Keeping Cool and Energy Costs Low
We all love Summer – holidays, wonderful weather and time to get outdoors and enjoy the pool or the beach.
But – there are extra household costs that come with this glorious warmth. More and more families rely on air-conditioning to see them through the hot Summer and houses and apartments are being built with air-conditioning units as standard inclusions. We are programmed to use air-conditioners to keep cool and we can become acclimatised to live in near arctic conditions even when the outside temperatures are soaring.
Depending on your Air Conditioner’s wattage, the average cost per day could be anywhere from 0.25c – 0.35c per kW per hour. The other consideration to factor in is the size of the room you are trying to cool. A medium sized room can increase the cost to an average of 60c per hour and a large area (50sqm) can see this climb to about 80c or more an hour.
If you are fortunate to have the luxury of a reverse cycle air-conditioning system throughout the whole property – this may be costing you as much as $2.45- $3.45 per hour. It does not take long to have a significant impact on your energy bill with costs like this. An average cost of $2.95 per hour for 10 hours a day is $29.50 per day that adds up to $206.50 per week and a whopping $3304 per month!
Some families continually turn their air cons on and off in the hope that they are reducing electricity costs when the units are not on. But, having a consistent temperature maintained throughout the day may actually save you money. The most economic temperature to set your air-conditioner to is 24 degrees in Summer. This will ensure that your air-conditioning unit is not working too hard and impacting on your energy bill.
Keeping the vents and filters clean on your air conditioner will also help you reduce the cost of the energy your air-conditioner uses. A dirty air-conditioner has to work that much harder – and it all takes energy!
If your property has ceiling fans – consider using these in place of the air-conditioner – at least for part of the time. The cost of a ceiling fan is only between 0.2c and 0.5c per hour (depending on the speed). Portable fans come in about the same price – but be careful not to leave these on unattended as they can be a potential fire hazard.
There are also some things that you can do to reduce your property heating up, and therefore reduce the amount of energy you use to cool it down.
Shade is your best friend when it comes to reducing your reliance on air-conditioning. If you don’t have the luxury of nice big trees blocking out the sun streaming in through your windows, consider closing your curtains or blinds during the heat of the day. If you have to leave the house closed up all day while you are at work, try opening up windows and doors when you get home to allow any cross-breeze to take the majority of heat out of the house before you close up and put on the air-conditioner. And – once you have the air-conditioner on, keep the doors and windows closed!
Simple measures like using a tray to carry out bulk items if you are having a Barbeque outside will prevent you from having to open and close the door multiple times and stop all that hot air coming inside and undoing your air-conditioner’s hard work. If you are part of a family with children – get them involved in a competition to see if you can beat your energy usage from the previous year. Set family rewards for reaching your targets to help motivate young children to close doors, switch off fans and use energy more efficiently. Less money spent on your energy bill, means more money to go around on things you will enjoy!
