Resist the temptation to turn your air con on full-boar, in the hope that it'll cool the room down faster. All that does is chew up electricity! Instead, set your air conditioner to around 25 degrees Celsius with a moderate fan speed. Slow and steady wins the race when cooling your home affordably.
Be on the lookout for places where cold air can escape from your air-conditioned room, like under doorways and via open windows. Place a rolled-up towel along the bottom of the door to keep the cold air in. Make sure all your windows are fully closed and draw your curtains or blinds to dramatically reduce the amount of heat entering the room from outside.
Before you reach for the air conditioning remote, consider switching a fan on instead. Fans are much more energy efficient than air conditioners, yet they can be highly effective at cooling you down on a hot day. By keeping your fan blades free of dust, they'll be more aerodynamic and require less power to run. Bonus points if you remember to switch them off as you leave the room!
In the same way that you take care of your car by servicing it regularly, your air conditioner will perform better if it is serviced regularly too. Refrigeration mechanics use high pressure cleaners to remove mould, bacteria and other build-up from your air conditioner filters. If left unserviced, your air conditioner has to work a lot harder to cool your home, chewing up extra kilowatts along the way.
Pool pumps have come a long way when it comes to energy efficiency. Most have the option of working off a timer, enabling them to run at cheaper times of the day when electricity prices are lower. Some also feature energy saving modes, which use much less electricity than old-school pool pumps While they may cost more upfront than conventional pumps, they'll save you hundreds of dollars in electricity costs in the long run.
It takes less than a second and requires minimal effort but in our busy lives it's easy to become lazy. Stop and think about all the electrical appliances in your home that are plugged in but aren't currently in use. Even in standby mode, TV's, washing machines, clothes dryers, kettles, computers, gaming consoles and phone chargers all consume electricity. Switch them off at the wall to stop this trickle of electricity from increasing your next power bill unnecessarily.
When shopping around for new appliances, don't just look for cool features and on-trend styling. Make sure you check the energy efficiency star-rating on each appliance and use this to guide your purchase decision. While a washing machine with a lower star-rating may have a cheaper price tag than one with a higher star-rating, it's likely to cost you a lot more in electricity usage over the life of the appliance.
Left to its own devices, your fridge can be one of the biggest drains on your power bill. It's switched on 24/7, 365 days of the year. Make sure it's not costing you more than absolutely necessary by giving it some love this summer. If the seals have started to perish, replace them. If the top and back of your fridge are dusty, give them a vacuum. If the freezer is all iced up, defrost it. For optimum energy efficiency set the temperature on your fridge to around 3-5 degrees Celsius and your freezer to around -18 degrees Celsius. And finally, if you can bring yourself to turn that old beer fridge off, you could save hundreds of dollars in electricity each year.
Make the most of these bright, sunny days by drying your clothes on the washing line instead of in the clothes dryer. Not only will you dramatically reduce your energy consumption, but your washing will also receive a free dose of stain-removing, bacteria-killing sunlight.
One of the most effective methods of reducing your power bills this summer is to reduce your dependence on electricity suppliers and start using solar energy to power your home. By installing solar panels on your roof, you're making an investment in your financial future, potentially saving yourself thousands of dollars over the coming years. Get in contact with iinergy today if you would like to discuss how we can help you save.