We are a couple, leaving in a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom house. We work mostly during the day.
We use electricity for cooking, heating (only when very cold), fridge, large 6 foot fish tank, washing machine & hot water.
Our consumption seemed really high to me at 33kwh. Our meter is in the front Neibourgh’s yard and I was worried there was an issue with reading so I got a smart meter installed. But it is still the same.
How much do you all consume?
LED lights, skimmer, wave maker, heater
Wave maker?!
Whats the watts on the heater? Heating 1000L of water can't be cheap. Heating water and air is never cheap. Assuming you have a 300w tank heater, running non stop it would use more than 7kWh a day. Do you really have an electric shower, or electric hot water? What is the kW rating, and how long do you shower. Imaging a kettle going for 5 minutes, 2 or 4 times a day. It all adds up.
It's likely your fish tank is using 10kwh/day -> https://www.canstarblue.com.au/electricity/electricity-fish-…
Save electricity or get rid of nemo?
9kwh. Single household but still have electricity for cooking, heating/cooling, fridge, washing machine, hot water and all wfh requirements.
13kwh. Couple. Only electric household (no gas) and all WFH requirements for both.
Yeah so it seems I have a big issue. No ways the fish tank is using that much
I'm an energy miser though. And everything I use is highly energy efficient. It could easily blow up to the 30s if I used the AC for 5-6 hours a day
Nah, won't be that much, i have a 7kw reverse ac and occasionally let it run during the day in both wet winter days and 40+ summer days and daily consumption never exceeded 30kwh, with base load around 10kwh.
@lgacb08: Thats a split unit AC. Mine is a 17Kw ducted system for the entire house (zoned though). I have hit 30s when I had visitors over and we ran the heating for most of the night. Also, 40+ summer days are like…. 4-7 days a year?
@0FoxGiven: Just asking out of curiosity, and if you could enlighten me…is there any advantage to having an all electric household? My understanding was that overall it would be cheaper to run stovetop, ducted heating and also hot water heating off natural gas?
https://www.australiangasnetworks.com.au/gas-explained/about….
@inasero: Depends on how you go about it. I got a PV system, I haven't had to pay an electricity bill since the system went up almost a year ago because my feed in tariff covers my bill and more (currently $350 in credit which I can choose to transfer to my bank account). Since I got no gas, I don't pay the supply charge of that which would come up to $365.
By my calculations, I'll have my PV system paid of in 2 years. After that, profit :D
@0FoxGiven: what is your average usage? and how much did they pay you for fit in tariff? cuz right now 10-12c is not a lot
@hunterhalo: Avg around 13kwh, got a 9.3Kw PV system and 20c FIT with Amaysim. I don't think that plan is available with Amaysim anymore so will have to switch back to Tango or something when my plan changes.
@0FoxGiven: Thanks mate i just looked up amaysim power kwh is abit high but no supply charge??? Is there any catch?
@hunterhalo: Ye Amaysims supply and usage fee is slightly higher than Tango and the likes but it made sense for me as I was exporting a lot.
There is a supply charge. If you were referring to my earlier comment, I meant I was saving on $365ish of GAS supply charges by not having it connected to my property
@0FoxGiven: I cant find out how much supply charge for gas. Do you have that information? As for power supply charge, right now im with glow bird, 82c per day, and kwh is 22c, however the difference with amaysim higher usage charge is only 8c for supply charge which work out to be cheaper. That is why i surprise but when i read some review they complain about amaysim keeps charge them everyday for variety reasons. Do you have that problem?
@0FoxGiven: Thanks for the quick reply, one last question before i sign up. So for power there is only one price. 30c ish and it is prepaid, you pay the estimated use and if you go overboard then simply buy more?
@hunterhalo: You are probably looking at a different plan. I doubt if the plan I am on is still offered. I pay according to usage and not estimated use.
My charges are :
Usage $0.27
Supply $1.34
Export $0.20
@0FoxGiven: Hi, just a question regarding your amaysim, is your 20c FIT ongoing with them or fixed. I was on similar rate with AGL last year before all retailers ditching the high FIT plan, I was looking at amaysim back then but unsure if they keep 20c FIT indefinitely, hence I chose AGL
@lgacb08: I'm not sure either. All my friends with other providers got email notifications that their FIT is being reduced by 2c in the last 2 weeks or so. I haven't got anything so far. Got my latest bill just 5 days ago. Still on 20c. I complete 1 year with Amaysim in another 2 months, I guess they will hike up prices and lower FIT then
@0FoxGiven: Can you tell me more about not paying your supply charge? I've not heard of this option before.
