5 simple ways to save money on your electricity bills

Do you want to save money on those nasty electricity bills. Here are 5 simple ways I save money on my electricity bills.

1. Do a yearly electricity company review

Time to complete – Approximately 30 minutes

What do you need – Your last electricity bill. If you receive them online as a PDF you won’t need to print it out.

How does this save me money? – Grab your last electricity and / or gas bill and head on over to Energy Made Easy . This is an Australian Government power comparison website where there is no email sign up required to get a price comparison. I saved over $1000 in one year by making the switch to another provider (and I didn’t even go with the cheapest).

Make sure you use this government website (‘Don’t google electricity comparison website’) and avoid other energy comparison sites which may be paid a fee from energy providers to find you, and will also likely result in spam emails. Also your taxes pay for the free Energy Made Easy service so why not use it (I mean you’ve paid for it).   

Once you’ve input your details the site will provide you a comparison pricing of all the electricity providers in your area based on your last bill. Then you compare the companies available, and the terms of each one, and let the company make the switch for you.

It really is very simple and easy. I saved over $1000 in one year by making the switch to another provider (and I didn’t even go with the cheapest). If you do select a new provider and it happens to be ReAmped Energy feel free to use my link here for $50 off your first bill (in addition to the any savings you get from switching).

2. Use Smart Plugs

Time to Complete – 30 minutes (including ordering the plugs, and setting them up)

What do you need? – Smart Plug/s (These can be any smartplug device you would like to use. I personally use TP-Link ones as they are available at my Hardware Store, the price point is reasonable $20 per plug, and the application to control them is free)

How does this save me money? – Have you heard of Vampire electronics? Well Vampire electronics use up electricity whether or not they are actually turned on and in use (eg your Computers, Microwave, Gaming Consoles, and TV’s). It’s estimated that Vampire electronics cost the average home an extra $200 per year (US Dollars) when not in actual use. To reduce the impact of vampire electronics smart plugs can assist you by turning off your electronic items for you. Smart plugs like the ones I use allow you to turn your electronic items off from your phone, and / or put them on timers via an application. This then reduces the vampire consumption of energy, and stops me needing to remember to turn off my electronics at the wall (which can be difficult for some electronics like microwaves).

An added bonus of using smart plugs is that I now have an auto shut down of devices for bedtime so my boys can’t sneakily access devices when they shouldn’t.

3. Get a thermometer for your fridge

What do you need? – Fridge Magnet Thermometer (Cost between $10-20)

How does this save me money? – Heating and cooling costs likely make up the majority of your energy costs so having our Thermometer on the fridge means that we only turn on

• Heating if the temperature goes under 18 degrees Celsius.
• Cooling if the temperature goes over 25 degrees Celsius.

Why a fridge thermometer? Well its simply because its a high traffic zone in our house and its the best place for us to be aware of the temperature of the house.

We also have a few other heating and cooling hints such as we wear extra layers in the cooler months, and in summer we will try the fan first before popping on the air-conditioning.

4. Be smart with your dryer

How does this save me money? – We all know this, but some of us like me who live in a colder climate may not always be able to avoid having a dryer all together so I have a few dryer tips.

• Buy a Heat pump condenser dryer – yes the initial outlay may be more but your energy consumption will be less than half the cost of a traditional vented dryer.
• Throw a dry towel into your dryer load. This will reduce the drying time which will reduce your electricity cost per load.
• If you have the heater on for your own warmth then use an indoor clothes horse to dry your clothes as well.

5. Get a Smart Meter from your energy retailer or consider purchasing of your own

Time to Complete – 30 – 60 minutes (including ordering the smart meter if required / or talking to your energy provider, and setting it up)

What do you need? – Smart Meter (Cost between $0 and $124)

How does this save me money? – You know the quote ‘What gets measured gets managed…..” well its one of my favourites and definitely true in regards to monitoring your energy usage via a smart meter (as long as you use it correctly and intentionally of course). The savings from the smart meter come from the idea that by having a smart meter you are more aware of what the energy usage for your electronic items is in your house, and therefore choose to be more intentional with using them. You may even choose to replace high energy usage items, and replace with a more energy efficient model.

Many will already have a smart meter, and therefore you should have access to clear and detailed insights into your electricity consumption. If you have a smart meter and don’t have access to any insights get in touch with your energy provider to see how you can access your smart meters data.

If you don’t have a smart meter and would like one contact your energy provider first as you may be entitled to a free one. Alternatively if like me you are not entitled to a free one then you can get yourself a Smart Meter and install it yourself. My personal favourite is this one called the Powerpal Smart Meter . Installation of this meter is simple and no electrician is required.

There are so many other tips to save money on your electricity out there. Feel free to add your own in the comments below.

If you would like to have articles like this delivered to your inbox subscribe below.