Every year I’ve noticed the same thing. I always forget how cold it gets during the winter! As fun as it can be guessing what crazy weather Melbourne will throw at us next, there’s nothing fun about the energy bill that comes with our constant use of the thermostat. So instead of sitting and shivering through this winter, use these tips to help save electricity instead!
- Turn out those lights
This one’s an obvious solution all year round. Even though it does get darker earlier during winter, that doesn’t mean you need your ensuite light on while you’re in the kitchen at the other end of the house. Turn on a light when you enter the room, and turn it off when you leave. It’s that easy!While we’re on the subject of lighting, consider changing your old globes to LED downlights. Not only do they look more modern, they’ll help you and they last much longer too! - Keep your doors and windows closed
You probably won’t have your front door open in the middle of winter, but you might have opened windows in spare rooms during summer and forgotten about them. Even when your windows and doors are closed, air leaks can account for up to 25% of heat loss in your home! This means no matter how high your heating system goes, you’re only getting three-quarters of it. Check that everything is airtight, that way you can help control how much heat you lose. with Energy saving blinds – this is a short-term cost for long-term gain. - Turn off your appliances
Unless you’ve physically gone in and changed your settings, computers, gaming systems and televisions are all left on standby or sleep mode all day every day. Turning them off at the power point will stop them eating through your energy bill when you aren’t using them. It will also significantly increase the lifespan of your devices!While you’re turning off your gadgets, consider turning off your heating too! Not during the day of course, but when you’re in bed all rugged up in your doona and pajamas, do you really need the heating on as well? Unless it’s an unusually cold evening, turning off your heating during the night will literally cut your heating usage in half. This will result in massive savings, as heaters are usually one of the highest usage appliances in a modern home. Just add an extra blanket instead!
If you want to save electricity without freezing this winter, consider following the suggestions on this list. As you can see, they are all super easy solutions, from throwing an extra blanket on the bed, to turning out the light when you leave the bathroom.
