Harry Pavlou, our Energy Advisor shares his five practical tips on how to save on your power bills without spending much.

“By making some small changes to how you use power, you can save money and time, and some changes won’t cost anything,” said Harry.

Harry’s power saving tips:

1. Switch to energy-saving LED light globes and energy efficient appliances

• Energy-efficient light globes could save you up to 80% of your lighting costs. LED bulbs use less power and last longer. That means you spend less money and time replacing them.
• Households and some business may be eligible for subsidies for having their inefficient light globes exchanged with efficient LED globes, through REES (Retailer Energy Efficiency Scheme). For details please contact your Retailer or rees@escosa.sa.gov.au
• When choosing a new appliance look at the energy efficiency of the product not the price. A more efficient product may cost slightly more but pay off a lot sooner during its life cycle
• Turn appliances with stand-by power off at the power point when not in use

2. Save power in how you wash and dry clothes

• You can save around $115 each year by washing clothes in cold water
• You can also save by making sure you select the shortest appropriate washing cycle. Wait until your machine is full before starting a washing cycle
• Clothes dryers use lots of power. Make use of hot weather and hang clothes outside. In winter, think about using a fan to help dry them indoors

3. Understand and improve your home's energy use

• An in-home energy assessment can help you identify and improve the features of your home contributing to high power bills – contact our Energy Advisory Service by calling our General Enquiries line to organise
• There’s also The Home Energy Toolkit, available from all metropolitan libraries and most regional libraries in SA. Contact your local library to check
• Or if you are a low-income household you may be eligible for a home energy audit through REES. Contact rees@escosa.sa.gov.au for further enquiries

4. Manage your heating and cooling

• Every degree above 20 degrees can add 10 per cent to your heating bill. In winter, heating can account for over 30 per cent of your bill
• In Winter, set your thermostat between 18 and 21 degrees. In Summer, set your thermostat between 24 and 27 degrees or above
• Some ducted heating and cooling systems allow you to turn off the heating or to only cool rooms that are unoccupied, make use of this
• Consider replacing your heater with a more efficient model - the star rating indicates the level of efficiency, choose the most energy-efficient appliance or system that best suits your needs
• Consider changing your old reverse cycle air-conditioner with a new model. Newer replacement air-conditioners are 60% more efficient than pre-2006 units

5. Get the best energy deal

• One of the easiest ways to reduce energy costs is to compare energy offers
• Energy Made Easy is the Australian Government's free and independent energy price comparison tool. It compares offers from more than 20 energy retailers across gas, power and solar, to help you find the best and cheapest energy offers
• To use Energy Made Easy, you'll need access to a device connected to the internet, a recent bill, and some information about your household
• The comparison takes about 10 minutes, and it suggests people can typically save $330 a year on energy costs

If you would like to see more of Harry’s tips, click ‘Yes’ below.