If I wanted to save money on my power bill, what would I do?
Home renovation power saving
There has been rapid development in this space and now it is well within the capability of every householder to go off grid. We have seen lots of examples (still more remote locations) where the cost for a full off grid system is less than the cost of connection to the national grid! A system typically requires a battery, power generation (from solar or wind), then perhaps a management system to manage this power supply to enable the continuation of this flick the switch mentality. This system will continue the expectation of the endless limitless supply of power on demand.
Should We?
Does this mean that we should just go off grid or is there a better answer for my specific situation?
Of course the devil is in the detail of your specific situation however a few really good points to get you started include:-
- To have a connection. In a suburban situation the cost of connection to the national electricity grid is in the order of $400 per year. For what this provides this is a very cheap insurance policy even if you never use it!
- A backup option. Generators, batteries, steam powered electric blankets and such all have a cost that is likely more than the above $400 per year
Okay, so having a connection makes sense but how do I reduce my bill?
Not trying to sound like captain obvious here but, (large pause) use less power! There are some obvious opportunities here:-
- Do you have 21 internet connected devices constantly on use power?
- Or perhaps, a beer fridge with a dodgy door seal which is using power (lots of it)?
- Are there devices left on while out of the room? They, too are using power unnecessarily.
Some not so obvious opportunities include:-
- Ceiling fans only cool humans if the humans are in the room. They work on air movement across the skin. The resulting evaporation off your skin is the cooling effect…. IF your skin isn’t there it isn’t being cooled. Leaving the fan on does have the benefit that we cannot see the build-up of dust (skin particles) on the leading edge so there is that… but you have to be in the room still for this benefit.
- Internet use accounts for about 3.5% of the world’s energy consumption so it isn’t without a cost
Given this discussion perhaps we should remain connected but perhaps less reliant would be a better outcome. If there is a change in our expectation and a sensible adjustment of our peak demand then the access and cost of power will be cheaper for everyone.
