Low cost or free tips for managing home energy costs

Making your home warmer, healthier and more affordable to run doesn't have to cost a fortune. Even if you are living in a rental property or don't have much money to spend, a small amount of time, a change in habits, or a low cost purchase can make a real difference.

Managing your heating costs

Keep your house dry

Manage hot water costs

Reduce heat loss through windows

Check your electricity payment options and electricity plans

Appliances

Reduce your lighting costs

Manage your heating costs

Heating is about 34% of household energy costs. Here are some tips on how to manage your heating bills.

Keep the heat in - create ‘cozy zones'

• Heat only the rooms you are using by keeping doors closed.
• Block draughts under doors by rolling up a towel and placing it at the bottom of the door. This applies to internal and external doors.
• Install draught strips around leaky windows and doors
• If you don't have any carpets, try to find some rugs. These will help to improve comfort and warmth underfoot.
• Draw curtains before dark to conserve any heat gain from the sun and to reduce heat escaping. Open them in the morning once the outdoor temperature has risen and/or the sun is starting to shine through the windows to capture as much free heat as possible.
• Find out what to do If you don't have any curtains.

Use heaters with timers and thermostats.

A healthy temperature for a living room is 18-21 degrees Celsius, and a bedroom can be heated to 16 degrees Celsius. If your rooms are warmer than this, you are wasting expensive fuel.

• Turn off heaters when they are not in use.
• Use heaters with timers to turn them on and off (e.g. just before you get up in the mornings).
• Use heaters with thermostats to keep your room at an even temperature and avoid using electricity unnecessarily.
• Running a heat pump 24 hours a day, 7 days a week will usually be expensive, even though advertising and heat pump installers claim that it won't be. Only run them when you need the heat - turn them off when you go to bed and go out. Use the timer to turn on the heat pump before you get up in the mornings or come home from work.

Some tips about plug-in heaters

All plug-in electric heaters (e.g. fan, oil column, bar heaters, or combination heaters) can be relatively expensive to run. Sometimes people think that different types of plug-in electrical heaters cost different amounts to run. But all types of the plug-in electric heaters convert electricity to heat at the same rate - for every dollar of electricity used, a dollar's worth of heat is produced.  Read more about plug in electric heaters and how to manage their running costs.  

Financial Assistance For Heating Costs

Work and Income can sometimes supply a recoverable loan for heating costs for existing Work and Income clients. However this is dependent on the amount of existing debt a client has with Work and Income and is not an automatic entitlement.

If a child or an adult qualifies for, and receives a disability allowance, Work and Income may be able to provide extra assistance for heating costs during the cooler months of the year. Check with your case manager.

The Mayor's Welfare Fund (Christchurch City residents only) provides assistance to families and individuals who are in extreme financial distress. The fund can provide assistance on a one-off basis where real need can be shown. The fund is a last resort measure when people have exhausted other appropriate sources such as Work and Income New Zealand.

Energy advisers will also be able to refer you to your closest budget service provider if you need further support for managing your money

Keep your house dry

A damp house is more expensive to heat and can cause mould and mildew, which in turn may be harmful to your health. You don't have to buy an expensive ventilation system to keep your house dry, or manage dampness and condensation.

Manage hot water costs

Nearly 30% of your electricity costs is your hot water heating!  This is almost as much as it costs to heat your house. But most people don't think about these costs as much as heating because hot water heating costs tend to be constant all year round (unlike a midwinter peak in heating costs). It's important to make sure that the hot water is heated to the right temperature, and to think carefully about how you use hot water.

Reduce heat loss through windows

Permanent double glazing is very expensive to install. But there are still lots of ways you can reduce heat loss through windows that won't cost a lot.

If you have no curtains at all and

• you hold a Community Services Card, contact the Curtain Bank.
• you don't have a Community Services Card,  try to find some second hand curtains through charity shops, garage sales, Trade Me, or visit ‘Off the Track", a shop which sells second hand curtains (106 Westminster St, St Albans, Christchurch ph (03) 374 9980.

Check electricity payment options and electricity plans

Are you buying the cheapest electricity?

Electricity companies across the whole of New Zealand sell electricity at different rates. You can check if you are buying the cheapest electricity by visiting http://www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch. Usually there will be no cost for you to switch companies.

If you need assistance to use this Powerswitch website, call the Energy Advice Service. Please have your latest energy bill on hand - we will need some information from the bill to be able to provide you with this support.

