5 tips to reduce your winter energy bill

Now that we’re in the throes of winter, here are five tips on ways to reduce your energy bills:

1. Shop for providers:

• Use the government Energy Made Easy tool to find the cheapest electricity and gas providers in your area.
• Look for an energy provider that suits your needs, based on the different offerings available eg CommBank has a strategic relationship with Amber Electric, an energy provider that offers customers wholesale pricing which may work out cheaper for you if you have flexibility to shift your usage to off-peak periods. 

2. Check for energy benefits and concessions:

• Head to the CBA Benefits finder within the CommBank app.
• Search online for energy concessions in your state/territory. 
• The Australian Government is providing $3.5b to expand the Energy Bill Relief Fund in 2024-25 to provide electricity bill rebates to all Australian households and eligible small business electricity customers to ease cost of living pressures. In most cases, your electricity provider will automatically apply the bill relief to your electricity account, and you will not be required to take any action.¹

3. Conserve where you can. Consider where you can make simple tweaks to habits in your home:

• Bathroom: Keep your showers to a few minutes because water heating accounts for 20 per cent of your energy bills.²
• Kitchen: Set your fridge between 3 and 4°C. Set your freezer between -15°C and -18°C. Clean door seals on fridge. Use lids on pots to speed up cooking.
• Laundry: Hang clothes in a heated room or outside on a sunny day. Use your clothes dryer less and you could save $70 a year.² Consider washing clothes in cold water, and report leaking taps.
• Bedroom: Close curtain/blinds and doors to keep heat inside. Set your aircon to 18–21°C — each degree of difference can equal 10% less energy use.
• Living areas: Switch off appliances at the wall to use 1–5 per cent less energy.² Seal all gaps with door snakes and keep doors closed when using heating.

4. Consider electrifying your home and upgrading to electric and energy efficient appliances:

• Electric heat pump hot water systems: Electric heat pumps are currently considered the most energy efficient hot water solution on the market.³
• Induction cooktops/air fryers/electric BBQs: Induction cooktops are more efficient than both gas and ceramic hotplates.
• Use energy efficient LED lights — they last longer and use up to 85 per cent less power.⁴
• Replacing your old fridge with a new energy efficient one could save you up to $200 a year.²

5. Longer term, consider investing in more substantial home energy upgrades:

• Solar panels enable you to generate renewable energy and potentially reduce your electricity bill by consuming the electricity you generate and export excess back to the grid.
• Home battery – By installing a battery, you can store your solar-generated electricity from the middle of the day and use it later when you need it.   Using a battery to “soak up” your excess solar-generated electricity can increase your energy savings, saving you from importing power at night or on cloudy days.
• Check out our Sustainable Living Hub to understand what sustainable finance solutions are right for you.

References:

¹Energy Bill Relief Fund 2024-25

²Energy NSW Winter Top tips to save you energy and money *Annual savings are indicative only and will be based on households’ current consumption patterns and individual circumstances throughout the year.

³Sustainability Vic

⁴Energymakeovers