Power down family electricity fights with some simple savings

Surging electricity bills over many years have made it important for households to find ways to reduce their costs. It starts with understanding the numbers and preventing family friction.

Does electricity spark family fights in your home? If so, heated conversations such as these could be common.

“Turn off the bloody lights!” (Sorry, mum)

“Shut the flamin’ door — the airconditioner is on!” (It wasn’t me!)

“I can’t believe you ran the washing machine and dryer for just one pair of socks!” (But they’re my special socks)

Whether it’s leaving four televisions on at once or a stack of smartphones and iPads charging overnight, there are plenty of ways we waste power, and plenty of strategies to stop it.

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Airconditioners top the list as the biggest household energy guzzlers, and some facts about them might surprise you.

For example, recent research by Canstar said it could cost up to $3.50 an hour to run a ducted reverse cycle airconditioner in a home. But ceiling fans and pedestal fans cost just one or two cents.

And on a stinking hot day it’s more energy-efficient and cost-efficient to keep airconditioners running continuously rather than turning them off until you get home from work.

A good mate of mine who’s an airconditioner mechanic told me this shortly after our recent record temperatures but alas, it was too late, I’d already cooked the house and almost melted the kids.

There are several ways to reduce household cooling costs. This is not one of them.

When using the aircon, remember that every degree change on the thermostat increases your running costs by 10 per cent. Experts recommend that 24 to 26 degrees is a good temperature to set on a hot day.

Dialling down the thermostat to 19 degrees increases running costs by 50 per cent — potentially costing hundreds of dollars a year.

In winter, each degree set over 20 degrees adds 10 per cent to the cost.

Beyond airconditioning, parents looking to blame someone for high electricity bills often target their children.

A recent report by comparethemarket.com.au found that three-quarters of adults say their children are the biggest energy wasters, with teenagers and young adults the key culprits.

Leaving lights on and not turning off TVs, computers and game consoles are parents’ big concerns, it found.

It says phones and other devices only take a couple of hours to fully recharge, electronics should be turned off at the wall to potentially cut power cost by 10 per cent, and recommended that parents show their electricity bills to kids. If money is unnecessarily wasted on electricity, there’s less left over to spend on fun stuff.

There’s a mountain of free tips, tools and calculators online on independent websites such as energymadeeasy.gov.au, energy companies’ sites and comparison websites.

Origin Energy says the average household uses 40 per cent of its energy on heating and cooling, 21 per cent on hot water, 21 per cent on appliances and 5 per cent each on cooking, lighting and fridges. Target the biggest costs first to save the most money.

If you can avoid electricity arguments, that leaves families more time to fight about other more important things, such as doing the dishes, homework avoidance, and poor tastes in music.

@keanemoney