Power Prices on the Rise, Again

 Read more Oily Rag articles by Frank and Muriel Newman 
 
We are headed for inflationary times, which is when living off the smell of an oily rag really pays dividends. On the 1st of July power prices increased as consumers started paying for the government’s carbon emissions trading scheme. In fact electricity costs have risen substantially in recent years. According to the Energywise website (energywise.govt.nz) the price of electricity has increased 41 percent in the five years between 2003 and 2008.
 
The typical New Zealand household of four uses around 12,000 kW of electricity a year. This costs around $2,800. According to Meridian Energy the biggest user is water heating, which accounts for about 34 percent of the total. Room heating takes around 12 percent, refrigeration around 15percent, other appliances 20 percent, lighting 12percent and cooking 7 percent.
 
Here are some ways to cut those costs:
 

• Replace your light bulbs. Meridian say that replacing your 4 most used light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (at a cost of $6) can save between $65 and $75 a year. Switching all of your bulbs from incandescent to fluorescent will halve your lighting costs. Select the right light for the task. For example outside lights don't need to be 100 watt when a 40 watt bulb would do the job.
• Up to a third of your room heating can be lost through the ceiling, walls and floors. Ceiling insulation will minimise this heat loss, but also reduce draughts by ensuring your curtains cover the window by about 150mm. Thermal backed curtains are the best for minimising heat loss. Close your curtains at sundown to minimise heat loss.
• Standby power is energy that is wasted keeping some home appliances and electronics ready to turn on in an instant. For remote controls to work, circuits inside the TV must actually be on. It is estimated that as much as 5% of all power consumed is due to standby appliances. You can eliminate this by identifying which appliances or electronics are using power when in the off position and putting them on a power strip with an off button. Meridian suggest unplug mobile phone chargers, and turn off computers, monitors and printers when you are not using them – monitors use well over half of the total energy used to run a computer.
• If you have a second fridge that is barely used or a beer cooler that is not used very much, unplug it or get rid of it entirely. Second refrigerators account for as much as ten percent of energy use in some homes. Older washers and dryers, especially top loading models, in general, use much more electricity and water than newer front loading. The Energy Star sticker will show the rating.
• If you use a dryer, make sure your dryer is vented to the outside and don’t overload it. Better still, let nature do the drying and save 100percent of the cost!
• Set the fridge temperature between 2 and 5 degrees, and your freezer to -18 degrees.
• If you have a heated towel rail switch it on for only a few hours a day instead of 24/7. This will save about $100 a year ($2 a week). Most oily raggers would not bother with this modern sort of invention anyway!

These are just some of the hundreds of ways you can cut your power bill and make a stand against the rising charges. You could also go the full hog and switch from electricity to other forms of energy, like solar hot water heating or wood burning space heaters.
 
If you have some favourite money-saving tips share them with others by visiting the oily rag website (www.oilyrag.co.nz) or write to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.
 
 * Frank and Muriel Newman are the authors of Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag in NZ. Readers can submit their oily rag tips on-line at www.oilyrag.co.nz. The book is available from bookstores and online at www.oilyrag.co.nz.