The importance of tracking your usage

Goodbye Gas founder Ben Russell says monitoring your energy usage is essential to taking control of your bills. ‘With real-time insights, you can spot patterns, identify waste, and track improvements over time,’ he explains.

Electricity retailers like Momentum Energy offer user-friendly tools with snapshots that share insights into your household energy use. In Victoria, you can also receive a rebate to purchase an in-home energy tracker to receive live updates.

Having this information will help you see what appliances are costing you the most, and make conscious decisions about your usage. It’s also helpful to compare your bills with what the average household in your area is paying for energy, and checking the rates of different providers to ensure you’re getting a fair deal.

What’s a Time Of Use tariff and how can it help me save?

Energy distribution networks use tariffs to calculate your bills, and many offer variable pricing so that electricity is priced differently at various times of day — known as Time Of Use tariffs.

Not all households are billed according to a Time Of Use tariff, but if your household is, this means you are likely paying more for electricity during peak times, and less during off-peak times.

Typically, energy usage is at its peak in the evenings, as people return home to make dinner, watch TV, and run their heating, putting pressure on the grid. Meanwhile, the off-peak periods are typically in the middle of the day, when demand is lower because less people are at home, and supply is higher as there tends to be more solar in the grid during the middle of the day.

That’s why Ben says where possible, it’s best to run your appliances in the middle of the day, when power is cheap. Consider how you might be able to do this – can you set your washing machine on delay or run your heater in the middle of the day, so it’s already warm when you get home? Small adjustments like this can result in significant cost savings.

Is it worth upgrading to energy efficient appliances?

One of the best ways to save money on your bills is by switching from gas appliances to electric alternatives, because modern electric appliances are much more energy efficient than gas appliances.

‘This includes replacing gas heating systems with reverse-cycle split systems, upgrading gas hot water with an electric heat pump and switching your gas cooktop with induction,’ Ben says.

He says this could provide significant savings, especially when it comes to heating, as heating and cooling alone are typically responsible for around 40 per cent of a household’s total energy consumption.

Not only is it far more energy efficient to heat and cool your home using a reverse-cycle, but installing electric heaters like this means that in future, your heating and cooling can be powered by rooftop solar.

How to get the most out of your solar panels

If you already have solar, the main thing to remember is to run your appliances when you are generating energy. And, conversely, minimise your energy use when you’re buying grid power (ie not using your own solar).

In other words, time your usage around the sun wherever possible to get the most out of your investment, and maximise the energy you are producing. Because without a battery, any excess solar is going back into the grid, and at night, you’ll be buying energy from the grid at peak pricing again.

‘Avoid running [your appliances] during peak hours, which starts between 3pm-6pm every day,’ Ben says. ‘Also, some energy plans offer free usage periods so taking advantage of this would also help to further reduce costs.’

Momentum Energy is 100% owned by Hydro Tasmania — Australia’s largest generator of renewable energy. Find out more about signing up to an energy retailer that supports the transition to renewables.