What to do if you rent

This information sheet is for tenants living in rental properties. It includes a range of low cost tips on how to manage energy costs in a rental property. There are lots of things you can do to manage your electricity consumption plus improve the warmth and comfort of your home. The best thing about these tips is that most of these actions are free - they just require a little of your time, or a change in habits. Any tips that require a small purchase are shown as [Low Cost].

Topics covered in this information sheet include:

An overview of the top ten actions will provide you the most benefit and save you money
Heating
Keep your house dry - reduce dampness and condensation.
Hot water
Windows
Electricity payment options and electricity plans
Financial assistance for heating costs
Lighting
Appliances

For more information on:

Information about funding available for landlords to undertake some of these actions.
Some key home maintenance actions that can help to make a rental property warmer and more energy efficient (please note these will be at the landlords discretion).
How to talk with landlords about your concerns about a cold home.

call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588, or ask for our brochure on "Maintaining an energy efficient rental property - information for tenants"

Top ten actions that will help you the most

Create cozy zones
User heaters with timers and thermostats
Ventilate and keep your house dry by opening windows two or three times a week
Check the thermostat on your hot water cylinder
Reduce or manage your hot water use
Make sure you are buying the cheapest electricity
Make the most of "level" or "smooth" payment options
Check you are on the right energy plan
Turn off appliances at the wall
Replace incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient compact fluorescent lights (CFL, or ‘ecobulbs')

See below for more information about each step.

Heating

Heating is about 34% of household energy costs. People tend to notice this cost more because it is concentrated in the cooler months of the year. 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 (Low Cost)
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 household 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.
If you don't have any curtains, try to find some second hand curtains for the rooms you heat the most (e.g. living room). Or call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588 to find out if there is a Curtain Bank close to where you live.

Use your heaters carefully

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 24/7 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.

All plug-in electric heaters (e.g. fan, oil column, bar heaters, or combination heaters) can be relatively expensive (compared to heat pumps, flued gas heaters, wood burners or pellet fires). 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. The two things which determine running cost are:

a) what heat setting you have the heater on
b) how long you run the heater.

Here are two examples (based on electricity costs of 23c/kWh)[1]:

1. If you run a 2KW plug-in heater on half-heat setting (e.g. 1kW for 8 hours per day) it will cost: $1.84 per day or $52 per month (28 days).
2. If you run the same heater for 8 hours per day but on its full heat setting (2 kW) it will cost twice as much to run: $3.68 per day or $103.4 per month (28 days).

That is why turning off heaters when you don't need the heat, plus using heaters with thermostats and timers can help to manage your heating costs.

Tips for running a pellet fire

Stockpile bags of pellets by continuing to buy them over the warmer months of the year. This is a really good way to avoid peaks in winter heating costs. Some retailers offer "buy 10 bags and get one free". This is the equivalent of a 10% prompt payment discount if you can make the most of this offer!

Keep your house dry - reduce dampness and condensation

A damp house is more expensive to heat and can cause mould and mildew, which in turn may be harmful to your health.

Air your house regularly by opening windows during the day, even on a cool dry day. This will help to move the warm damp air out of the house, and replace it with cooler drier air which will be less expensive to heat.
Open windows where water vapour is created (e.g. bathroom and kitchen) and close doors to prevent water vapour escaping into other parts of the house. Use extractor fans in bathroom and kitchen if available.
Contact the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588 for more information on how to manage dampness and condensation in your house.

Hot Water

Nearly 30% of your electricity costs is your hot water heating! But most people don't necessarily 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 minimise the amount of hot water you use to keep your hot water heating costs to a minimum.

Check the thermostat on your hot water cylinder

Check the thermostat for your hot water cylinder is set at 60°C. The water coming out of your hot water tap should be no hotter than 55°C. An extra 10°C could cost you up to $140 a year.

If the hot water is higher than this, talk to your landlord or property manager. Your landlord or property manager may need to organise an electrician or plumber to adjust the thermostat.

Reduce hot water use in the bathroom

A good flow rate for a comfortable shower but will help you to save hot water heating costs is 6-9 litres per minute. Check the flow rate by:

turn the shower on to the temperature and pressure settings you normally use.
run the water for 1 minute to measure the flow rate

If the rate of flow is higher than 9 litres per minute, installing a low-flow shower head or a flow restrictor will help to save money, especially if you or your family uses a lot of hot water when showering. If your landlord does not want to do this, try to take short showers instead. If your shower flow is less than 9 litres per minute, shorter showers will help to reduce your energy costs even more.

Reduce hot water use in your kitchen

Boil only as much water in the kettle as you need, or fill a flask with hot water and use that instead of repeatedly boiling water.
Always use cold water to fill your kettle
Don't run the hot tap continually when washing dishes.
Wash as many dishes as possible at once using the minimum amount of hot water.

Reduce hot water use in your laundry

Wash your clothes in cold water instead of warm water.

Windows

Reduce the amount of cold air flowing down your windows at night by creating low cost ‘pelmets'. Experiment with rolling up a towel and placing it lengthwise along the top of the curtain rails.
If your existing curtains are very thin, call the Energy Advice Service for more information on how to make detachable linings for your existing curtains.
Install DIY window insulation to reduce heat loss and draughts through windows. Call Community Energy Action on 03 374 7222 for more information or visit http://www.cea.co.nz/
The Curtain Bank can supply free curtains for households who have no, or ineffective/old curtains hold a Community Services Card. Call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588 for more information about how to apply to the Curtain Bank.

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 don't have access to a computer or the Internet, you can call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588 and we can check for you. Please have your latest energy bill on hand when you call us.

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 a great way to take the sting out of winter electricity costs; the little bit of extra money you pay during the summer months help to pay for the extra costs in the winter.

A "Power Manager" is also 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..

Are you on the right electricity plan?

Call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588 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

A "Day/Night" plan is good for people out for most of the day. An "Anytime/Economy" plan is often better for people at home all day. If you don't use much electricity (<9000 Kw P/A) a Low User plan is a good option because you pay less for your electricity per unit of electricity.

Problems with High Electricity Bills

If you are worried about high energy 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.

To help to identify and fix the causes of your high energy bills, call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588. The HEAC will also be able to refer you to your closest budget service provider if you need further support for managing your money.

Financial Assistance For Heating Costs

Work and Income can sometimes supply a recoverable loan for heating costs. 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.

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

Appliances

Different appliances cost different amounts to run. If you are worried about how much it costs to run a certain appliance, visit http://www.consumer.org.nz/reports/appliance-running-costs.

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!

Fridges and/or 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!
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. [ Lo cost]
Don't leave the door open for any longer than necessary. Otherwise your fridge will use more electricity to keep cool.
Older fridges will have coils fixed to the back of the fridge. Keep these coils behind fridge/freezer clean, using a very soft brush. Take care not to damage the coils.
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
Set the fridge/freezer to the right temperature. If vegetable leaves freeze in your fridge, it's too cold. If your ice cream is rock hard in the freezer it is also too cold.
Turn the second fridge in the garage off, or run it on the weekends only!
Defrost the freezer regularly.
Cool hot food before storing in the fridge (this is good for food safety as well).

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.
Keep oven door seals clean.

Dishwasher

Rinse dishes with cold water before you put them in the dishwasher.
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.

Lighting

Turn off lights when you don't need them on.

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. (Low cost)
Maximise natural light by opening your curtains and keeping windows clean.

How to talk with your landlord or property manager about your concerns

Keeping warm in a rental property that is not properly insulated or maintained, or does not have an efficient form of heating (e.g. heat pump or clean-air approved wood burner) can be difficult to achieve and expensive. Many tenants cope with this by choosing to go cold instead which can have a serious impact on their health. But sometimes the cost of taking time off school and work or going to the doctor is higher than the cost of keeping warm!

It is also common for tenants to avoid talking to landlords about their concerns about a cold home because they are worried that landlords will put up the rent as a response to costs associated with making a rental property warmer.

For more information about how to talk with your landlord about your concerns about a cold home, plus financial assistance available for efficient, clean heaters and insulation for rental properties, call the Energy Advice Service on 0800 388 588.

[1] The actual cost you pay will depend on the tariff plan, 23c/kWh is a typical price in Christchurch in winter 2010, including GST and with the prompt payment discount. Some tariffs will be a little lower than this (e.g. all day economy tariffs) and some will be a little higher (low user, all day economy tariff).