Make the most of payment options

Electricity retailers commonly offer different levels of discounts through prompt payments (10%) and electronic payments (12%).

Level pay, or "smoothed" payments are also a great way to take the sting out of winter electricity costs. The extra money you pay during the summer months help to pay for the extra costs in the winter. See the diagram below for an explanation of how smoothed payments work. Most electricity retailers make this option available to their customers.

A "Power Manager" is a good way to keep an eye on how much electricity you are using at the same time you use it, plus it is also a good budgeting tool. However the electricity you buy through this card is very expensive compared to other payment options, and this is available only through a limited range of electricity companies. The

Are you on the right electricity plan?

Working out if you are on the right energy plan can be tricky! It isn't made easy by electricity suppliers who often use different names for the same type of energy plan.

A "Day/Night" plan is often good for people out for most of the day. But if your living circumstances change and you are home during the day more often, you could be paying a premium for when you need the heat the most - during the day.  

An "Anytime/Economy" plan can be better for people at home all day, but this depends on your main form of heating!

If you don't use much electricity (<9000 Kw a year) a Low User plan is a good option because you pay less for your electricity per unit of electricity. But it's easy to creep over this limit and start paying more than you need to.

Call the Energy Advice Service and double check you are on the correct energy plan. This will depend on lots of things, including:   

• Type of heaters
• Number of people in house
• When you use the most electricity
• Hot water heating needs
• Size of cylinder

Changing electricity plans can sometimes cost money, especially if you change your meter or shift your hot water cylinder to a night rate. It is important you do careful homework first before you make a final decision.

Problems with High Electricity Bills

If you are worried about high electricity bills and getting into debt with your electricity company, it is very important to talk your electricity retailer as soon as possible about your concerns - they may be able to offer some payment options which will help to clear this debt over time.

Energy Advisers can help to identify the causes of high electricity costs. We can also refer you to your closest budget service provider if you need further support to manage your money.

Manage appliance running costs

Appliance running costs

Different appliances cost different amounts to run - find out how much.

Appliances on standby

Turn off appliances at the wall when they are not in use. This includes TVs, videos, stereos, microwave ovens, computers, printers and your cell phone charger. Around $100 per year of electricity can be consumed by appliances on stand-by in an average home!

Fridge freezers 

A fridge or freezer older than 13 years could be costing you a lot of money to run. You may save money by renting or purchasing a new fridge. 

• Turn the second fridge in the garage off, or run it on the weekends only.
• Check for leaky seals by running a piece of paper between the seal and the door surface. If you can move the paper, replace the seals. Look in the Yellow Pages under "Fridges and Freezers - Servicing" for businesses that will do this for you.
• A fridge or freezer needs a gap of at least three centimetres between it and the wall to allow air to circulate and to work efficiently
• Defrost the freezer regularly, and if it has exposed coils at the back of the fridge, keep them free of dust.

Drying your clothes

• Hang clothes on the line outside to dry rather than using a clothes dryer. (If you have to dry clothes inside, dry them in a separate room with a window open to let the damp air out.)
• Minimise use of heated towel rails if you have them. Running a towel rail for only 50% of time would reduce cost by almost $80 a year.

Cooking/Stove

• When cooking food use only the amount of water needed. Simmer rather than boil.
• If you intend to use frozen food try to think ahead and thaw frozen food in the fridge, without using the microwave or other form of heating
• Cook several dishes in the oven at the same time.
• Use your microwave oven as much as possible instead of a conventional oven. It's much quicker and uses less energy.

Dishwasher

• If you rinse dishes before you put them in the dishwasher, use cold water.
• Start the dishwasher when it is full, not half empty.
• If your dishwasher heats up its own hot water, use this setting - it is more efficient.

Reduce lighting costs

• Turn off lights when you don't need them, especially if you have lots of downlights.
• Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL). These use about 75% less energy than an old fashioned incandescent bulb. Buy one new bulb once a month and slowly replace all the lights you use the most. Make sure you purchase 'warm white' bulbs to avoid harsh white light.
• Buy your CFL bulbs from reputable brands or they may not last as long as they say they do or may become dim after a while. A Consumer test in 2011 recommended the Philips Tornado, the GE Entice and the Ecobulb.
• CFL bulbs contains a small amount of mercury. This is dangerous only when the bulbs breaks in which case you will need to ventilate the area very well. Don't use CFL bulbs in areas where they are likely to get broken.
• Maximise natural light by opening your curtains and keeping windows clean.
• More on lighting on the Energywise website.