Kitchen
- Your fridge compartment should be below 5˚C, and your freezer should be set between minus 15˚C and minus 18˚C. For every degree colder, your running costs can increase between 2-4%.
- Defrost your freezer regularly to improve efficiency.
- Running your dishwasher with a full load and clean the filter regularly.
- When boiling your kettle, only boil the amount of water you need.
Laundry
- If the sun is out, use your clothesline! If you do use the dryer, clean the lint filter after each load.
- Stick to the cold wash setting for most of your laundry.
Bathroom
- Take shorter showers. An average shower uses 12 litres of water every minute, plus the power it takes to heat it.
Study
- Set your computer’s screen saver to kick in sooner.
- Switch printers, scanners and modems off at the wall when not in use.
- The bigger your computer screen, the more electricity it will use.
Living
- Replace incandescent or halogen lights with energy-saving LED lights.
- Put on a jumper if you feel cold!
- When heating, set your thermostat to between 18 and 20 degrees – each degree above 20 can add 10% to its running costs.
- In summer, set the temperature to 25 or 26 degrees. Once again, every degree below 25 can add around 10% to its running costs.
- Use a lamp instead of lighting the whole room.
Outdoors
- Light your paths for free with solar lights.
- Use motion sensor lights outdoors and you won’t have to worry about leaving outdoor lights on.
Potential savings at a glance:
- Switching off the games console after use could save up to $175 per year.
- Swap 10 incandescent bulbs for fluorescents and save up to $220.
- Say goodbye to your 2nd fridge and save up to $230.
- Run your pool pump for 2 hours less a day in winter to save up to $145 a year.
- Using the clothesline once a week instead of using the dryer could save around $79 a year.
- Installing a water-efficient 4-star showerhead could save around $315 a year on water bills, there will also be savings on energy bills because less water will need to be heated.