How to cut your power bills and save money at home

With the cost of living soaring to uncomfortable heights in recent months, it makes sense to look for ways to cut your power bills and save money at home.  

And with our home electricity bills eating up a large chunk of the domestic budget, it’s a great time to do an audit of how and when you use electricity around the house. 

READ MORE: Stay warm on a budget at home with our 6 winter tips

In fact, we’d suggest this is essential for anyone without solar panels. 

It also pays to keep major appliances such as air conditioners and heaters well-serviced, because debris and unaddressed wear-and-tear can cause these systems to start drawing extra power to compensate. 

The main offenders

When it comes to power guzzlers, there’s a few appliances that are well-recognised – and some not so much – for their ability to drive up your electricity consumption. 

Here’s a few to look out for: 

• Portable heaters and element heaters 
• Home office equipment such as computers, multi-function printers and WiFi routers 
• Any appliance plugged in on standby while not being used 
• Clothes dryers 
• Pool pumps 
• Dishwashers 
• Heat pumps in aquariums 
• Halogen lights 
• Underfloor heating 
• Poorly maintained air conditioners and heating systems 

Get back to basics

The most cost-effective way to address these issues is to return to basics – by living as our grandparents used to. 

Hang that washing outside or on a clothes horse, do those dishes by hand, put on a jumper and socks if you’re feeling cold, switch off lights and appliances when you leave a room, and retire that pesky bar heater. 

Use smart technology

There’s a host of smart technology that can help you become much more frugal with your power use. 

From your home lighting, to heating & cooling, garage doors, skylights, electric gates, ceiling fans and blinds and even most 240V hard-wired items, there are smart systems that will allow you to automate their use from your smartphone.  

Your home heating and cooling systems can even be zoned, to ensure areas in the house that are not often used can be switched off. 

And for those not wanting to pursue the smart home route, there are in-line power timers that you can have installed. These handy devices enable you to switch off electricity-guzzling devices when you are not using them. 

Clipsal also has a device you can install in your main switchboard, called a Cent-a-Meter, which monitors your electricity so you can quickly determine what is causing your spikes in power use. It comes equipped with an alarm that alerts homeowners when the power cost-per-hour exceeds a pre-set limit. 

For all your electrical needs, call Plum today

Why not save yourself the headache of shopping around for a reliable electrician you can trust, and come straight to Plum Trade Services. 

Your family’s health and safety come first and when it comes to anything electrical, you need to know that you are in the safest hands in the electrical business. 

It’s time to get Plum Trade Services on the job – and there’s a number of ways you can get the ball rolling. 

Firstly, for the shy and time-poor types, you can request a quote online here (https://www.plumheatcool.com.au/request-a-quote/). This service is hassle-free, because we pride ourselves on putting your needs first. 

Or, you can jump on the telephone and give one of our friendly, award-winning customer service team a call on (03) 8360-9622 in Melbourne, or (03) 5292-2219 in Geelong.  

And for those who like to put faces in the picture, we invite you to drop in to Plum Trade Services’ Point Cook showroom at Unit 4, 22-30 Wallace Ave – where you are welcome any time!  

Meanwhile, from everyone at the Plum Trade Services team, stay safe and we hope to see you soon.