup the investment, will we still be living here then? etc!

Anyone with any more suggestions for saving power, please post to this thread, we can all learn and save!

Cheers
Chris

[Barrykgerdes]

Yes it's pretty grim for the average family. I don't have too much trouble with my bill at the moment but it has gone up about 80% over the last 10 years. I will get a bit of a reprise soon when I start selling the power back at 60c Kwh (just beat the cut off date). A projection of cost of power v income from power is slightly my way at the moment.

Water heaters, electric cooking and electric radiators are the big users of power so a solar water heater should give a substantial saving,

Barry

[Gama]

Let me also make another couple of suggestion. Buy small fluro lamps that plug into the power point to illuminate your kitchen/dinning room etc, where you need to trod thru to get somewhere else, etc.
They only consume about 0.2 Watts, yet gives enough light to do many tasks, like grab a glass of water, etc..
Turn off any spot lights, or buy the LED versions.
Use any charging, vacumming, washing, or anything that uses large amounts of electricity until your weekend (Which is off peak).

If you do it right, your costs drop sharply.

Theo
Theo

[ballaratdragons]

Yeah, Theo, we use those little 0.2w Power Point lights. They are great.

My power bills are pretty low.

I have a Gas Stove
The Gas bottle costs me about $90 to replace each 18 months.

I have a wood heater.
I spend approx $500 per year on firewood (less than quarter of that if I go cut my own).

I could get the bills even lower if I had Gas Hot Water. But I can't afford to convert.

Go Gas wherever you can :thumbsup:

[chrisp9au]

Thanks Theo,

My wife introduced those small lights a few years ago now.
When they sort out our off peak metering we'll make a point of doing stuff on weekends for sure.

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[koputai]

Gas sure is cheap, but it's not the most efficient heat source, as most of the heat produced goes aroung the pot and into the air.

Efficiencies of various cooktops:

Gas 28%
Electric (Flat ceramic) 71%
Electric (Induction) 90%

When the electricity production, and distribution losses are taken in to account (there are losses with gas as well), the gas and electric induction are pretty equal, with other forms of electric performing more poorly.

If you never use the hot water out of the tap at the hottest temperature, normally mixing it with a bit of cold, you can turn the thermostat down on your hot water heater for an appreciable saving.

If you're going away for a few days or more, turn the water heater off.

Turn ALL outdoor lighting off, forever!

Leave the tv off unless you actually want to watch a certain program. So many households just have the tv on in the background, because, well, that's just what they do.

Turn the computer monitor off whenever you aren't sitting in front of it. Also turn the computer off when not using it. If you simply MUST leave it on all day, at least turn it off before you go to bed.

Just a few thoughts.

Thanks for bringing this up Chris.

Cheers,
Jason.

[hotspur]

Some interesting reading there Chris,I think I will get your post printed out and

have a good read of your suggestions.

We turn everything of at the wall plug when not in use-T.V,microwave etc.apparently the average house uses up,up to $150 a year,by just having things on 'stand-by'.

We got these solar power panel thingy's.They appear to save us around $100 on power bills,but it has been cloudy,and winter.Now the days a longer,I will be keen to see what they can do.

I think your suggestion of asking around power companies is very good,even if one simply gets a few percent off from their current provider.

We live in the bush,and are lucky we can light a small fire in our yards,I try to cook a large roast meat meal in camp ovens a couple of times a month,this saves the electric oven been on for many hours.

These solar panel thingy'd may not be a huge saver on bills,but or kids-think about power usage and every now an then have a day,to try and use the least amount of power as we can,and export as much as we can.

Cheers Chris

[chrisp9au]

Our observations are that anything that has a heating or cooling element uses the most power, that's where most of our attention is now focused on finding savings.
Can't do a great deal about the fridge and the freezer. Denise buys cheap quality meat from the local abattoir shop, cuts it all up and freezes it, we save heaps!
We have split cycle air conditioning but that won't fire up until the weather changes significantly! But I can see that we will need to be very careful with it.

Denise has now been convinced that the clothes dryer is a huge trap. It used to go for what seemed like hours on end!
She's added an extra bit of rope to the clothes line out the back, and is actually using the solar clothes dryer! :)
When the off peak issue is sorted she agrees that doing the washing on the weekend will be the go.

I must confess that putting the Watts Clever monitor in the kitchen has been a master stroke, Denise looks at it every time she walks past and talks about the changes she will have to make. It's really got her thinking about the problem, she can see that there might be more shopping money in prospect! :D
Previously, I would say something about saving electricity and she would just shake her head and ignore me. She's even got rid of the electric alarm clock beside the bed!

