Why does electricity have to be so expensive? There are a lot of factors, but the ageing infrastructure in Australia is one of them.

It costs money to keep it all maintained and the high demand for electricity doesn’t help. With each passing year, the system is required to power more homes and businesses across Australia.

The good news is there are practical ways that you can reduce your power costs — and help the grid at the same time. Check it out!

Expensive Electricity

Your electricity bill is made up of two parts — a fixed charge that covers the cost of being connected to the grid and a variable one that changes with your amount of energy use.

Unfortunately, both charges just keep going up, contributing to a higher electric bill. More people are connecting to the grid. Plus, electric appliances like hot water tanks and furnaces tend to be cheaper up front than other options, encouraging more people to go electric when they’re on a budget.

How to Reduce Power Costs

However, all is not lost. You can lower your power bill simply by lowering your energy consumption. Plus, it isn’t as hard as you might think and doesn’t require living like it’s the Dark Ages.

Change the Lightbulbs

Energy-efficient LED light bulbs cost a little more upfront. But they last longer and use less electricity than older incandescent or halogen light bulbs. Plus, this is a handy change that doesn’t affect your daily life in the slightest.

Insulate the Windows

Heating and cooling make up a large part of the average Australian household energy use. The windows are the weak link when it comes to heat transfer to the outdoors so any way you can button them up is helpful.

Add weatherstripping around the sills and watch for drafts. Hang thick drapes and close them at night during the winter and to block the hot summer sun. If you have particularly old windows, you might even consider upgrading to more energy-efficient ones.

Fill ‘em Up!

Avoid running partial loads in appliances like the dishwasher or washing machine.

Yes, you can change the water level in your washing machine to wash a smaller load. However, the appliance will still use the same amount of electricity. And a dishwasher uses exactly the same amount of water and energy to wash one dish as it does to wash 100.

For bonus points, load up these appliances but wait to hit the ‘on’ button until off-peak hours.

Avoid Vampire Power

Did you know that many electronic devices consume a small amount of electricity even when they are off? This is known as vampire power and could be contributing a significant amount to your power bill.

Unplug devices when not in use, even small things like phone chargers. A quick way to do this is to plug various devices into a power board. Then you can unplug the power board or switch it off to affect various devices in one fell swoop.

Be Savvy, Save Money

Give it a try! Just by implementing a few of these tips, you could see a significant drop in your power bill!