Seven Tips To Save On Your Next Water And Electricity Bill

Top energy and water-saving tips to see your next bill slashed.

As energy and water prices rise Australian households are feeling the pinch!

To help you out today, the team at Tomoro have prepared some easy ways for you and your family to decrease your consumption and not be afraid to open the next bill.

Every Australian household is unique so your water and electricity needs and consumption will be different to your neighbours. However there are some tried and true tips to see your consumption (and bill) decrease.

It starts with being mindful of how you and your family are using water and electricity and taking steps to manage your appliances and how hard they’re working.

So let’s get into the Seven Tips: How To Save Money On Your Next Water and Electricity Bills

Here are our top energy and water-saving tips to see your next bill slashed. Most of them are fast and easy and you can start using them right away - so get to it!

1.   Switch Off Appliances At The Wall

With our digital lifestyle and reliance on appliances for pretty much everything, there are typically loads of appliances plugged in and constantly on standby mode around the home. Standby appliances are estimated to cost over $100 every year in the form of wasted electricity.

Appliances like dishwashers, washing machines and dryers, microwaves, televisions, computers and even phone charges continue consuming energy (even when they are not in use).

Try this: walk around the house tonight as you go to bed and see how many of your appliances you can switch OFF at the base - you’ll be surprised by the amount you rack up.

2.   Get Smart About Appliances

Appliances make our lives easier and the home run smoother. However, you can be smart about how you use them to gain the most value at the least cost. Here are a few examples:

• Run the dishwasher with a full load capacity. Make sure it’s set to a fast wash or eco wash
• Install a water-saving or water-efficient showerhead for your You can pick one up easily at the local hardware shop and it could save you around $250 - $300 annually on your water bill.
• Look out the window before throwing the clothes in the dryer - if it’s a nice sunny day, let the Sun dry your clothes and save some
• Wash your clothes on a cold Why? Because it takes a lot of energy to heat a load of washing with hot water. You can still have nice clean clothes on a cold wash.

3.   Be Mindful Of How You And Your Family Wash

Get used to setting the timer on your showers and saving baths for special occasions.

 Did you know the average shower duration is approximately 7 minutes and the average shower volume is approximately 55 litres?

By setting the timer for 4 minutes you can still enjoy a nice warm shower and cut that water consumption at the same time.

If you’re a fan of a daily bath, get ready for this stat: filling the bath can see up to 140 litres of water used - that’s quite a bit!

You can save a lot of water (and the cost of heating up all that water) by saving your bath as a once a week occurrence. If you’re set on your daily bath or have kids that love the bath, consider not filling it up too high and be mindful of how much water you’re using.

So two great benefits - less water and less power to heat that water!

4.   Repurpose Your Water Around The Home

The best way to save money on your next water bill is by not using as much water. It’s pretty simple.

There are a lot of ways you can start to repurpose your water and not poured down the drain. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Big pot of water on the boil for pasta? When you drain the pasta, save the water and let it Water the plants the next day.
• Next time it rains, throw a few buckets outside. Then you have some water for watering the plants or cleaning.
• You know those 140L baths we were discussing? That’s a whole lot of water that can be used to wash the car!

5.   Identify Energy Hotspots Around the House

When you know the sources of your home’s maximum energy consumption, you can take targeted steps to try and decrease it.

Typically in Australian homes, the appliances that use the most energy include cooling and heating units, washers and dryers, refrigeration and hot water heaters.

You can purchase a plug-in power metre for around $20 from your local hardware store to test which appliances in your home are using the most energy.

If your home is running on older appliances, they may be sucking more energy than they require as they’re working overtime to give you the best results. Consider upgrading to newer, more energy- efficient appliances.

6.   Insulate Your Home (and pipes)

Want a cost-effective way to save some energy and slash that electricity bill? Insulate your home.

Insulation can help in reducing one of the biggest sources of energy consumption in your home - heating and cooling units. That air con that is working overtime in Summer can take a rest as the insulation can help in keeping your home at a comfortable and balanced temperature for most of the year.

It’s estimated that most Australian households can reduce their heating and cooling costs by 45% with ceiling insulation.

You can also insulate your plumbing pipes and hot water heater pipes to make sure they don’t get so cold during the night or through Winter. Insulating your pipes means they won’t take as long for the water to heat up, saving some wasted water and excess energy from heating the water.

7.   Make Minor Changes Around The Home

 To take your energy and water consumption saving methods to the next level, consider making a few minor changes now to see your bills decrease over time. Some ideas include:

• Invest in solar panels to cut your electricity bill and give back to the grid! Check with your relevant government department there are some great rebates on installing solar panels.
• Install a rainwater tank to harvest free rainwater and use it for your household’s gardening or cleaning needs. You could even think about converting your home to be completely reliant on rainwater if you have sufficient capacity.
• Next time you need to upgrade any appliance, look for the best energy-efficient Whilst some appliances may have a higher initial cost, they are designed to save you money in the long run.
• Look at your appliances and assess whether a gas cooktop or a gas hot water heater would fit your household’s needs. Gas can be more efficient and save you money over time.

Here’s a hot tip: Get the whole family involved in how your home can save electricity and water. You may be surprised to find some genius ideas come from the little ones in your tribe and you can turn some of these tips into a game for the whole family to play.

We would love for you to let us know how much you save on your next bill, share it with us on facebook.