Saving energy isn't just better for the environment, but it can help you save lots of money as well.
With electricity prices continuing to rise across the country, and the threat of climate change already being felt around the world, it's more important than ever to do whatever you can to save energy at home.
The good news is that there are plenty of really simple life hacks you can do, both inside and outside the home, to help you save energy. The end result will be cheaper energy bills and a positive environmental impact.
To help get you started on your energy saving journey, here are some simple checklists to guide you on a path to saving your pennies and the planet.
Save energy around the home
- Insulate everywhere
- Update your light globes
- Use fans instead of air conditioning
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- Insulate — Insulation is almost never a bad thing. A correctly insulated home will maintain warmth in the winter and will remain cool in the summer. Well insulated hot water pipes will reduce heat loss and save money on heating water.
- Seal the doors — Make sure yours door and window gaps are all tight seal. Use a gap filler or draught excluders to block drafts.
- Hot water system — If you're going away from the house for more than a week, switch off your hot water system.
- Set the hot water temperature — Set the heat to between 60℃—65℃. This will avoid burns to small children and reduce your overall power consumption.
- In fact, seal everything — Seal gaps around skirting boards, ceilings and old air vents, it will all help you keep control of your temperature.
- Design right —In a well-designed home, eaves will shade summer sun while allowing winter sun in. This will allow you more control over the temperature and feel of your home. If, however, you aren't lucky enough to have eaves, then external blinds, pergola or deciduous vine could also be used to provide natural shade.
- Unoccupied rooms — Close vents and ducts to unoccupied rooms while cooling or heating the house.
- Fan — Use a fan instead of an air conditioner. They are often cheaper.
- A degree of difference — Increase your A/Cs temperature by 1℃ in summer and drop it by 1℃ in winter. A small change like this can save you up to 10% of your energy consumption.
- Types of units — There are a variety of air conditioning units that vary in their efficiency and energy consumption, make sure to gather as much information as you can before purchasing a unit. Often inverter units are quieter and more energy efficient.
- Sizing — Ensure that your A/C unit is appropriately sized. Residents often purchase machines too large for their house; this type of mistake costs more to buy and more from the environment.
- Leaving home — If you are leaving the house for more than one hour, shut the A/C off until you return.
- Quality — Air conditioners feature the Energy Rating System, allowing you to choose some of the most energy efficient products. The energy efficiency star system is tailored for every product and takes into consideration special features of individual products.
- Pre-cooling — If there's a hot day coming up, pre-cool your house the night before by letting the cool air in. This reduces the strain on the system, and if your house has got insulation, it will retail the coolness over to the next day.
- Cleaning — The filters on an A/C unit do require cleaning. You should aim to clean these components every few months. If left uncleaned, A/Cs operating in a dusty house can ice up and stop working.
- Types of units — There are a variety of air conditioning units that vary in their efficacy and energy consumption.
- Compressor unit — If the external component of your A/C is in full sunlight all day, make sure to shade it under an awning or with mesh. This helps it work more efficiently and therefore less energy consumption.
- Shade from the sun - Lined curtains and pelmets will help keep heat in during winter and out on hot summer days. A pelmet will stop draughts that are caused by airflow in between curtains and windows.
- Upgrade to fluorescent light bulbs — Incandescent bulbs or halogen lights are a lot less efficient. And, don't worry, if you don't know one light bulb from another then click here for our full guide to buying light bulbs.
- Buy energy efficient lamps — It's estimated that modern energy efficient lamps use up to 75% less energy than incandescent ones, and they'll last up to eight times longer. Hard to argue with those numbers.
- Turn off lights whenever they're not in use — This is an easy one. Nothing to buy, nothing to learn, just make sure that whenever you're not in the room the lights are turned off. And don't fall for the myth that turning lights on and off is less efficient than leaving them on. When you're not in the room, turn them off.
- Get motion sensors for outside lights — A lot of people already have these and there is a good reason, external lighting is usually not needed all the time, and sensors do a great job of making sure that it's there whenever it is.
