How much power should I be using at home?

Do you think your home is using too much power? We take you through what could be the culprit.

Our electricity usage at home is something that is always at the back of our minds, particularly as energy prices continue to soar! Our homes have more lights, appliances and electrical goods than ever before, and as a result, we needs much more power to be able to run the average home. Whilst advances in technology have meant that we can now make the most of our power usage, there are still some easy ways to reduce your energy consumption at home.

The average Australian house is meant to use 18 kWh per day, and 6,570 kWh per year (this of course may vary depending on how many people are living within one home). Of that average energy usage, 38% of home energy is used on heating and cooling, 25% on water heating, 16% on electronics and appliances and only 7% on lighting.

Once you consider that breakdown, it's easy to see where you can make changes to your power bill just with a few simple changes to the way you use your electricity.

Here's some tips on how you can bring those $$$ down when it comes bill time:

Use lamps instead of a main light when you only need a small amount of light.
Use energy saving bulbs.
Re-insulate your home.
Wash your clothes in cold water.
Set your fridge to 4 or 5 degrees and your freezer to between -15 and -18 degrees.
Use the economy cycle on your dishwasher when possible.

But, perhaps once of the greatest ways to reduce power in your home is with the installation of LED lighting. LED lights by their nature are low voltage but also relatively low current making them lower in power and more efficient that traditional incandescent bulbs and halogen downlights. Generally we are talking about between 100 to 750 milli-amps depending on the forward voltage required to turn on the LED, much less than incandescent or halogen bulbs.

So, if you'd like to reduce your power at home, installing LEDs are a great way to do so. Doing this, and the above few tips, will make the world of difference on your monthly usage, and give you more funds to do the stuff you love.

If you'd like a no obligation quote on LED lighting installation, give Ben a call on 0421 863 309.