@lewislardboy: I think you might be confused by thinking I'm talking about my electricity. I meant GAS.
If you don't connect to a gas supply / have your gas meter removed. You wont have a gas bill. In my previous rental, we only ever used gas for cooking. So our usage bill was like under $10 per month, the rest was supply costs. Which was like almost $400 per year. Wasted money in my opinion.
So I consider that a $400 saving on gas supply costs.
@inasero: Also, I like all the electric alternatives over gas.
Love induction cooking , can never go back to gas now.
Use reverse cycle ducted AC system which is so much better than an evaporative cooling especially on hot summer days when it's 30+ degrees.Gas heating is pretty much the same feelwise compared to electric but having one system doing both heating and cooling means less ductwork and holes in my ceiling. Also my system is smart so can turn it off and on with voice commands.
Heat pump HWS costs nothing to run as I have it set to heat water while my PV system is generating.
@0FoxGiven: Does the heat pump hws make a lot of noise? I understood this can be an issue with such pumps. What brand are you using?
@johno3456: I can hear a decent amount a noise from it when it runs and I'm standing near it. But can't hear a thing when we are in the house. We have a Chromagen brand
30kw/day isn't high for an all-electric household. Don't trust other people's numbers, half the time they don't even know what type of hot water system they have and/or only quote their on-peak usage.
It is you who doesn't know much about energy efficiency and think 30kwh per day isn't high.
People can do much better these days!
@shalala: According to my last bill, the average usage per day for a two-person household in my postcode is 30kWh. So no, "on average" it is not high.
@ssquid: I think 30kWh for a couple is pretty high…but that's me assuming that's for a couple paying for gas separately. For an all-electric household naturally the figure is going to be higher. But how much higher? That I'm not sure about.
According to my last bill, the average daily consumption for a two person household was supposed to be 14.6kWh (in Melbourne in winter).
@ssquid: Think about how much energy you are going to waste for a (just) 5 year period.
For this 10kWh per day scenario, a heat pump hot water system reclaims 7-8kWh per day, depends on how smart you use it (time + temperature).
@shalala: My hot water system uses 0kWh because it's an instantaneous gas heater, I'm not wasting anything.
@ssquid: My bill suggests the average is 17kWh per month for 2 people (which is slightly higher than the usage I had with a roommate).
@scix: 17kWh per month! That is impressive! Is that off the grid house with maybe one grid power point charging your I phones only?
Its all here
https://energysaver.nsw.gov.au/households/understand-your-us…
The key usage is Heater water and refrigeration for the average household
Use the Energy Rating Calculator on the website to help, you can put in appliance details brand etc and it gives you usage details
Plus your energy bill should also tell you what the average is for other users in your area.
Area affects energy. If you live out west vs by the beach (as you are in Sydney). If you live in the Mountains you are definitely going to use more energy for heating. So your bill, showing other users in your area, will help you as much as we can.
Also what type of heating do you use. Aircon or bar heater? Your idea of only heating when "very" cold isnt very quantitive. My Bro thinks 20 degrees is very cold. My father thinks its got to be lower than 20 minus before being "very".
Also how old is your hotwater system, and is it reverse cycle or just an element?
Before jumping on your neighbour check things out carefully
Yes way mate, look at the wattage from the heater, way maker, use that times time of use and you will see, just like my computer on standby doesnt use that much of power but over period of 24hr, it adds up, turn it off and put it on standby cut my power down up to 4kw
You need to x-ray your electricity usage. Get a plug in power meter and start from there.
My guess would be
1) Your fish tank
2) Maybe an ifficient hot water system, what type?
3) Fridge
similar case here but 30kWh per day last month (1 oil heater & 1 water heater). As per my calculation water heater eats around 18 kWh per full cycle :( waiting for summer when usage becomes around 10kWh per day.
This is why I got instant gas hot water - cost works out roughly the same but it never runs out and there's no tank/heater element to replace every ~10 years.
I don't have a gas connection and this is a rental. Somewhat ok with the total energy cost per month as there is no gas bill. Water heater runs only at off-peak hours in TOU plan.
