The most energy-consuming appliances in your home
As the cost of living continues to rise, families across Australia are trying to find ways to save in any place they can.
Many are looking to their energy bills to find ways to reduce spending.
With household appliances accounting for an average of 25 per cent of total residential energy consumption across Australia (according to Yourhome.gov.au, Australia's guide to environmentally sustainable homes, the ones we use the most may be a good place to start.
Continue to see which appliances use the most energy and ways to reduce consumption.
TVs and home entertainment systems
TVs and home entertainment equipment make up around five per cent of total household energy use.
TVs that are bigger and have higher resolutions such as 4K UHD, full HD, and 8k consume more energy.
Energy consumption for TVs with LED and OLED screens can be reduced by turning down the brightness, though this may reduce the contrast ratio for OLEDs.
TVs and home entertainment systems
It is a good idea to limit the number of individual home entertainment devices and instead find a single device with multiple functions in order to reduce purchase and ongoing costs.
Try to only have these devices turned on for a short period of time, and shut them off from the power switch to further reduce the costs of the devices constantly being on standby. Stand-by electricity controller or power strips can also be used to turn the devices off in one go and make it easier to build the habit.
Another way to cut costs is to consider whether game consoles need constant connection to the internet. This can consume more electricity, even when not in use, as is the case for peripheral devices. Connecting only when required doesn't take more than a few minutes and can save a lot of money in the long run.
Kitchen appliances
Cooking appliances use about five per cent of energy, according to the Australian Department of Energy and SA Department of Energy and Mining.
Per hour, an oven takes $0.48 to operate, as does a cooktop per burner, and a griller takes anywhere from $0.24 - $0.48 to use.
However, benchtop appliances such as the beloved air fryer and sandwich grills can take up less energy.
Dishwasher
Dishwashers use a lot of water and one per cent of all energy – and though it may not seem like much, it adds up.
Scraping plates and not pre-rinsing, waiting for it to be full to run, not over-packing the machine, using the correct setting, using good detergent and cleaning the machine can help it run smoother and prevent unnecessary costs.
Fridges and freezers
Many of us grew up with or currently have a "garage fridge", aka a second older fridge for more space.
But keeping a second fridge – especially in a hot location like a garage or a veranda – can cost around $200 or more a year to run.
Washing machine and dryer
Washing machines and clothes dryers take up a lot of energy considering the short amount of time they are used, with dryers themselves making up 10 per cent of the total household energy consumption for those who use them often.
There are many ways to combat excessive costs when operating a washing machine, which include washing a full load every time, using the suds-saver and economy cycle functions, using cold water to wash rather than warm or hot water which can use anywhere from 50-85 per cent more energy depending on whether you have a front or top loader.
Washing machine and dryer
The first option to reduce dryer usage costs is to of course consider drying clothes on a rack or clothesline.
Drying clothes indoors can bring about concerns of mould developing, but this can be easily rectified with a dehumidifier. Though this will also contribute to electricity costs, it's usage can be limited to when clothes are drying inside.
Avoid putting sopping wet clothes in the dryer as it wastes unnecessary energy and instead run an extra spin cycle to make sure a majority of the water is gone.
Also consider using the dryer on medium instead of high, and avoid overloading and over drying as both waste more energy than needed.
Maintaining your dryer by cleaning the lint filter after every use and externally venting it to remove moist air can help it not work as hard.
Swimming pool
Pool maintenance can be a huge expense, with pool pumps taking up to 18 per cent of household energy consumption.
This can be offset by using a pool cover when not in use, running pumps at off-peak times, and frequent cleaning of pool filters.
You can also ask your pool contractor to set the pool temperature and pump running times, as reducing the temperature by even one degree can save 10 to 30 per cent of your energy costs.
Heaters and coolers
By far the highest consumption of energy are heating and cooling machines, using around 40 per cent of household energy use.
Using combined heating and cooling options like reverse cycle air-conditioners, hydronic systems and ground-source heat pumps can help offset costs.
Having a correctly-sized system for your home can also go a long way, since buying one that is too large or too small may result in more unnecessary energy use and more bills.
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