Getting the outside lights turned off permanently will never happen, but Denise is much more aware now of the cost of using them, and they only go on when absolutely necessary. Wish I could get the message across to the neighbors up the hill! :mad2:

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[Jen]

:rolleyes: oh man Chris this is a misleading thread :lol: I thought you were offering to pay mine for me ;):P :lol:

[koputai]

Ah, but do you?

A friend of mine has a farm and makes cows. Once or twice a year they pick a juicy looking one, and take it to the abbatoir to have it slaughtered, butchered and packed. They then take it back to the farm and pack it in to a couple of big chest freezers. He likes to tell me how much he saves on meat, but I reckon he spends that much on electricity to keep it all frozen. As power costs increase, the storage of cheaper food will likely be a false economy.

Cheers,
Jason.

[koputai]

Oh, and when you build your McMansion, like so many people do, don't put bl**dy underfloor heating in it !! That must be the biggest, most wankiest waste of energy ever brought to Australia. It should be outlawed!

Cheers,
Jason.

[ballaratdragons]

Can you cook regularly (almost every night) for 18 months using an Electric Stove/Oven for $90?
I doubt it.

[chrisp9au]

And if I were a gentleman I would, but... :D

[chrisp9au]

You have a point Jason, but I'm not sure I want to tackle the chef on that one! :D

[ballaratdragons]

They are starting out the expensive way.
The butcher around here comes to your own property. He slaughters cuts and packs for $150 per head of beef.

That is cheap for over $1000 worth of meat.

And most houses have big freezers in the bush anyway. So they are already running whether they are full of meat or just have a few frozen vegies in the bottom.
Better to fill em up :lol:

[hotspur]

I think this is incorrect.We have large freezer,as have a lot stored in another for our catering business,we have a fair amount of meat in them,and our daily total house hold cost for power is around $2.50 per day.

Also fridges and freezer use a lot less power when they are full,this is a fact.

So have them fairly full to use less power.Just had a look at our power bill,we export around $100 of power in three months,plus the solar panels knock out the power we use when they are making power.So they seem to reduce the bills a bit,its a 1.5 KW set up with 8 panels.

Another way to reduce power bills is get riid of those old desk top computers,they chew up the power,a lappy use only $6 per year.

Cheers Chris

[chrisp9au]

I forgot to mention one other power guzzler that was replaced immediately.

The IXL Tastic bathroom light/heater, kept mum warm , but the price!

4 x 275 watt globes! :eyepop:

Gone!

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[wasyoungonce]

Does anyone come close to our power usage of 47.5KWh (avg) per day?

I was thinking of solar but I'd need around a 4.2kw plus system (around $15-$20K) just to average 15-20Kwh per day return (http://www.pvoutput.org/ladder.jsp?p=2&o=ss&d=desc) for my location.

Pity me and blame my 3 daughters!:sadeyes:

[Graham Sanders]

FYI, I live in south-east Tassie, our original winter daily use when we first arrived here was up in the 40kw zone, scary! the following improvements to our home have reduced our winter consumption level to below 22kw per day (we need another year to be accurate, could be down to 18kw or lower!!):


1.7kw solar system
solar hot water
replaced 90% of lighting with new fluro lamps (these take a while to warm up, we kept a halogen bulb here and there so we had instant light)
curtains that go to the floor Need it install the pelmets as yet
turn off all unnecessary appliances
use the solar clothes dryer!! we do use the electric sometimes
replaced old electric heater with inverter system

We do have good insulation, that is important, you can make a difference by just turning your hot water down and putting a timer on it so the monster does not come on any time. I hope this offers some insight into your thread, cheers Graham

[wasyoungonce]

We have Gas cooktop instant Gas HW and Gas central heating....so this leaves ipods, TVs, dryer, computers..and hair straighteners!:lol:

Our Peak was close to 60KWh per day in winter. I expect the SHMBO was using the dryer almost all day every day.:shrug:

It's dropped to 47.5KWh as of last bill.

I was looking at what other people were getting from their solar systems to see if I could reduce this feed in. Apparently I'd need around 4.2Kw system, from my guess, just to reduce our bill by around 20Kwh...given what other people are saying they get from their systems.

I just purchased one of those Aldi power meters...It's on the dryer as we speak. I feel like I'm on a quest!:shrug:

[chrisp9au]

Thanks Graham,

We've been in the 34kw/day area, which for a small 13sq mud brick home, 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, is shocking, pun intended!