- Go to bed early — Needless to say, most of us stay awake deep into the darkness off the night. And the combined energy usage of the lights that are required to keep our homes, streets and businesses lit is a big part of our collective usage. If you want to save a little energy then why not go to bed a little earlier? It might help you save money on morning coffee too.
Save energy in the kitchen
- Microwaves use less energy than your oven
- Cook food with a lid on for faster cooking
- Keep the oven door shut as much as possible
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- Stick it in the microwave — A microwave can cook food up to three times faster than a standard oven, and it does so using up to 70% less electricity.
- Steam less — If you like to cook things with steam, use the least amount of water required, this will save on water and on energy.
- Put a lid on it — Whenever possible, cook food with a lid on, this raises the internal temperature and will cook foods quicker.
- Thaw it — If you're defrosting something, make sure it's completely thawed before cooking.
- The kettle — Try to only boil as much water as you need in a kettle, this will save energy. And if you heat water on the stove, consider and electric kettle, which will also consumes less energy.
- Avoid the pre-heat — Heating an oven with nothing in it is the definition of wastage, only pre-heat oven if absolutely necessary.
- Under pressure — Pressure cookers require half the energy that standard ovens use, so consider this an option.
- Shut that door — Avoid opening the oven door when cooking. Each time you open the door you can reduce the temperature by up to 20 degrees. This also means it takes longer for you to eat.
- Full load — Make sure that you only ever run the dishwasher with a full load. This is because the dishwasher will always use the same amount of water and electricity, no matter how full it is. You would fill your entire sink with hot water to wash one spoon, so don't do it with your dishwasher.
- Skip the drying cycle — If you've ever reached into the dishwasher just after the completion of its cycle, you'll have felt just how hot the dishes get. That is because after washing dishwashers move into a warm air drying phase. This is a very energy intense process and can easily be skipped. Simply turn off your dishwasher after the drying phase, open the door and let the air and gravity do the hard work for you.
- Go for economy — Certain dishwasher brands come with an eco setting, which may use a lower water temperature or a shorter cycle. If your dishwasher has this setting, make sure you're using it if you want to save on the power.
- Don't rinse first — Dishwashers are powerful machines, they use very hot water and plenty of power, yet many people still rinse their dishes before they go in. Skip this step, it's not necessary, and you'll save time and water.
- Replace fridge seals when they lose grip — If the door is opening, then the fridge motor will have to work harder to maintain its cool temperature, this will use up far more energy than if the door is kept sealed.
- Ensure the refrigerator is in a cool place — Refrigerators maintain a consistent temperature, and so the harder they have to fight to keep that temperature down. Keep them cool on the outside to help them cool on the inside.
- Ensure the back of the refrigerator is well ventilated — This will help the fridge to work at it's most efficient.
- Turn appliances off at the wall when not being used — Even when on standby appliances like coffee machines, toasters and kettles keep sapping the energy. Turn them off to minimise your usage.
Save energy in the bathroom
- Short showers over baths
- Fix the dripping taps
- Insulate copper pipes
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- Save the hot water – Switch off your electric hot water heater if you're away for more than a few days.
- Set the temperature – Set your water between 60°C and 65°C. Or if you have children, a bathroom hot water temperature of 50°C and 55°C should do the trick.
- Fix any drips – a hot water tap dripping at the rate of 1 drip per second could waste up to $25 in a year.
- Update the shower head – Installing a AAA-rated water efficient shower head can result in significant savings on both your energy and water bills.
- Sun-powered – Installing a solar-boosted hot water unit can save you up to 90% of your hot water costs on a sunny day.
- Insulate your pipes – Insulating exposed copper pipes with rubber tubing (known as lagging) reduces conducted heat loss from storage water heaters.
- Shorter showers – Try to keep your shower times to around three minutes.
- Ban the baths! – A single bath can use over 100 litres of water. Compare this to a short shower that can use less than 30 litres.
