Are you ready for the carbon tax?

June 26th, 2012

Environment, Energy & Water Saving

Recently we caught up with our CEO John Winning to find out how Australian families can reduce their electricity bills ahead of the new carbon tax.

“The carbon tax kicks off in a couple of weeks and is reported to increase power bills by 10-20% across Australia, depending on where you live. Yet, with the right knowledge, households might be able to help reduce this impact by making a few simple changes around the home.

“Appliances account for up to 30%* of our home’s energy use. Simply switching appliances off at the power point can save households around $125 a year and at the same time cut your household’s carbon pollution by 500kg per year **,” said John.

“Older fridges are some of the worst energy-wasting appliances commonly found in our homes. Households can save money by investing in newer energy-efficient refrigerators – replacing a 10 year old fridge with a new 4.5 star rated fridge can halve the amount of electricity used and save you around $145 a year**.

John said families with two fridges might want to re-evaluate whether the extra fridge is really necessary: “Although extra refrigeration space is handy, running a second fridge can cost up to $265 a year***. Part of our service is to recycle all old fridges free of charge, and we hope to educate Australians around how they can save money on electricity bills in the future.”

Tips for cutting electricity bills

1. Laundry

• Front loading washing machines generally use less water and consume less power than top-loading washing machines.

• Don’t wash lots of small loads – hold off on using your washing machine until you have a full load.

• If it’s a sunny day, avoid the dryer and hang your washing on the line instead.

2. Kitchen

• Most modern dishwashers are actually more efficient than washing up by hand. You can save even more energy by holding off on running the dishwasher until it’s full.

• Believe it or not, the unsuspecting kettle is actually one of the most energy-intensive pieces of equipment in a kitchen. This could be solved by installing an energy-efficient instant boiling water tap.

• Check the seal on your fridge and freezer – if the seal is no longer tight the door is most likely leaking cool air and costing you more money to run.

3. Turn appliances off stand-by

• Up to 10%** of household power use is drawn from appliances that are thought to be off but are actually on stand-by mode, so make sure you unplug appliances you’re not using.

4. Invest in energy-efficient appliances

• The star rating gives a quick comparative assessment of the model’s energy efficiency, and should provide an estimate of the annual energy consumption of the appliance. A five star water rating can help you save 21,000 litres of water a year – that’s a heap of money saved on water bills***.

In a bid to educate more Australians to take action against climate change and encourage Australians to make practical changes to live more sustainably, Appliances Online has partnered with Electrolux and 1 Million Women to help raise awareness.

In July, we will give away one fridge every week as part of a campaign to raise awareness for 1 Million Women. Stay tuned to this blog for more details – coming soon!

* Australian Government Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency Your Home Technical Manual 4th Edition published 01/01/2010

** NSW Government, Office of Environment & Heritage, Save Power.

*** State Government Victoria, Washers & dryers