Operating your Home: Energy
Thinking about and understanding your home's energy, and in turn electricity, consumption is going to become increasingly important as we move towards fully electric homes and we undergo a nation-wide process of electrification.
With that in mind we've broken down some key information for you on your home's energy usage and how to move towards an electric future.
Firstly, what is electrification?
In simple terms, electrification is the process of converting systems or devices that use energy from non-electric sources (such as gas) to ones that are powered by electricity. For instance swapping out a gas cook top for an induction one.
Electrification of our homes is an important future-proofing mechanism to ensure we can continue to power our homes when finite resources like gas and coal are depleted.
Next, let's look at what in your home is actually using energy.
This data represents the running costs of each system in the average Victorian household, which correlates directly to their energy usage.
How can you limit your energy consumption?
A Turn items off when not in use. This includes idle power points (Standby power can contribute to 6% of household energy use).
B Choose not to turn something on in the first place (e.g. line dry instead of using a dryer, put on another layer instead of turning up heating).
C Focus on tackling the big ticket items like heating and hot water by either upgrading systems or limiting their use. (Check out our previous guides for specific tips on managing heating and hot water use).
Hot tip: Using power boards lets you turn multiple items off with a single switch.
Finally, where should you get your electricity from?
Ideally you generate your own power on site with solar panels, but beyond that you can buy green power generated by renewable sources, via your electricity supplier. Note that carbon neutral power is not the same as 100% renewable and you should always opt for the latter.
Hot tip: You may be able to save money on power bills by switching to a time of use contract.