Save energy in the laundry
- Use the cold wash
- Get a front loader washing machine
- Hang your washing on a clothesline instead of the dryer
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- Cold wash — Up to 90% of the energy used by a washing machine goes into heating up the water. To avoid this huge energy spike, you can wash your clothes in cold water. This is a great option for clothes that are generally dirty and works fine the majority of the time. For heavily sullied items or whites, though, hot water may be necessary to get out all of the stains. This might mean you'll have to group heavily soiled items together for a hot wash.
- Cold rinse — Yes, this tip is quite similar to the last — but — cold rinses can be used for every type of clothing situation, regardless of dirtiness, so activate that.
- Laundry sink — A dripping tap is akin to pouring money down the drain. It costs money to use water and to heat it, too. A small drip, depending on its frequency, can result in dozens of litres of wasted water, and that's just from one tap. Hiring a plumber to fix this and other piping problems will save you money in the long run.
- Front-loader — In general, front-loading washing machines are superior to top loading ones. When washing, front-loaders are more gentle on the clothes, and when drying, they spin more water out. They use less energy and water, up to 70% in some cases, than top-loaders. And they're cheaper, too!
- Pipe insulation — Copper pipes can be insulated in rubber tubing to maintain consistent temperatures and thus save power.
Save energy outdoors
- Solar power is your friend
- Motion sensors for outdoor lights
- use timers for pool filters
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- Use a solar heater for your pool or spa Solar heating is a popular and cost effective. They work back taking water from your pool, using the sun to heat that water and then circulating it back into the pool as warm water. They use a digital controller to make sure the pool stays at a consistent, desired temperature.
- Use a timer to turn the filter or pump on and off - This will mean that the filter is only one a little while each day, which incidentally will also help you save on filters and on general maintenance.
- Cover your pool or spa when not in use - This will help it to maintain its temperature which will require less heating, and will prevent debris from falling into the pool, saving on the filter.
- Use motion sensors on outdoor lighting or security - This will ensure that the lights are only on when in use, and will save you plenty on your bill at the end of the year.
- Use fluorescent lighting - Or compact fluorescent lamps on all outdoor lights. Similar to inside the house, the lights that you use outside should be as efficient as possible.
- Go solar! - This isn't technically energy saving, but it's still something great that you could think about. Australia is blessed with plenty of sunshine, why not make the most of it and turn it into electricity? You could even sell your excess energy back to the grid and earn a little money on the side.
Save energy with your PC
- Adjust the screen's brightness
- Get a powerboard that powers off accessories when your PC is off
- Shut down at the end of the day
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- Switch device — There are many alternatives to a desktop, these days. There are smartphones, tablets, laptops, and smart TVs even. All of these devices use less energy than a typical desktop. If you need the functionality of a computer, but are energy-conscious, try switching over to a laptop, instead.
- Specialised powerboard — If you use a typical powerboard, switching it off causes everything connected to go off. This is fine unless you leave your powerboard switched on because one appliance is being used while half a dozen others aren't. This might occur if you leave your computer on overnight to perform a task, but have a printer, scanner, and other device plugged in but idle. Smart powerboards, on the other hand, can have each powerpoint switched off separately, and independently to the rest.
- Automatic shutdowns — You can set your computer to shutdown automatically at a particular time. This may be handy if you are prone to forgetting about turning your computer off.
- Power timers — You can easily purchase power timers: they are cheap (around $10) and easy to use. You plug your device, such as a laptop (or phone), charger into the timer, and then plug the timer into the regular powerpoint. You can set the timer to turn off the flow of power at any point, maybe one or two hours after you begin charging. The benefits are two-fold. i) You are not wasting electricity, and ii) the batteries in your devices will last longer because they are not getting charged for 8-9 hours.
- Energy settings — Computers often offer various power options for performance, i.e. low power-use, low performance, or high power consumption, high performance. Set your machine to lower settings and see if there is any compromise in functionality.
