Nothing makes the heart beat (or palpitate) quite like receiving the electricity bill. Forget wetting your knickers every time a bill arrives in your Inbox, save money AND energy with these energy-saving tips!
Need a reminder on what we can do daily to shave a few dollars off the electricity bill next time ’round? Get switched on and save BIG this winter with these hacks.
Sometimes it’s a case of easier said than done, right? Not in this instance. These super-easy-to-do energy-saving tips actually work!. Spoiler alert: familiarise yourself with where your water meter is located. You’re welcome.
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1. Washing machines
Wash with cold water as it uses less energy. However, if your kid has every meal of the day down the front of his shirt, warm water is needed to break through stubborn dirt, so bump the temp up to 30 degrees. It’s warm enough to wash thoroughly and also saves on energy. Goodbye spaghetti stains!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Kids can wear their clothes inside out and back to front, can they not?
2. Clothes dryer
It’s winter, it’s wet and cold and sitting around looking at your laundry hanging on airers isn’t much fun – we get it. If you’re prepared to use your clothes dryer, don’t overfill it and always clear the lint filter. To save more on energy, throw a dry hand towel in with the wet clothes to absorb some of the moisture, cutting down on drying time. Alternatively, hang clothes outside and wait!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Dry clothes on laundry airers in front of the fire or heater, the kids will make a cubby house out of your worst pyjamas and when friends call in you can sit around enjoying a coffee while trying not to draw attention to your shabbiest looking underwear drying in front of them. Nice.
3. Heating energy savers
Make sure your house insulation is all in check, for nothing will sap the heat from a room like uninsulated walls or ceiling. Close curtains or blinds to ward off cold glass windows and use door snakes (or rolled-up towels) to stop draughts from creeping under closed doors. Choose the ‘economy’ setting on your heater if you can and heat the room to a temperature that just takes the chill out of the air (as opposed to heating to Bali temps). Naturally, put a jumper and socks on also – dress for winter for goodness sake!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Get everyone (hubby included) to wear all of their clothes (think back to Joey in FRIENDS) and run circuits around the house until they’re no longer complaining about being cold. Easy for you and super energy efficient!
4. Fridge and freezer
Old fridges use more energy than newer models, so if you’re using your parents’ fridge from when you were a child, it’s time to consider upgrading. Large fridges use a lot more energy than smaller fridge capacities, so consider your fridge size carefully. Finally, keep the fridge relatively full and keep it sealed properly (check your door seal doesn’t need replacing)!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: The real fridge-energy suckers are the kids who constantly open and close the fridge door, letting the temperature rise. Put a child lock on it or tell the kids they can only eat pantry food. Job done!
5. Ovens and cooktops
Planning a new kitchen? A hot tip from Appliances Online, induction cooktops are considerably more energy-efficient than standard electric cooktops. PLUS they’re a lot easier to clean. When it comes to saving energy on cooking, choose to steam vegetables instead of boiling and use the right size pans for hot plates. Don’t heat the whole oven for just a sausage roll, use the space to its capacity! Eat the sausage roll cold, while sitting by the fire!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Ask your family not to annoy you while you bake and cook ALL THE THINGS at once. You’ll be winning on two fronts – using the oven and stovetop to its capacity, plus no one will be going hungry for days. #winning
6. Dishwashers
There’s a fine line between stacking the dishwasher just right and overfilling it. Overfilling the dishwasher means it doesn’t clean anything effectively and then you have to deal with dirty dishes again and run the dishwasher TWICE. Ugh, annoying and energy-zapping. So fill it right the first time and definitely only run it when it’s full (but not overfull!).
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Go the old-fashioned route and wash dishes by hand (SHOCK HORROR). You might even be able to wave a gold coin in front of a child, convincing them to do it instead. Alternatively, take the dishes outside and take to them with a garden hose. You’re welcome.
7. Energy-saving showers
The thorn in my side, the shower. Cut back on energy consumption and your hot water tank working overtime by having super short (we’re talking like 5 minutes!) showers. If you have to shave your legs or wash your hair, push it out to 7 minutes. For kids, fill the bath to their seated waist height and let them languish in that instead of watching money water wash down the drain.
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Fill the bathroom with timers and make sure everyone knows the rule. Teenagers and cold bodied people will inevitably ignore your request to save on energy. Don’t be afraid to turn the water off at the outside meter to get your point across.
8. Save energy by decreasing screen-time
Computers, tablets, phones, gaming platforms – they all use power to run or charge. Let’s face it, some brands require A LOT of charging to keep them going throughout the day. Make the weekend technology-free, pick up a book and go old school for entertainment with board games and family fun to keep you all entertained.
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Have a charge once policy. Particularly for kids who struggle with excessive screen time, let them know that once their gadget is out of charge, that’s it. No recharge until the next day – energy saving all round! #sometimeseasiersaidthandone
9. The ultimate energy saving tip: turn things OFF
Having appliances slip into standby or sleep mode is better than leaving them on, but they’re still using power. Save on energy by turning them off properly, even disconnecting them completely from power to make sure. Flick the switch on computers, stereos, pool pumps and so forth!
REAL LIFE ENERGY SAVING HACK: Disconnect and confiscate household items until people start turning them off properly. If you want to be a little bit gentler, I read a great suggestion that every time YOU have to turn the game platform off properly, kids get 10 minutes less screen time. Just to clarify though, taking the whole thing and putting it under your bed will also really drive your point home and is the ultimate energy saving tip. Just sayin’.
Now that you’ve got energy-saving tips up your sleeve, check out these 10 money-saving tips anyone can adopt for even more savings!