@ashpete02: In my experience an electric hot water service is usually connected to a controlled load circuit, which the meter only switches on when a special signal is detected in the supply (which is typically during off-peak hours but is up to the distributor).
5kWh. Single. Some quarters were 4kWh.
I can't see how this is possible. Do you not cook food, have a fridge or hot water?
Small fridge, small hot water system. Cook maybe 3 times a week, microwave reheating some other times. Also cook rice in microwave. Rarely use kettle or toaster.
No heating or AC. No electric blanket.
Not OP, but I live in an apartment by myself and my usage came in at 5.8kWh. Same time last year when I was not WFH it was 4.3. I have all of those things you mentioned except hot water, which is gas (and you just pay a set fee not tied to usage), but I usually have cold showers to help wake me up.
I think it comes down to thinking about where you are using it. Only thing that runs full time is the fridge, that whilst big is energy efficient. I rarely use air con or heating except for those stupidly hot days. I have a dishwasher but only use it when I'm hosting, normal nights it is just easier to do it by hand. Laundry is not that efficient but only use once a week. Oled TV I imagine is very energy efficient. Normally everything is off during the day and only on at night after work. I get enough light to not need the lights on most days, and at night the whole place can be lit by 2x 20w led lights. I probably cook half the nights, other nights I'm out. Lunch usually doesn't need cooking, at most the microwave.
Interestingly none of this was designed to save electricity, it was just that my lifestyle ended up being lowish power. If I want the aircon on I put it on and don't think about the money. It is just force of habit from my upbringing that if you are cold, put in a jumper and if you are hot, wear a singlet. I think the average person could drop their usage a lot if they think about it, but that would involve more effort than I ever put in.
I am the same. Live in a small apartment and really only use my computer and watch a tiny bit of TV. I do listen to music most hours of the day through a decent surround sound system. I use my dryer twice a week maybe. Other than that I'm the same. This last quarter April to June I used 6.8 and I WFH for all of that.
It's absolutely possible. I averaged 2.8 kWh/day for 22 Jun - 20 July. I have a fridge, freezer, microwave, etc - but gas HWS and cooktop.
Simple, get a smart plug like the tp link to monitor energy usage of the fish tank
Yeah I thought of that but the plug is behind the tank full with 1000L of water 😂
It’s an extension lead… which really isn’t too clever if we have an issue one day…
Go the old fashioned way and turn off everything else in the house, turn off hws etc at the meter and then check the smart meter. and then check it say 10 minutes later. times the difference by 6 to get an hours use.
Yeah, definitely recommend this. I bought one of these https://www.bunnings.com.au/tp-link-white-smart-wi-fi-wall-p…, is useful to see what things are actually drawing. Easy to setup, pretty rudimentary monitoring but good enough for what you want to do.
Then go and grab this which will allow you to monitor your real time usage and usage history:
Sounds high for 2 people @Voip
Mines at 17.9kwh (2 adults 2 kids) (and everyone's home now during Lockdown)
Wow, I better contact my provider and do an investigation. I wonder if I am paying for the Neibourgh as the meter is in the same box, maybe there is some confusion
17.9kWh sounds too low for a family…
<13 over here in June with 2+2 home all the time.
Wow that’s incredibly low?
@WoodYouLikeSomeCash: It must be the airfryer ;) Gas stove, water and heating though. April was 9kWh, May was 11kWh.
Mine was at 16.5 last quarter, and I thought that was high… Same period last year was 15.5.
2 Adults, 1 kid, all WFH, and we're not shy about using the air-con/heater.
According to my bill, average usage in the area for a 4 person household is 17kWh. I'm surprised by the number of >30s on here…
My numbers exactly. We have gas heater and stove though. I don't know what I do to result in a 10% usage increase each year? Other than use things 10% more.
That figure can never be achievable if you have electric hot water (not heat pump)
1136kw/month
7 Adults, 5 working from home 40 hours a week each
Seems like this works out to be 1.52kwh is that correct?
1136 / 30 ~= 37kwh / day
1.52kwh per hour x 24 hours = ~37kwh per day
used to easily average 35+ kwh / day - All electric household / Air Conditioning (only as needed)
~ 12 kwh / day for IT related (3-4 PCs, router, wifi, IP cams, NAS, etc.) all on 24/7 with UPS's.
