How Can You Save Energy and Money at Home in Toowoomba?

April 8, 2020 How Can You Save Energy and Money at Home in Toowoomba? It is a great time to be looking at how to save some money, now more than ever! If you’re looking for a way to SAVE, a really easy way to put money back in the budget today is to look at how energy efficient your home is!

Let’s start at the beginning.. Have you considered installing our Toowoomba solar panels? Solar panels not only reduce the use of fossil fuels, but reduce your electricity costs by generating energy independently.

If you are about to purchase any electrical appliance, take note of the STAR rating for energy - even if they are slightly more outlay initially, these items will actually save you money in the long run! Using only energy-efficient (LED) light bulbs throughout your home is a great way to save power and therefore money off your bill! Unplug phone chargers when not using them and turn power off at the points for unused electronic items such as your TV, toaster, etc Covering your food or having it in a container in the fridge does seem like common practice - but if you are not doing this, here is another reason why you should - uncovered foods release moisture and therefore make the compressor of the fridge work harder to keep it cold.

Harder working fridge = higher bills to pay. Cooling & Heating Where possible, use fans instead of air con, however keep in mind that fans actually don’t cool a room - they only cool people in the room, so a really quick and simple way to save is by turning off the fan in the room. Flick off the lights while you’re at it - it is a good habit to start and an even better one to start the kids on!

Use nature to keep you cool or warm instead of electronics! Shutting up the home to keep the sunlight out goes a long way in cooling your home. Same goes to sitting in the sun to warm you up to start the day.

Maybe look at moving the furniture around to make this an easy habit? If nature isn't enough and it is really cold, snuggle up under an electric throw and turn off your portable heater. If you just can't get warm - it is ideal to set your heat to 18-20°C as each degree over 20°C uses around 10% more energy.

Only use your air con when it gets over 30°C and when running the air-con for cooling, set it to 24°C or higher because each degree under uses 5% more energy. Do a quick check the seals on your windows - if you need to run electronics, you don't want it seeping out the holes! Hot Water Did your mother ever tell you to wash in cold cycles instead of hot?

Even better to do so today as we have plenty of cold water-formulated detergents and it is proven to be just as efficient at cleaning clothes as hot! Why make the change? 90% of the energy needed to wash your clothes is actually the machine heating the water. Furthermore, after washing, hang your clothes on the line.

You get some sun and you save by NOT turning on the clothes dryer. Those of you who are shower conscious are also saving conscious as 4 minute showers are saving on hot water heating! Combine this with a 3-star rated shower head and you will definitely notice a difference in your energy bill!, Lastly, don’t use the hot water at your sink unless you really need to.

Most times, you are making the hot water system run, to heat water that doesn’t even get to you, before you’re finished at the sink! This includes using cold water even when you're wanting to boil water - hot water actually absorbs more contaminants from pipes anyway. So there you have it, easy little ways to make a big difference to your next power bill, plus SAVE energy at the same time!

If you'd like the team at Express Electrical Toowoomba to perform an energy audit - contact us and we can evaluate the inefficiencies in your home and make recommendations for you today! Newer Post >