You may have noticed energy is becoming more and more expensive.
This calculator is pretty handy. It has flaws but gives a good idea where your money goes.
Seems about 50% of my costs are in the kitchen.

Have a gander

http://www.countryenergy.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/CEL/ce/residential/res_energy_efficiency/efficiencycalculator/efficiencycalculator

Well I can’t get past first base: have solar hot water and they don’t have an option for that…

Dinetta said:

Well I can’t get past first base: have solar hot water and they don’t have an option for that…

Not rocket science D.
When you get to the things that use hot water, like washing up, you don;t put anything in there.
Your solar hot water system is electric storage, or gas storage, depending on what type of backup system you have.

Longy said:

Dinetta said:

Well I can’t get past first base: have solar hot water and they don’t have an option for that…

Not rocket science D.
When you get to the things that use hot water, like washing up, you don;t put anything in there.
Your solar hot water system is electric storage, or gas storage, depending on what type of backup system you have.

Ah OK, I didn’t realize they were referring to the back-up utility used…

Thanks Longy

Ah OK, I didn’t realize they were referring to the back-up utility used…

Thanks Longy

+++++++++++
I’m in the same boat D. Just had an elelctric solar installed.
My last power bill was over $400. So i got rid of one fridge and hopefully with the solar hot water i can get it down again.
I have no A/C or heaters.
The guide suggests 50% of my power use is in the kitchen. Also $50 on each bill to run the fishtank. Strewth. It’ll take a while for Mrs to be convinced those bludgers have to go.

Also $50 on each bill to run the fishtank.
——-
i can’t bring up that reference you posted longy – can you post it again please?
how big’s the fish tank ? is it heated ?

http://www.countryenergy.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/CEL/ce/residential/res_energy_efficiency/efficiencycalculator/efficiencycalculator

Yes a heated tank. Maybe 100 litres.
Therein lies the problem.

Longy said:

http://www.countryenergy.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/CEL/ce/residential/res_energy_efficiency/efficiencycalculator/efficiencycalculator

Yes a heated tank. Maybe 100 litres.
Therein lies the problem.

thanks – my daughter runs one of those tanks – maybe 1200 × 400 × 400mm in size.
i wonder if she knows the cost?

If you can’t getin there. Go to countryenergy.com.au and you’ll see the calculator on the right of the page.

Longy said:

If you can’t getin there. Go to countryenergy.com.au and you’ll see the calculator on the right of the page.

i’m in this time – thanks

wonder if she knows the cost?
++++++++++++++++++++++++
Obviously it’s less if you don’t have the light on all the time, but not by much. The heater chews the power.
Wait till you see how much a fridge costs. It’s about $4 an hour. So a leaky doorseal is big money.

Longy said:

Ah OK, I didn’t realize they were referring to the back-up utility used…

Thanks Longy

+++++++++++
I’m in the same boat D. Just had an elelctric solar installed.
My last power bill was over $400. So i got rid of one fridge and hopefully with the solar hot water i can get it down again.
I have no A/C or heaters.
The guide suggests 50% of my power use is in the kitchen. Also $50 on each bill to run the fishtank. Strewth. It’ll take a while for Mrs to be convinced those bludgers have to go.

I wouldn’t get rid of the fish Longy…I still miss our guppies and found them therapeutic…both in the care of them and the wonderful time of an afternoon when the western sun would filter through the duranta and the guppies would flash like rainbows…we had the bed lamps set up with water-efficient fluoro bulbs, to keep the water plants going … plus the aerator pump of course… I have tried a couple of times to replace the guppies but it takes time…as in I think I would need a week to focus on establishing the scenario again…

Our biggest users are the fridges and the freezers…without which we can’t function up here… the savings in food costs in the long run, goes much towards offsetting the electricity bill…

Our bill is about $100 a month, which is quite low for out here, but Bon008 in WA says that’s dear so they must have cheap electricity…we have gas oven, stovetop, the vacuum hardly gets out of it’s corner, and kerosene heater…besides the fireplace…I notice they didn’t cover ceiling fans? which I believe don’t really use that much once they hit their speed…

It was an interesting exercise and thanks for putting the link up

:)

Obviously it’s less if you don’t have the light on all the time, but not by much. The heater chews the power.
+++++++++++++
And the filter of course. It’s on constantly.

100 litres = 25 gallons…there’s 2 gallons to the normal 9-10 litre bucket, so you’re talking roughly 12.5 buckets of water? Ours might be a 3-bucket tank…

I notice they didn’t cover ceiling fans? which I believe don’t really use that much once they hit their speed…
+++++++++++++
Yes. Things like that are small appliances i guess.
I understand we can’t do with fridges and freezers, but the tips to reduce costs are quite useful, if obvious.
I have 2 fridges and 2 freezers running ATM. I could possibly do away with the tuckerbox as the meat freezer is down on volume. (We buy half a beast at a time but she’s half gone).
Country energy bloke is here. Changing my off peak. BBL.

It was an interesting exercise and thanks for putting the link up
———
ditto
my inputs were probably wrong and need checking.
pool and fridge were about $70 per yr each.
we’ve got a gas stove, small instantaneous HWS and a wood heater.
bathroom was 40 % of total household usage – our main HWS is electric ??
i should do it again – its guesswork on my behave.
my annual bill was calculated at $700 – which is about right.

