12 Ways To Save On Energy Bills Before You Invest In Solar Panels

1. Heat with your air conditioner

I’ve been banging on about it for nearly 10 years. If you have one, heat your home with your reverse-cycle air conditioner. You can use this to heat for as little as one-third the cost of gas, or one-fifth the cost of running electric heaters.

2. Cool with your air conditioner

Of course reverse-cycle air conditioners aren’t just for heating; you can use them for summer cooling too. As our climate breaks down and our Earth gets hotter, summer air conditioning may one day be your lifesaver.

3. Clean your air conditioner filter

Air conditioners have built-in air filters that need to be regularly checked and cleaned — as will most equipment that blows air around. Filter cleaning can be a DIY exercise. Find your operating manual or a video online and learn how it’s done.

4. Heat with water with a heat pump

Does your home presently have an electric-resistive or gas-fired water heater? You can heat your water for far less using an electric hot water heat pump. Like solar panels, there are a range of government rebates and incentives designed to help people install this efficient water heating technology.

5. Check your showerhead flow rate

How much water does your showerhead pass? Grab a bucket and a stop watch and find out. A three-star showerhead will use only around eight litres of water per minute. You should be able to have an excellent feeling shower with no more water than that. There are even four-star shower heads that can satisfy while using even less water.

6. Electrify your kitchen

Electric induction cooktops are responsive, minimalistic, and easy to clean. And more importantly, unlike a gas cooktop, they don’t release nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide and dioxide, formaldehyde, benzene, harmful particulates, or methane into your kitchen.

7. Disconnect from the gas grid

If you are able to completely cease burning gas in your home, you can ask your gas provider to disconnect you, and stop getting a gas bill. Gas burning households pay around $1/day just to remain connected to the gas grid. Once you go fully electric, you can say goodbye to that bill forever.

9. Check wall and floor insulation

For a while now, in Australia, it has been a requirement to have wall and floor insulation in new build homes. But many older homes still don’t meet this standard. If your older home is uninsulated, retrofit installation may be possible. Bringing your older home up to the modern standard will mean you can sit back and be comfortable in winter and summer, and enjoy the benefits of much lower heating and cooling bills.

8. Check the insulation in your roof

It’s critical to have a thick and perfect layer of insulation in your roof space. I have been into over a thousand roofs and nearly every time I’m disappointed to see the insulating batts strewn about. Do you know whether the insulation in your roof is actually protecting you? Check it out and get it fixed.

10. Draught proof your home

Australian homes generally leak a lot of air, especially on the windiest days. It doesn’t have to be this way.

Find resources online, including videos, that demonstrate DIY draught proofing, or if you want the job done thoroughly, find a professional draught proofer. It will make your home more comfortable and cheaper to operate, plus it will keep out unwanted air pollution like smoke from bushfires or neighbours burning wood.

11. Manage air quality

It’s important to manage the quality of the air within your home.

Open your windows frequently to purge carbon dioxide and other contaminants from the house. Avoid hanging laundry around the house to dry with windows closed, as it will lead to excessive and unhealthy levels of moisture in the air. If you’ve not heard of the modern, energy efficient heat-pump condensing clothes dryers, you will want to check them out. They use so little energy, you’ll never feel guilty for using a clothes dryer in winter again.

12. Upgrade your window treatments

Windows are generally the home’s weakest thermal links.

If upgrading your windows with double-glazing is too expensive, consider the quicker and more cost-effective upgrade of window coverings.

For winter, cover up windows at night with something warm, like thermally-lined heavy drapes, honeycomb blinds, or cloth roman blinds. These will also help to keep the sun’s heat out in summer, but it’s also highly recommended to shade windows externally and stop the sun from hitting the glass in the first place.