Energy Bill

2014 is here, and savings have become a popular concern among Australian citizens. One of the biggest obstacles that people face in attempting to save money is rising energy costs. With a bit of effort and common sense, you can easily reduce your energy bill without surrendering any of your creature comforts. Let’s have a look at how you can reduce your energy bill this year.

Energy Bill

Turn it Off: Why a Bad Memory Can Lead to Over-Spending

As children, we’ve all heard nagging parents tell us to turn off the TV or the lights when we’re not in the room. Sadly, only a limited number of people carry this habit into adulthood. The rest just leave as many electronics on as possible. For example, we’ll go out of a room and leave the TV running. Or we’ll use one room in the house, but leave lights on in the other rooms. It’s the little things that can add up in the end. So, in order to avoid paying for electricity you’re not even using, turn off lights and appliances when you don’t need them. It might be hard at first, but after a while it will become second nature.

Natural Light: It’s More Useful Than You Give it Credit For

Natural light has positive effects on the brain – it makes people happy and productive. It is also free, which makes it that much better. If you’re looking to cut down on your energy use, incorporating more natural light into your daily routine can reduce your dependency on artificial light. To make use of natural light, you might need to rearrange the furniture inside your home in order to promote better exposure. Also, if your schedule allows you, try doing most of the things that require light during the day. This will save you a great deal of money on your energy bill. You’ll find yourself making more use of the free natural light, and less of the costly artificial lights.

Insulation: Your House Might Need It

Your home’s insulation is another area where you can find savings. The outer part of your house (outer walls, windows, doors) might not be acting as the barrier it was meant to be. In other words, it might be releasing too much air from the outside in. During summer days, that means you’ll have to turn up the air conditioning. In the winter, you’ll have to use more heat. Both can take a toll on your energy bill. It’s no wonder, then, that good insulation goes a long way to reducing your heating and cooling costs. Try replacing your windows with newer, better-insulated models, or swap out your wall or attic insulation with insulation that has a higher R-value. These great solutions will improve your home’s long-term heating and cooling efficiency and result in energy savings.

Installing a Solar System: The Best Way to Save

Installing a solar system might be the best thing you can do to save on your electricity bill. The great thing about a solar power system is that eventually, it will allow you to start receiving free energy. After installing your solar system, you’ll be able to see your electricity bill go down. In fact, it will be lower and lower until there will be no more to pay. Want another great bonus? If your panel is producing more energy than you’re using, you can sell the excess electricity to the government and earn a subsidy for every kilowatt-hour you feed into the public grid.

It’s time to stop worrying about your energy bill. Let 2014 be the year of change, when you take charge of your spending and of your savings. Though all four of these strategies will reduce your energy bill, only a solar system installed by a Cairns solar system provider can actually net you a profit. By making intelligent energy decisions and opting for solar panels, you can take a bite out of your energy bill and do right by the environment.