Hopefully the steps we've taken will start to show up in the next bill, but I think the March bill will give us a more accurate comparison.
We have the electrician coming in to make some wiring changes, and to remove the Climate Saver unit in the meter box which has saved us absolutely nothing! We've set ourselves a target of averaging less than 400w/hour which would get our quarterly bill down by 60%

Cheers :thumbsup:
Chris

[Graham Sanders]

Hair straighteners..............hmmm.... ...I've never considered it before but perhaps the shaving of ones head could save electricity!
We are north facing and do get good sunshine, our 1.7kw system has in the last few weeks been delivering almost 12kw on a good day, I think you would be in the zone for sure with a 4.2kw system.

[Benno85]

Good thread, I'll look at what I can change around home to make some sort of impact.

Not that this will save any power, but my wife and I have been paying a small amount each week to the power provider to soften the blow of receiving the bill, we've found that it's easier to manage by setting up a direct debit for $20 - $30 each week, don't even know it's gone and it does make paying the bill easier :)

[GrampianStars]

Look at your fridge 410 lt(650KwH/Yr ave)+ frezer 200 lt (275KwH/Yr ave)
So a constant load = 2.53 KwH per day
a small 80w panel 200ah batery and a 600w inverter will run this load easily
and make a real difference to the $$$$$$$$$ as well as no downtime during grid power failures :thumbsup:

[GrampianStars]

:eyepop: melbourne average is 18-20 Kwh per day
Maybe turn off the growing lights ;)
check that a neighbor hasn't plugged into your power line stealing some juice :lol:
Note
2820 (2.82 kW)
12 x 235W REC solar panels
+ Xantrex GT 2.8 inverter
only $8,499fully installed!
would be a better initial option
http://www.energymatters.com.au/specials/victoria-solar-power-special.php

[wasyoungonce]

Thanks Gents...I used my new Aldi power meter on the dryer...found it used 8KWh yesterday..and that was a non-typical day...it's usually on more!

I expect SHMBO has been running up big power usage...bless her little cotton socks.

I'm finding it difficult to find sites showing avg solar returns by system size and location. It's difficult to gauge what size solar system we would need to reduce our feed in to an acceptable level....lets say 25KWh.

[Alchemy]

Just checked my power bill, we use 10.3 kWh per day...... What on earth do you all use it on?????

[Barrykgerdes]

I use 12.5 Kwh/day average
I make no effort to conserve electricity, House is 33sqs, 2 baths 4 beds,
I have incandescent lamps (when I can find them). I hate those flouros. 55" TV never off (use standby). 4 computers run 24/7 + 2 lap tops. Air conditioner runs when needed. Fridge and Freezer.

I have gas hot water, Gas cooktop, Microwave, Don't use the dryer unless the weather is wet for weeks

Barry

[wasyoungonce]

Dew heaters and 3 daughters....or maybe...?

Realistically...Melbourne is around 25KWh per family per day....well I thought it was.

I remember our bills being 28KWh per day...then we moved to payment per fortnight...so I haven't seen one awhile so it's as big as shock to me as to you.

[Mrkex]

Hey all,

I got a 1.5kw system installed las tweek but they havent connected it to the grid yet. This is a link that has the supposed average returns for each system in each capital city. Just click on products and scroll down to the bottom. http://www.quantumsolarpower.com.au/
(http://www.quantumsolarpower.com.au/)

[stanlite]

my family manages to export about 20kw/h a day at the moment and that is without clear sunny days ... it helps that dad is an electrian and installed a 6 kw/h system on our place. Dad said it was an investment in his retirement since he no gets an income from the power grid rather then a bill.

[GrampianStars]

Here you go ;)
http://www.gotsolar.com.au/admin/include/tiny_mce/plugins/imagemanager/files/Avg_Daily_Production.jpg

[pmrid]

This is a really useful thread and I am noting all the various suggestions being made. Some will be harder than others to implement but with the prospect of power costs sky-rocketing in the future, it's becoming mission-critical.
This led us to the installation of some solar panels a year back now and a fair whack of dollars to get it done. But it's proven to be worthwhile.
But of course, like all good things, it seems likely to come unravelled as other states follow the NSW lead in cutting the buy-back price of solar power going into the grid.
Our last 2 power bills have been one each side of zero as a result of the buyback. The last one actually saw a small credit in our favour. The difference, I think, is in the size of the installation. We put in 3000 watts of panels and these produce, on average something like 12-13 KwH a day. But whatever we consume during daylight hours comes straight off that and it's usually about 7-8 KwH leaving an average surplus of about 4 KwH a day - roughly $2-2.50 worth. People putting in solar systems less than 3Kw can't really expect to do much more than cover some of their normal daylight consumption and not much more.
But in order to get where we are, we had to fork out $10 grand nett. It's still a bloody long cost-recovery process and if you only made your decisions on that basis, you would probably not do it at all.

