Brought to you by Synergy

Well hasn’t 2020 proven to be a year of change?!

And it’s also shown us how many people are capable of working and learning from home.

According to a recent Roy Morgan survey, that number is close to 1.6 million Australians, which is potentially a lot of extra power being used at home; heating, computers, lights, kitchen appliances, TVs – it all adds up.

So Synergy has some really easy-to-follow tips to help manage your use and the electricity costs.

Take their 60-Second Energy Check and think about how you’re using power in your home.

This is how it works.

Take a quick tour around the main rooms of your home. Have you left anything on that you don’t need? Let’s start in the bedroom.

Bedrooms

Have a look at the lighting. It’s dark in the morning at this time of year and it can be easy to leave lights on. That includes lamps.

Check any appliances to see if there are any you can turn off during the day. Maybe there’s a TV or stereo in your room? Anything that can plug in, switch it off at the wall.

Kids rooms may have a night light, desk light, or space heater, all of which can be energy-intensive. If you can, switch these off, particularly when the kids aren’t there during the day.

When it comes to bathrooms, make sure you don’t leave the toothbrush, hairdryer and other appliances turned on at the wall. Save on standby power by switching them off.

Living Areas

For those working from home, this is the area that’s likely to see the most change in how you’re using power. Particularly if you’ve set up your home office here.

People are most likely to have their heating on in their living room so, where you can, turn the heater off if you don’t need it.

And be sure to dress for the weather that day. Put on extra layers to keep warm.

Only heat the room you need and close off other areas. You can also lay a towel in front of the gap on the door to keep the heat in.

Set temperatures no higher than 24C in winter.

Tip: Every degree you increase the temperature, adds 10% to your heating cost.

Gaming consoles and TVs should be switched off at the wall too.

If you are running your home office from here, only have your printers on if you need them and fully shut down computers and monitors at night, rather than having them on standby.

Kitchen

Appliances are the main issues to look out for in the kitchen – that’s items like your toaster, kettle and coffee machine.

Also check to see if any devices that are plugged are already fully charged. If so, unplug them.

Fun fact: Standby power can account for 10% of total electricity used in your home. If you have a $350 bill, that’s $35!

If you need to replace a light globe, consider switching to more energy efficient options like LED.

Turn off any lights you don’t need (we know that with kids at home this may feel like a never-ending task!).

For those with a dishwasher, try to use it only with a full load. Perhaps you can use it less? If you can, crack the door open for the dry cycle, let it air dry.

Laundry

Follow the same rule with the dishwasher. Only use it with a full load and use cold water.

When it comes to drying your washing, we still have plenty of sunny days in winter in Perth. Try to use the washing line where you can or grab a clothes rack and dry the clothes inside.

You can find out more by visiting Synergy’s website. Check out their online energy tool where you can adjust the time you use appliances to help you estimate how your changed circumstances could affect your bill.

For more information visit Synergy.net.au or call 13 13 53.