i went from $360 to $95
I moved out
I went from $326 to $85 a quarter
1.5kw solar and an Apricus Hot water
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i went from $360 to $95
I moved out
Last edited by ol' boy; 28-10-11 at 04:15 PM.
I wish i could
SS Dave
And everyone else is paying for it at 60 cents a unit.
I wonder what it would have cost if EVERYONE had been able to add the Solar planels?
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!
Qld is 44 cents only above what you use, not everything you produce.
i have installed LED downlights in my place, the light is great. I hope the bills are lower due to this.
Xplorer (29-10-11)
We've got friends that have normal downlights and keep complaining their bills are very high.
We are the same, have normal downlights throughout the whole house (not our doing), so we use lamps with energy saving globes trying to keep our bills down.
We have been considering going LED, but the expense in doing so has put it on hold.
I'm interested in knowing how much difference you experience.
I have a wine fridge, a chest freezer, a big fridge going non stop and also turn on a second large fridge for about a month a quarter,when I go for a big shopping trip.
2 LCD tvs and computer and assorted sat dvd etc a water pump and an electric stove/oven.
Major thing I changed is I turn the dishwasher on after 11 PM and bake and vacuum after sunset on the weekends to take advantage of the 10cent a Kw rate.
I also turn all the TV/ Computer stuff off at night with a power board so no stand by. (but did that before solar)
We have a electric oil filled heater that got about 4 hours use over the whole winter and we have ceiling fans for summer.(lots of sea breezes so you don't need a/c) (but did that before solar)
We have always had flouro lights everywhere for years.They get turned off after dinner as we usually sit in the dark its better for watching TV.(but did that before solar)
Xplorer (31-10-11)
good point, i now use a strip of leds at various places thru the house and are motion sensitive, last 12 mths 4 bills for free 2 bills to pay up, $24, $180, average bill was $180-200 b4 solar on 1.1kw/h setupMy LED downlights are 1.5w.
i paid about $40 per light. Globe / Housing / and driver(transformer) You can use a normal 12V transformer but the lights flicker and it was annoying so we went the proper drivers. 30000 hrs per globe is what we've been quoted on the life of a globe. A touch better than a halogen globe
Xplorer (31-10-11)
We went from a $700-$800 bill a quarter, to $346 last quarter...
We no longer use the Electric Stove, we now use the Wood Fired "Rayburn" stove (we have a good supply of our own Firewood)
& turned off two small deep freezes
there are still more things in the house, that could be turned off..... or turned on....to save more electricity
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Xplorer (31-10-11)
The Sydney Water Board have been mumbling that because people have economised and reduced consumption, they are not 'earning' as much as they think they should (needed or not I dont know) so their doing a 'Chinese Whisper' that they will have to increase prices.
Years ago when NSW went into DST because of limited Power supply, the suppliers began to realise they faced just such a situation and had to increase prices to make up for the shortfall.
This is going to happen again along with the new NSW State Government's possible backflip on not Privitising the State's Electrical system so no matter what happens, we will be like the Grapes in a wine press being squeezed every last drop or cent out of the crop.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!
gulliver (02-11-11)
Last 2 quarter's have been great with credits to our electricity account. The 60c rebate plus an extra 8c from AGL is doing wonders for our bill account. The bill we got last week had a $60 credit and the previous quarter was $16.
gordon, its probably not that much to do with consumption but more a case of more people having rainwater tanks. People still use the same amount of water, they are just using less of the supplied water.
There was a rumor up here in Newcastle that Hunter Water wants to stick a meter on your rainwater tank. The reason being that what ever water you are using about 90% goes down the sewer and should be charged accordingly.
Got a 1Kw system installed 3 years ago, have not paid an electricity bill in that time! My account is still $110 in credit.
Have got an 80W panel mounted on the garage charging batteries for the garden lights during the day, path lights come on at 8 and off at 7, all LEDs.
The only thing running during the day is the alarm, CCTV, fridge, bedsite clock, average house on standby is around 130W.
Most people dont know that their split system AC draws alot of power in standby, I used to see the electricity meter drawing 250W from time to time, ended up going to the switch board isolating every circuit and finding the offender. Only turn it back on in Summer and occasionally in winter.
my wife and i installed a 3kw solar system.
We went from 800 - 900 a quarter to about 300 - 400 we have not change our electricity habits yet, and we have not turned the fully ducted a/c on yet. we used gas for heating.
the cost of the solar was about 10k as we have 4kw inverter
That really is the answer when it comes to Electricity Bills!!!!
I have been trying to help people for 20 years with their usage, sooo many people are under the myth that "lighting" is the cause... pfft... Elec Stoves and HWS and Elec Panel heater (aka Nobo), clothes dryers, second and 3rd fridges/freezers are the cause... anything that is on for a reasonable length of time.
As much as changing to LED downlights will save you, its a bit of a wank really.
Its like buying silicon tires for your car when there are more savings by not using the A/C or driving hard.
Unless it is continuous bulk lighting... it really doesn't make up much percentage of your bill.
And as the OP has said his bill is now $85 a quarter.... christ, most suppliers are more than that just in charges without even adding usage costs.
Although the government has also taken this "lets attack lighting approach" as the new building code allows 5watts of lighting per square meter in new dwellings in Victoria.... meaning a standard bedroom has a maximum of 60watts of lighting to pass the building code. So the use of LED will come into its own just to pass this law... or a lot more 20watt downlight lamps at least.
Last edited by ol' boy; 31-10-11 at 12:46 PM.
OSIRUS (02-11-11)
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