Try these easy energy hacks to help with electricity savings

When you’re looking for ways you might save on your electricity costs, you’ll find a wide range of suggestions on the Synergy website. In the long term, you could invest in renewable energy generation such as a solar PV system or choose more energy efficient appliances to save on consumption costs. In the short term, there are some easy ways you could reduce your electricity use. 

Take a look at these easy energy hacks which could help save on your electricity costs. Try some of these ideas to see if they can make a difference to your electricity costs.

Change your heating and cooling choices

In summer, it can be tempting to battle the heat outside by cranking the air-conditioning. If you’re serious about electricity savings, try holding off on using your air conditioning until you really need it. On some warmer days, consider swapping your air con habit for ceiling fans if you have them to help bring the temperature down and circulate cooler air. Ceiling fans generally use a lot less electricity than air conditioners, so make them your first choice in summer when you can.

In winter, you could swap your mid-morning heater boost for free sunshine. Once the sun is up, open your curtains and blinds to let the sun’s rays into your east and north-facing windows to help warm your house. 

When the temperature drops on those cold winter nights, swap your reverse-cycle air conditioner or overnight heating for more blankets, fuzzy socks, a hot water bottle or a heat bag. If you use an electric blanket, consider using it to just warm up your bed shortly before bedtime. Once you go to bed, switch it off rather than having it use electricity while you sleep.

Consider your laundry and bathroom routines

If you’re looking for electricity savings, your laundry and bathroom routines might benefit from these energy savings tips.

You could start with your washing. Check your items for specific washing instructions – but one of the easiest ways to reduce your washing machine's running costs could be to use cold water instead of hot water for each load. 

Only wash full loads if possible – and use the economy cycle when you can. If you don’t have a full load and really need to get that sports uniform, favourite shirt or gym gear washed, you could adjust the water level on your machine, if it doesn’t have load-sensing technology. This could help you to save electricity and water by only using what is required for that size load.

If you have a clothes dryer, it’s easy to make some habit swaps to help reduce your electricity use. To start, try to dry your clothes outside on a line or rack, or inside on a rack or coat hangers near a sunny window. This will help you to save on electricity costs by making the most of the sun and breeze – and we have plenty of both here in WA.

To help reduce your electricity use during your bathroom routine, think about easy ways you can use less hot water. For example, consider taking shorter showers. You could also invest in a water-efficient showerhead to use less hot water.

Swap your lighting

An easy way to explore how you could save on electricity costs at home is to see the difference made by simply switching off your lights and using natural light when possible. Get into the habit of switching off lights you don’t need and you could save on your electricity costs.

If you still have any traditional incandescent light bulbs in your home, it is probably worth swapping these for LEDs, especially in your most-used spaces such as your bathroom and kitchen. LED lighting uses a lot less electricity compared with traditional incandescent light bulbs – and can give you the same amount of light.

You could also reduce electricity use in your home by using task or space based lighting. For example, you could use lamps, track lighting or under-counter lighting to light the space you’re using, instead of ceiling lights.

Change your kitchen habits

You might not have given it much thought before, but your meal planning and meal prep routines could offer some easy ways to reduce your energy use.

When you’re planning your meals, see if you can swap your oven use for your BBQ, microwave, slow cooker or air fryer to cook. Every make and model is different, but these appliances might use less energy than your oven, as generally they are likely to be heating a smaller area without the need for a lot of pre-heating time.

On your stove, see if you can make the most of the hob you’re already going to be using to cook. For example, you could use steamers or pot dividers to cook different elements of your meal at the same time on the same hob – such as steaming vegetables over the pot which is cooking rice – rather than use another hob.

When you’re outside using your BBQ, this could be the perfect time to think about swapping back to just one fridge. If you have a second fridge or freezer in your outdoor kitchen or garage, this could be adding to your electricity costs without providing much benefit.

When it’s time to clean up after your meals, scrape your plates rather than rinsing with hot water. Switch your dishwasher on using the shortest, coldest setting that will clean your dishes properly. Check your dishwasher manual for details of which setting will allow you to do this in the most energy efficient way to save on electricity and water running costs.

Get more energy savings tips

If you’re interested in how to save electricity in your home, you’ll also want to see:

With some simple habit changes, you and the members of your household could find some easy ways to save electricity. You could make it a goal to work together and experiment with different ideas to see what difference you can make on your next electricity bill.

Explore how you could save energy in your home

There are plenty of easy energy saving tips you could consider to save on your electricity costs. For even more energy-saving ideas and calculators, try our Electricity Bill Calculator.

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