Dinetta said:

Our bill is about $100 a month, which is quite low for out here, but Bon008 in WA says that’s dear so they must have cheap electricity…we have gas oven, stovetop, the vacuum hardly gets out of it’s corner, and kerosene heater…besides the fireplace…I notice they didn’t cover ceiling fans? which I believe don’t really use that much once they hit their speed…

It was an interesting exercise and thanks for putting the link up

:)

Ours is $70 – $100 for two months, depending on the time of year – and that’s 100% Green Power, so more expensive than the standard power. We went up to $140 just once, during summer when we also had an electric hot water system in for one week until they could come back and put the solar hot water in.

Maybe I’m just underestimating the smallness of the house.. Our biggest cost I think is reverse cycle air con in summer. Apart from that it’s one fridge/freezer, LCD TV, couple of computers (one is the TV computer, plus two laptops). Can’t think of anything else… we did just buy a little portable electric heater which we just use to heat one room at a time when needed – too soon to say if that’s having an impact on the bill.

my annual bill was calculated at $700 – which is about right.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow. My quartely bill is $400 +-.
What am i doing wrong here?

Wait till you see how much a fridge costs. It’s about $4 an hour. So a leaky doorseal is big money.
++++++++++++
Nah. Reckon i stuffed that one up.
If it’s running 1 hr per day, it’s $4 per quarter.Which is quite cheap.
I should point out that i’m paying for 100% green power too, which is substantially more exxy.

Longy said:

my annual bill was calculated at $700 – which is about right.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow. My quartely bill is $400 +-.
What am i doing wrong here?

gas bottles cost $300 a year. firewood is $300 a year.

the fridge tho’ is between $123 and $240 annually. (not $70 as i said)
we only use the pool 4 months a year.
there’s only us two frugal oldies living here LOL.

we only use the pool 4 months a year
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Didyou know you can now hookup your pool filter to offpeak? Same as your HWS.

Longy said:

we only use the pool 4 months a year
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Didyou know you can now hookup your pool filter to offpeak? Same as your HWS.

nope.
i knew they had J tariiff (off peak) on underfloor heating but i hadn’t heard of the pool.

Longy said:

my annual bill was calculated at $700 – which is about right.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Wow. My quartely bill is $400 +-.
What am i doing wrong here?

stands in front of the fish tank

no no no no no

My quarterly bill is roughly $300

Sorry to sound like a broken record, but you may have expensive power…

Longy said:

I understand we can’t do with fridges and freezers, …

here’s an idea for those houses that are on stumps. It’s something I saw in a mag and thought it quite ingenious. Not all fruit and veg like to be kept at 4c or below, but on the other hand room temperatures can cause overripening. This idea involved a floor to ceiling pantry cupboard with the floor cut out and insect wire put in place, and the same in the ceiling. Your fruit and veg sit in wire baskets so that airflow is maintained. Warm air will rise into the roof cavity (one of those wirlygigs would help too) and draws up cool air from under the house, keeping your produce in cooler but not too cold conditions.

bluegreen said:

Longy said:

I understand we can’t do with fridges and freezers, …

here’s an idea for those houses that are on stumps. It’s something I saw in a mag and thought it quite ingenious. Not all fruit and veg like to be kept at 4c or below, but on the other hand room temperatures can cause overripening. This idea involved a floor to ceiling pantry cupboard with the floor cut out and insect wire put in place, and the same in the ceiling. Your fruit and veg sit in wire baskets so that airflow is maintained. Warm air will rise into the roof cavity (one of those wirlygigs would help too) and draws up cool air from under the house, keeping your produce in cooler but not too cold conditions.

I’m not sure what the building inspectors, in the cities, would have to say.

pepe said:

Longy said:

we only use the pool 4 months a year
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Didyou know you can now hookup your pool filter to offpeak? Same as your HWS.

nope.
i knew they had J tariiff (off peak) on underfloor heating but i hadn’t heard of the pool.

anything that does not have to especially be run during the day hopefully would have an off-peak option (whether or not they do is another matter), and should be run off-peak.

For greatest effeciency the power generators have to keep running day and night so a lot of electricity is produced and wasted (as is it not used or stored) at night as it is not practical to shut down the machinery. This is why off peak is cheaper. They have to produce that power anyway so it is a bonus if it gets used!

but you may have expensive power…
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Yes i’ve been wondering about that.
My daily usage was 22.21 kWh.
The 100% green energy cost is very high. Aint that crap! No incentives there.

I’m not sure what the building inspectors, in the cities, would have to say.

++++++++++++++++
It wouldn’t be anything intelligent…Can’t let a good idea that works be legal.

It’s worth $8 per week for 100% green power.

I have started washing my clothes by hand, leaving them to soak in a tub for the day and then rinsing, just using the washing machine for the final “fling” (spin cry)…MrD only launders once a week, it suits him better, but with no kinder at home, there’s no real need for me to crank up the washing machine on my own behalf…

Dinetta said:

I have started washing my clothes by hand, leaving them to soak in a tub for the day and then rinsing, just using the washing machine for the final “fling” (spin cry)…MrD only launders once a week, it suits him better, but with no kinder at home, there’s no real need for me to crank up the washing machine on my own behalf…

“spin cry”….

unh!

spin DRY…

Dinetta said:

I have started washing my clothes by hand, leaving them to soak in a tub for the day and then rinsing, just using the washing machine for the final “fling” (spin cry)…MrD only launders once a week, it suits him better, but with no kinder at home, there’s no real need for me to crank up the washing machine on my own behalf…

why did the italics not work?

kinder

Dinetta said:

Dinetta said:

I have started washing my clothes by hand, leaving them to soak in a tub for the day and then rinsing, just using the washing machine for the final “fling” (spin cry)…MrD only launders once a week, it suits him better, but with no kinder at home, there’s no real need for me to crank up the washing machine on my own behalf…

why did the italics not work?

kinder