Peter

[koputai]

2530 / 80 = 31 hours of good sunlight per day? Better do those sums again!

Cheers,
Jason.

[wasyoungonce]

Thanks for the links....a 4KW solar systems returns on avg (In Melbourne) 14.4KWh. I was guessing around a return. From what I have read a 4KW system will cost around $15K-$20K.

If I manage to reduce my pwr consumption to 40KWh then a 14.4KWh solar production is not enough. The outlay is enormous for not enough returns, for us in Melbourne.

I need to either: reduce our power consumption; look at a larger solar system (read big $...yeah right I need a bigger roof!); or suck it up.:mad2:

[GrampianStars]

mmmm! my panel pumps out 24v x 5.2A = 173watts Hr x 8hours = 1.38KwH
works plenty 4 me as the fridge night cycle use = aprox 960watts
currently at 12 hours daylight average = 2.07KwH per day :thumbsup:
I must beef up the battery and panels though to make it self serving and chop the grid

[Jeeps]

Holy moly i just got my water bill. I've used LESS water than previous bills however it's almost $100 more! GRRR

[chrisp9au]

:D:D Tank water, 78,000 litres, overflowing!, cost =zero, if you don't count all the lost observing time! :D:D

Sorry Sam! :P

Chris

[Barrykgerdes]

Gee
If my water bill was $100 more that would be an increase of 117%. My last water/sewage was $85 for the quarter and we have no water restrictions in the summer. Two supplies clear and recycled. The recycled is used for toilets and the garden. Great system!

Incidently the recycled water would be safer to drink than normal water in the rest of the world.

Barry

[koputai]

Digging up an old thread here.

When this thread was active I bought a 'Watts Clever' meter which is similar to the 'Cent-a-Meter'.

Doing some checking on it, I've found that it doesn't read correctly, when monitoring a 12W light globe, it measures between 16 and 18 watts. It also had a failure after a couple of months in that the switching has failed (within the potted cct) and it can no longer show totals, just instantaneous. Pretty crap performance really!

So, I'm looking for something better. Can anyone give feedback on the 'Cent-a-Meter'? Is there anything out there that can log readings and download them to a PC? Jaycar has a couple like this in their cattledog, but they are not actually available.

Cheers,
Jason.

[traveller]

I have a basic 1.5kw system, installed facing west, due to pitch of roof. I had it for just under a year now, and so far, i am still over $100 in credit. The key with solar premium feed in tarrif is the off peak rate, which is on weekends and after 11 pm week nights. So the PSFIT benefits those who work during the day. as a result, we now do most of our laundry on weekends and program dishwashers etc to run at 1 am. So with a slight change in our routines, we managed to beat the electricity bill. Oh, we are a family of four. :thumbsup:

[jenchris]

I'm around where Barry is - 11.5kwh per diem.
Gas cook top, electric water (but I'm a pom :rolleyes:).No clothes dryer. Front loader washer - small freezer and a fridge freezer.
Some mini flouros and some incandescent.
I try to turn off lights when not in use but don't really worry about it - don't turn off the tv at the wall.

House is about 40 sq.

I had a house guest last year and she doubled our power on her own! clothes dryer and water mostly. 20 min showers three times a day! (obsessive compulsive)

[blindman]

There is a much better and quicker way to poison yourself, than buying fluoro lights/bulbs.
At the end of the day, everybody will save on electricity and price will go up even quicker, boys, el. Companies have their own projections for future profit, don't you worry.
Class action or something should be started instead of thinking buying candles and switching off standby s !
Anybody agree ?
Cheers all

[GrampianStars]

I now use 7watt GU10 LED bulbs. they are rated at:
40,000 hours,290Lm, 3000K dimmable as well
replaced all 30 of the 50watt halogen bulbs, ROI under 2 years :thumbsup:
total lighting watts now = 0.210 Kw.
total lighting watts before = 1.62 Kw

[blindman]

Apropos energy saving bulbs......please see attachment pic
Have a nice weekend !

[Barrykgerdes]

Of course the house guest offered to pay the excess electicity:rofl:

Something happened to my Gas bill. I got one for $45 this quarter,normally $90. I have never had a gas bill before. It is was normally in another persons name who got a pensioner's discount. I had a bloke come around from the gas co last month and he said I should be on the bill and get my pensioner discount too. I hope this means we get two pensioner discounts and the bill is cut by 50% every quarter. :shrug:

Barry

[mithrandir]

This bill the off-peak rate has gone up about 15% from the previous one and the peak rate 20%.

No more power used but the bill jumped a few hundred dollars.

[michaellxv]

and they wonder why retail is suffering :screwy: