How to Save Energy: Simple Ways to Reduce Household Energy Use
In an Australian home, cutting energy use does not have to mean losing everyday comfort. Getting the heating and cooling settings right, using hot water and appliances more efficiently and sealing up the draughts – that is what brings the bills down. This guide sets out where the energy goes in a household, which changes are easiest to make and when it may be worth considering bigger upgrades such as solar and battery storage.
Key Takeaways
Heating and cooling make up the lion’s share of household energy use in Australia, at roughly 40% in an average home.
Small thermostat changes add up: each degree closer to the outside temperature can reduce heating or cooling energy use by about 5% to 10%.
Standby power keeps the meter ticking over day and night and can account for up to 10% of a household electricity bill, depending on the number and type of connected devices.
Solar plus battery storage keeps daytime sunshine working after dark, which takes the edge off steep time-of-use (TOU) tariffs.
Where Does Your Household Use the Most Energy?
Heating and cooling, hot water, and appliances are key areas to focus on when looking to reduce household energy costs. The Australian Government’s energy-saving guidance provides practical recommendations and figures on how everyday changes can help reduce energy use. Understanding where your household uses the most energy makes it easier to prioritise the changes that could have the biggest impact on your bills.
Household Energy Use | Common Examples | What Affects Energy Use? |
Heating & Cooling | Reverse-cycle split systems, ducted aircon, portable fan heaters | Thermostat settings, local climate, insulation quality, how well rooms are sealed |
Water Heating | Electric storage tanks, heat pumps, gas continuous flow | Shower length, ambient water temperature, tank insulation, off-peak timing |
Refrigeration & Cooking | Fridges, freezers, induction cooktops, electric ovens | Ambient room temperature, seal condition, appliance star rating, usage habits |
Standby Power & Plug-in Devices | Smart TVs, gaming consoles, home Wi-Fi routers, chargers | Number of devices left switched on at the wall, age of electronics |
Lighting | Downlights, oyster lights, outdoor floodlights | Bulb technology (LED vs halogen), hours used each day, automated sensors |
Heating and Cooling
Sitting at the top of most Aussie energy bills is the cost of keeping the house at a liveable temperature. Through an Adelaide summer or a Canberra winter, reverse-cycle units and portable heaters run for hours at a time, and single-glazed windows and draughts around doors that don’t quite seal make it harder to keep the house comfortable.
Hot Water Systems
Water heating runs a close second, at roughly a quarter of the average Australian household energy bill. An electric storage hot water system is essentially an oversized kettle left switched on, keeping a full tank hot right through the day, and the longer the showers run, the more it costs. In a house where the teenagers treat a 15-minute, high-flow shower as standard, the meter really starts to spin.
Lighting and Other Household Appliances
One LED on its own draws very little, but twenty halogen downlights spread across an open-plan kitchen and living area are another matter. Add the kitchen appliances that draw a lot of power while they run, the clothes dryer and a second fridge out in a tin shed through summer, and together they can account for a sizeable share of household energy use.
What Are the Simple Ways to Save Energy at Home?
Everyday habits offer easy ways to save energy without major changes to your routine. The following energy saving tips focus on heating and cooling, hot water, laundry and standby power.
Easy Ways to Save Energy at Home
Action | Cost or effort | Where It Saves Energy |
Set heating and cooling efficiently | Low — adjust thermostat settings | Reduces energy used to heat or cool rooms |
Take shorter showers | Low — change daily habits | Reduces hot water use and water-heating energy |
Wash clothes in cold water | Low — select a cold cycle | Reduces energy needed to heat wash water |
Switch off non-essential standby devices | Low — use a switched powerboard | Reduces electricity consumed by devices left on standby |
Close blinds or curtains during hot afternoons | Low — use existing window coverings | Limits solar heat gain and reduces cooling demand |
Seal door and window draughts | Low to moderate — use suitable removable seals | Reduces unwanted air leakage and heating or cooling losses |
Adjust Heating and Cooling Settings
Setting the split system to 25°C–27°C in summer and 18°C–20°C in winter can keep the house comfortable without the bill blowing out. Each degree closer to the temperature outside takes roughly 5% to 10% off the cost of running it. A ceiling fan is worth running alongside the aircon: moving air makes a room feel 2°C to 3°C cooler, so you can set the aircon higher and stay just as comfortable.
Improve Hot Water Heating Efficiency
If you want to see a difference on the bill quickly, take shorter showers. Swap an older, high-flow shower rose for a 3-star or 4-star WELS-rated low-flow model and you’ll roughly halve the hot water going down the drain, without much loss of pressure. A storage tank with an adjustable thermostat needs to sit at 60°C or above, because that is what keeps bacteria such as Legionella from taking hold. Water that hot can scald, so the system needs a tempering valve to bring it down to 50°C or below before it reaches the taps.
Use Washing Machines and Dishwashers Efficiently
Up to 80% of the energy in a wash cycle goes into heating the water, so that’s where the savings are. Cold-water detergents work well enough now that a 20°C or cold wash is the sensible default. Only run the dishwasher and the washing machine with a full load, and use the Eco setting: the cycle takes longer, but it uses less water and energy.
Reduce Standby Power Use
The TV, gaming console, microwave clock and home office dock can all draw power while sitting on standby. Focus this step on devices that do not need to remain connected: group them on a switched powerboard and turn them off before bed or when you are away, while leaving essential equipment such as the router or security system powered.