~ 6 kwh / day for Pool/pump
~ 3-4 kwh / day for Hot Water
~ 3 kwh / day for Refrigeration (2 x Fridges 24/7)
~ 3-4 kwh / day for Cooking (stove/oven/microwave/coffee machine/kettle/etc)
~ 3 kwh / day for Cleaning (dishwasher / washing machine / clothes dryer) eg: 6kwh every 2nd day
~ 2-3 kwh / day for TV (65" TV for 8 hours) / Household Lighting / Standby usage
~ 6 kwh / day for Air Conditioning (as needed for 3 hours)
12kwh/day for IT stuff sounds insanely high!
Last quarter mine was 33 per day which is a 77% increase on the same time last year. I guess me working from home and the kids home schooling for a while really added a lot to my bill.
1/3 Of the energy Bill involve Heating and Cooling
Could be your Hot water tank ?
You might want adjust the hot water tank temperature to 50c
60c is the minimum if you dont want to get legionella
Better to change the hottie to economy tariff.
40kWh/day
2 Children and 2 Adults.
3.3kWh per day for an adult couple…no pets, living in a small unit
I use about 40-50 kWh/day. 2 people both WFH, a couple computers on 24/7 and electric hot water heater.
That seems high. We have 18kW with 2 people and 1 working from home. Computers turned off at night.
Yeah about 10-12 of that is the hot water heater. We usually have the heater on majority of the day and a couple inefficient servers running 24/7.
I have the PowerPal installed, which is helpful, but I've been meaning to hook up the power monitor to individual electronics and see what is actually being consumed
How is the PowerPal any good? Just googled it, sounds quite interesting!
@foolsgold: Yeah it's good. It's limited in that since I have a controlled load, it doesn't differentiate between the two usages, but other than that, it's good to get a quick look at what the current consumption rate is, and what turning things on and off is.
I've not used it too much so far, other than seeing what the different heater settings does to the consumption since I can't hook that up to a power monitor plug. It's a good tool to have, especially if you get it installed for free.
14, 3 of us, 40 square home with pool and ducted air. 2 work from home. 5kw Solar.
Last electricity bill was 18kWh per day
Only have one oil heater, one oven.
Gas water, heater and cook top (106MJ per day)
2 adults and two kids.
Our usage is around 39 per day. 2 ppl, 4 bedrooms, individual split systems heat/cool, separate Dyson heater, dishwasher, washing machine, dryer, oven, fish tank that's smaller than yours and with all those accessories, multiple computers/other IT stuff. Hot water system and cooktop on gas though. My bill is coming up to be about $250 a month since working from home.
Around 40kw a day. Pool, ducted air, 4 adults 1 child.
Australian average is about 22kWh a day, so you are high, but not ridiculously so.
Do you have halogen down lights? These use a lot of power unless replaced with LEDs.
Electric heaters use lots of power. A little fan heater turned on for 2 hours uses almost 5kWh. Consider getting reverse cycle Air Conditioning to heat longer term, works out a bout one fifth of the energy consumption for the same heat.
Is your hot water system using off peak? A hot water system will use around 7kWh per day if the water is being used.
I would also think the fish tank might be a culprit. My son has a couple of 2ft and 3ft tanks and they add a kWh or two each to the daily consumption. If you have the temp up quite warm, it could chew a lot of power.
Got pics of the tank? Would love to see it!
We use about 24-27KwH per day at the moment. That's with two of us working from home full time and 2 kids in the house. We have gas heating and hot water though. Our solar smart meter is very handy at working out how much each power things use. I thought that having a large French door fridge freezer, freestanding freezer in the garage and two under bench wine fridges would be major culprits, but I was wrong.
Electric oven/induction cook tops can use a lot, and with us at home all the time now has put up our power use a fair bit. The gas central heating uses about 1kw when it's running so that's also a fair bit given we're at home 24hrs in winter in Melbourne.
4 People | [EDIT] Electricity = 25 kWh per day | Gas = 112 MJ
6.5kwh/ day 2 person household
5 adults and at least 30kWh total per day. 10kWh of that is off peak hot water and it's crept up to 13 during winter. Gas heating. Installed solar panels last summer and the peak usage of 20kWh dropped to 8kWh but has risen during winter when we use more power after dark. Moving the pool pump timer to run during good solar hours saved 4kWh's.
What equipment do you have set up on your tank?