- Star rating — Star ratings are an excellent way to find out the efficiency of many appliances, including computers. When purchasing your next machine, keep an out for the characteristic energy stars.
- Monitor your screen's brightness — As you may have noticed from your phone's battery, a lion's share of energy is used up from illuminating the screen. Try reducing the brightness on your monitor until it is dimmer but still conveniently illuminate.
- Energy settings — Computers often offer various power options for performance, i.e. low power-use, low performance, or high power consumption, high performance. Set your machine to lower settings and see if there is any compromise in functionality.
- Switch to a flat panel monitor — Flat panels use less energy than the older CRT ones. If you're considering purchasing a new computer or switching monitors — take a look at a flat panel.
- Screen saver — Screen savers don't save energy. In fact, they could even use up more energy, especially with a new fandangle screensaver such as a digital aquarium or infinite pipe maze. Instead, try switching your monitor to fall asleep quicker.
- Shut down — Actually turn your computer off when you're done. You can save your browsing history and documents such that when you reboot they're ready to go again. If shutting down is impossible, try the hibernation mode.
Save energy at work
- Your office culture will play a big part in saving energy at work
- Laptops are more energy efficient than desktops
- Make sure you switch off the lights at the end of the day
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- Switch off lights and devices — This is a nice and easy one. At the end of the day, are you able to go around and switch off all of the lights, computers, monitors, fax machines, printers, and other energy consuming appliances? Individually, these appliances may not add significantly to your bill, but having everyone's machines on every night can very quickly add up.
- Laptops over desktops — Laptops use much less energy than desktops, sometimes as much as 90% less. Laptops have the added convenience of being able to be carried around between meetings and desks. Consider investing in work laptops for your employees.
- Motion detectors — Motion detectors are an easy way to save energy. These should be installed in rooms that are used frequently but not constantly such as bathrooms. Motion will trigger the lights to switch on when needed, saving power when no one is around to require it. There are plenty of motion-detecting solutions on the market, and you can learn more about some of them in our guide to smart lighting.
- Blinds and windows — In the early morning and later afternoon when the sun is at an angle to heat the office up, try closing the blinds so the air-conditioner doesn't have to work so hard. On top of that, light-reducing films can be adhered to the windows to further reduce intense sunlight.
- Service your cooling system — Have your air conditioning or other cooling system looked at and serviced. Have someone clean and replace any parts necessary. This may save you in the long-term.
- Energy Star rating system — Energy Star produces energy efficiency ratings for many appliances, including computers, copiers, printers, faxes, etc. Products are evaluated by third parties to determine their energy efficiency. They are then labelled accordingly. If a product has the energy star label, then it has been deemed more efficient than many other products of its type. Keep an eye out for it. Many appliances, new and old, have energy efficient modes — train staff to operate these modes.
- Substitute lights — Yes, this is a simple and fun way to save energy. Different lights provide vastly different atmospheres around the workplace, and also contribute significantly to employee efficiency. Do a little bit of research. When deciding on lights, try and choose ones between 500 and 1,000 lux — the unit of illumination. You also want flicker-free lighting as this can cause eye strain and migraines. The 'warmth' of the light also makes a significant difference to workplace efficiency. Fluorescent lights are the most common lights used in office environments, however, they often have colder lights that reduce efficiency. Check out our guide to choosing the best light bulbs to further illuminate your choice.
- Leaf blowing and other maintenance duties — Wherever possible, minimise wasteful activities such as using leaf blowers or hoses to remove leaf litter and use a broom or manual method instead.
- Thermostat — It is easy to reduce your energy consumption when it comes to heating or cooling the office. You can turn down the temperature by a degree or two in winter and turn it up a degree or two in summer to suit. Since heating and cooling appliances run for long periods of time, their energy saving potential is large. While you're at it, bring a door snake, or five, to the office to limit how hard your cooling and heating systems have to work.
- Office culture — Make your workplace one that cares about the planet. Instill a sense of significance for each change towards efficiency. It will facilitate changes for the better.
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