Electricity bill tips: Quick wins and energy saving tips for winter

The temperature is dropping and it’s easy to crank up the heating – but when it comes to your electricity bill, it could be worth learning more about using electricity more wisely. If you’ve ever wondered how to save energy in the home to take more control of your electricity costs, here’s what you need to know.

 

Start here: Your electricity bill help guide

How you use energy affects your electricity costs. The more electricity you consume, the higher your electricity bill is going to be. 

Your Synergy electricity bill is made up of two main electricity costs:

  • The supply charge is a fixed daily cost to receive power at your home.
  • Your consumption charges are based on your electricity use.

While your electricity bill comes from Synergy, the fixed cost and rate Synergy can charge residential customers for the supply of electricity are set by the State Government. Find out more about who does what in the WA energy industry. 

When you’re looking for ways you might be able to reduce your energy bills, your consumption is what you have control over. Your consumption charges are related to the units of energy you have consumed, or used, at your home. While you can’t control how much each unit of energy costs, you can have some control over how many units of energy you use.

 

Quick wins: Try these simple ideas to save energy

The more you can reduce power consumption in your home, the more control you could have over your electricity costs. Here are some easy energy saving tips to try at home this winter:

  • Warm up gently: If you have a heater, it can be tempting to crank the heat up on cold mornings. But for every degree over 18°C you set the thermostat in winter, you could be adding up to 10% to your heating costs. Instead you could try to warm up in other ways such as popping on a wearable blanket and socks, or starting your day with some kind of exercise.
  • Turn the sunlight on: When you’ve stopped fighting your snooze button and it’s time to get up, start by opening any blinds or curtains which will bring in the sun to naturally warm your rooms. 
  • Don’t overfill your kettle: Whether you’re making tea, coffee or instant noodles, just boil the amount of water you need. If you fill the kettle, it will take longer to bring to a boil, which will use more energy than just boiling the amount you need.
  • Watch your hot water use: If you have an electric hot water system, the more hot water you use, the more you’re likely to be adding to your electricity bill.
  • Only warm the spaces you need: At night, or during the day if you work from home, don’t heat the rooms you won’t be using. Close the doors to keep the heat inside the rooms you’re using.
  • Use winter mode: If you have ceiling fans, switch them to winter mode. Warm air rises, so ceiling fans in winter mode will spin in reverse, which pushes warm air back down into the space below.
  • Rethink your dryer: Whenever you can, drying your clothes on a clothes rack, or outside in the sun or wind, instead of using a dryer will help to reduce power consumption.
  • Cook efficiently: At dinner time, make the most of your most energy-efficient appliances, such as your air fryer if you have one. Since an air fryer is compact and doesn’t need a lot of preheating time, it’s likely to use less electricity than your oven. 
  • Get cosy: On cold winter nights, get out your fluffy socks and throw blankets, rather than switching the heating on.

Small steps you can take each day can make a difference to help reduce your energy bills across the year – so it’s worth planning ahead. Find out more about which appliances could lead to a higher electricity bill than you were expecting.

 

Explore your electricity use and electricity costs

If you’re trying to get your family or housemates on board with how to save electricity at home, or even if you live on your own, you could start by getting familiar with your electricity use in Synergy’s My Account. You can take a look at your electricity use, get some energy saving tips and even compare your electricity use to households similar to yours. If you have a smart meter, you can even see exactly how much electricity you have used and monitor the impact of any changes you make at home.

If you haven’t heard of a time of use (TOU) electricity plan before, now could be the perfect time to learn more. Depending on your household, you might be able to shift some of your electricity use to take advantage of cheaper rates at off-peak electricity times.

 

Get help paying your bills

If you need help with your Synergy bill, or you get an electricity bill that’s higher than you were expecting, we’re here to help. We have a range of options available. For example, you can:

Overall, the more you learn about your electricity use, the more you could take steps to reduce your electricity bills. Get answers to common questions about electricity in WA, learn about the average electricity bill or explore more energy saving tips.

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Synergy acknowledges the Traditional Custodians throughout Western Australia and their continuing connection to the land, water and community. We pay our respects to all members of the Aboriginal communities and their cultures; and to Elders past, present and emerging.