5 must read energy guides for power bill shock victims
Right from the moment you reach out for that mobile phone to check your emails (Facebook really!) in the morning to switching off the telly after the evening news, you’re using electricity at your home all day. No wonder the energy bills keep rising every quarter!
Making our lives more energy-efficient is not only good for our wallet it’s also good for the environment but how do you go about reducing your escalating bill? We’ve done some of the hard work for you. Here are 5 energy guides and tools we think are super useful:
Appliance calculator: Switchon.vic.gov.au
Do you know which appliance in your home is the biggest power guzzler? Just plug in the details of your appliances into the Victorian government’s free appliance calculator and it will tell you. It can help you to find how much you are spending each day/ per year on the home’s 10 major appliances from the TV, fridge, washer, dryer to the hot water service.
Energy Rating Cost Calculator: Energyrating.gov.au
Looking to buy a new air conditioner or major appliance for your home? The Energy Rating website has a comparison tool which allows you to compare appliances and models with different star ratings. It instantly reveals the cost for running each appliance for a set number of hours in a year so that you can compare products side by side. For instance you can find out how much an LG Single Split System Air Conditioner with a 6-star energy rating will cost over a year if it is used for 200 hours for cooling and 200 hours for heating and compare it to a Fujitzu model with a 6 star rating. Pretty cool, right?
Seniors' guide to energy saving: yourenergysavings.gov.au
As a senior, it’s likely you’re home a lot more than a family that are at work / school during the day which means that your power bills are likely to be a lot bigger than they once were. And with colder winters and warmer summers it can be hard to use less energy. This unique seniors energy guide is especially tailored according to the energy needs and lifestyle of seniors. Apart from tips on how to lower your energy bills by changing some simple usage habits around the house, the guide includes information about the rebates, tax deductions and investment benefits that you can make use of. It also answers crucial questions like what to do if you can’t pay your bills on time or if you get a disconnection notice.
Your power and water bill rights: choice.com.au
It’s not just seniors who might need help paying their bills - anyone can need some extra support for different reasons. That’s why it’s important that as a consumer you know your rights regarding utility bills. In this detailed guide by Choice, you can get the lowdown on what to do if you need help paying your bills or if you face disconnection. Fortunately, there is a system to help out those in need, just that most people don’t know about it! That’s what this guide is about to fix.
Understand your energy bills: sa.gov.au
With all the kilowatt-hours, kilojoules, tariff and usage jargon, energy bills don’t make for the most interesting bedtime reading. To help you understand exactly what you’re being billed for, the SA government has written this detailed guide on how to decode your electricity and gas bills with samples and tutorials from different energy providers. Once you’re clear on the things you need to focus on you can easily check how much energy you are spending in a specific time period and if your bills are actual or estimated. It’s always a good idea to read your bills carefully before making a payment.
Tell us if you found these guides useful and don’t forget to check out Mozo’s own energy guides for more tips! And to make sure you don’t suffer from any more power bill shock, compare some of the cheapest energy plans in your area using our free energy comparison tool every 12 months.