Make Better Use of Natural Light and Ventilation
Good shading and ventilation can take a fair bit of the load off the air conditioner. Keep blinds or blockout curtains closed on north- and west-facing windows during hot afternoons to stop the worst of the radiant heat getting in. Once the day cools down, opening windows on opposite sides of the house lets a sea breeze or the night air move through and push the built-up heat out.
How Can You Make Your Home More Energy Efficient?
Once the habits are in place, the next round of savings comes from the house itself. Efficient appliances and better insulation can cut the bill further, while energy monitoring helps you work out where to focus. Portable power stations can supply selected devices with stored energy, although they do not reduce appliance consumption on their own.
Easy Energy-Saving Tips for Renters
You can reduce energy use without making permanent changes to your rental property:
Seal draughts temporarily: Use removable weather seals around suitable door and window gaps.
Make better use of existing blinds: Close curtains or blinds during hot afternoons to limit heat entering the room.
Choose efficient laundry settings: Wash suitable loads in cold water and use the machine’s Eco setting.
Switch off standby devices: Turn off non-essential electronics at the powerboard when they do not need to stay connected.
Review bills and usage times: Check your electricity rates and usage data. If your plan has time-of-use tariffs, consider shifting flexible tasks to cheaper periods.
Choose Energy-Efficient Appliances
When an appliance needs replacing, check the Energy Rating Label before choosing a new one. A 7-star heat pump clothes dryer or a high-efficiency inverter fridge may cost more upfront, but lower running costs can help make up the difference over time.
Improve Insulation and Seal Air Leaks
Insulation is one of the main ways to make your home more energy efficient, and the ceiling is often the place to start because heat can move through the ceiling area. Check that ceiling batts are correctly installed and in good condition, and seal gaps around door frames and skirting boards to reduce draughts. Self-adhesive seals can help with suitable gaps, while larger insulation work may require professional advice.
Monitor Your Household Energy Use
Guesswork can send you looking for savings in the wrong places. Interval data from the smart meter is usually available through your distributor’s online portal, and an electrician can fit a monitor to the switchboard for live readings. Either way, once you can see when the spikes happen, it’s a lot easier to work out which appliances are behind them.
Consider Rooftop Solar and Home Battery Storage
Rooftop solar panels generate electricity during the day, and a home battery stores any surplus for use in the evening or when solar output is low. This can reduce how much electricity you buy from the grid.
For a smaller setup, a solar-compatible portable power station such as the EcoFlow DELTA 3 can store energy for a few essential devices. With a 1,024Wh battery and a rated AC output of 1,800W, it can run a fridge, laptop and lights within its output limits. Runtime depends on how much power those devices draw. The EcoFlow OASIS smart energy management system lets you monitor battery levels, control outputs through the app and schedule charging around time-of-use tariffs.
A household with larger energy demands can turn to the EcoFlow DELTA Pro 3, which offers 4,096Wh of capacity, expandable to 12kWh with add-on batteries. A family can store what the panels generate during the day and draw on it later, with runtime depending on total consumption. Within its output limits, it can support heavier loads, from a full-sized fridge and a home office to compatible higher-draw kitchen appliances and power tools. That adds up to a solid reserve of stored power to lean on once the evening peak rates kick in.
What Are the Benefits of Reducing Household Energy Use?
Lower household energy use brings the bills down and takes pressure off the grid. How much it saves depends on how much the household uses, the tariff it is on and which of the changes get made.
Lower Household Electricity Bills
The bill is where the difference turns up first. A household that uses less power overall and moves what it can away from the peak tariff windows can keep thousands of dollars over the life of its appliances.
Reduce Household Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The National Electricity Market (NEM) still relies on fossil fuels when demand peaks, so every kilowatt-hour a home does not use is one that does not have to be generated, and that means lower carbon emissions. Cutting waste at home also takes pressure off the generators and the poles and wires that keep the grid running, which helps Australia’s shift towards a cleaner, more resilient power network.
Conclusion
Learning how to save energy at home starts with heating, cooling and hot water, which account for much of a typical household’s energy use. Small changes to daily habits can help lower bills, while insulation, efficient appliances and solar with battery storage may offer further savings. Track your energy use to see which changes make the biggest difference to your bills.
FAQs
Does it save electricity to unplug appliances when not in use?
Yes. Switching appliances off at the powerboard or unplugging them eliminates their standby draw. Standby power can account for up to 10% of household electricity use. Modern chargers, entertainment centres and gaming consoles continue to draw residual current while plugged in, so a quick flick of the switch stops unnecessary consumption in its tracks.
How can I find out what is using so much electricity?
Check your smart meter’s 30-minute interval graphs through your distributor’s online portal, or use a plug-in power meter to measure individual appliances. Compare peaks in usage with the times your appliances run to help identify which ones are using the most electricity. An older second fridge, a hot water booster or a pool pump is often the culprit.
How do I calculate how much electricity an appliance uses?
Multiply the appliance’s wattage by its running time in hours, then divide by 1,000 to calculate electricity use in kilowatt-hours (kWh). This is the basic formula for converting watts to kWh. To calculate the cost, multiply that figure by your tariff rate per kWh.
Cost = (Wattage × Hours ÷ 1,000) × Tariff Rate per kWh
A 2,000W fan heater left running for 4 hours on a 35c/kWh plan uses 8kWh, which comes to $2.80 for the evening.
Is efficiency the same as conservation?
No. Energy efficiency means getting the same result with less energy, while energy conservation means using less energy by changing your habits. Replacing an old halogen downlight with an LED fitting is a case of efficiency; switching the light off on the way out of the room is conservation.