Tips And Tricks To Lower Your Electricity Bill

It often seems like everything we do needs electricity. And to some extent that’s true – you may have come to realise that after your last power bill! With power prices on the rise, we need to become smarter with how we manage our electricity. Luckily, it’s not too hard. There are a few simple tips and tricks you can use to lower your power bill. To help you get started, we have listed a few of our favourites below.

Update those old appliances: new appliances are energy efficient and can lower your electricity bill

If your appliances are more power-hungry than most, there’s not a whole lot there that you can work with. So we recommend making things easier for yourself by updating your old appliances. In particular, you should upgrade your fridge, washing machine and air conditioner if you have one. Those appliances are generally the biggest energy consumers. It might seem like a big upfront cost – and it is – but it’s one that will pay off for you in the long run. After all, a lot of modern appliances use a fraction of the electricity that some of the old ones do.

Can’t resist that summer air conditioning? Keep it at 24 or 25 degrees to lower your electricity bill

Queensland summers can range from warm to unbearable. And a lot of the time, the dread of a fat power bill at the end of the month doesn’t quite outweigh the blistering summer temperatures. When that’s the case, air conditioners are pretty hard to resist! But they are big energy users – after all, they’re competing directly with the powerful summer heat. Still, you can keep your power consumption to a minimum by keeping the air conditioner at no less than 24 degrees. Reportedly, every degree below 24 can increase your air con’s power use by as much as ten percent. So we recommend going for balance and sticking to 24 or 25 – it’s a comfortable temperature and it’s economical too.

Clothes dryers are notoriously power hungry so why not hang out your washing instead?

Clothes dryers are another big one when it comes to power-hungry appliances. As a general rule of thumb, anything that heats or cools will use a lot of power and dryers are no different. Luckily, we have no shortage of sunlight here in Queensland. And although it might necessitate some extra air conditioning, you can use that sun to your advantage when it comes to lowering your electricity bill. Hanging up your clothes in direct sunlight is a very efficient way to dry them. In fact, during summer, it will probably be just as fast as a clothes dryer.

Your iron uses a lot of energy to get to temperature, so try and do your ironing all at once

Just like dryers, irons have a heating element and it uses a fair bit of power to get to those high ironing temperatures. But when you have to iron, you have to iron – what can you do about that? Well, there is one thing you can do to lower your electricity bill: do all your ironing at once. This approach will save you power because the iron won’t have to heat up more than once. A lot of the iron’s power use comes from the initial heating, so by doing it all at once you can save power and lower your electricity bill.

Fridges work hard to beat the heat: help them out by making sure the seal is in good condition

Finally, let’s talk fridges: they are both power-hungry and vitally important! It’s not like you can switch them off when you’re not using them, so how can you lower your electricity bill? It’s simple: maintain the fridge – especially the seal. By keeping a good fridge seal, you can help your fridge maintain its low temperatures more easily. In the long run, this will help you lower your electricity bill.

For more tips on how to lower your electricity bill, get in touch with an electrical professional from Mercury Services!