A Hidden Reason Why Your Electricity Bill Rises

Always Check Your Electricity Bill

Checking the electricity block rate on your electricity bill is very important, when attempting to stay on top of rising power costs.

Whilst householders checking the tariff rate of the electricity bill can be praised, what is being missed by many, is the checking of the block rate quantities. 

In Australia you can be currently billed for your electricity on a single rate, block rate or time of use rate.

When electricity is billed using the block rate method, a consumer will be billed at different electricity tariff rates, for the different quantities of power used. For a sample home using 5000 kWh per bill we would expect to see on the electricity bill,

      0 to 1750 kWh at 24.5 cents per kWh = $428.75.
      1751 to 2750 kWh at 25.5 cents per kWh = $254.74.
      2751 plus at 34.5 cents per kWh = $776.25

      Total Cost Of Electricity Used = $1459.74.

So whilst you may be aware of the fact there is no change to the electricity tariff rate, whilst you are looking back over recent quarterly electricity bills, the size of the block quantity may have changed. And this change can be applied without notice at anytime by the electricity retailer.

It is up to you to notice this change, when you are investigating why your electricity costs have risen, when usage seems to be the same.

We would like to see any changes to the rates, easily summarised on the first page of electricity bills in Australia. Seems to difficult for the electricity retailers we have spoken to though!

Now there are a lot of homes in Australia being caught out by this type of change, where householders report the price of their electricity has not changed, nor the usage. And the question to our office is, "Why has my electricity bill gone up when nothing has changed?" Of course we know something has always changed!

So whilst the electricity tariff rate has not changed, when the block quantity does, this means you are now using more of the higher cost electricity. So your electricity bill rises and you are left scratching your head wondering why.

We know of households where the electricity rate has remained the same over a year, but the block quantity has changed with every electricity bill. We know householders do not see this change, until we point it out to them! 

So whilst it is good practise to focus on the kWh rate, make sure you also focus on the block quantity rate. Let us change the block rate in the above example, to show you this common hidden reason why the bill has risen.

      0 to 600 kWh at 24.5 cents per kWh = $147.00.
      601 to 1200 kWh at 25.5 cents per kWh = $152.74.
      1201 plus at 34.5 cents per kWh = $1311.00.

      Total Cost Of Electricity Used = $1610.74.

Now that is rise of $151 per bill, due to changes with the block quantities, when the tariff rate has remained unchanged. Showing you, you do indeed need to pay attention to the block quantity rate of every electricity bill, to stay on top of your power costs. 

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICES industry in Australia.

What Is Your Sunny Hour Electricity Use?

What Could You Be Saving?

When this question is asked to householders looking for savings on the electricity bill, most do not have a clue. Amazing as this sunny hour electricity use, can be offset by simply installing a solar power system.

Meaning you make your own power, that is simply used by your appliances, during the sunny hours of the day. 

Once you know the usage, you also know the electricity savings you will reap by installing a solar system. Now we are talking here about a solar system connected to the electricity supply via net metering.

This is where the power is for use firstly by the home. If not used then it goes back into the grid for maybe a small feed in tariff. So the winners here, are those homes that use six or more kilowatts of electricity during the sunny hours of the day.

Let us say you use around twelve kilowatts of power during these sunny hours. And that same power is costing you thirty-five cents per unit. Well our maths shows us that is four dollars and twenty cents per day, every day. and this is a cost you could be saving, off the electricity bill. 

As you can see there are excellent possible electricity bill savings to be made!

What needs to be discussed in further detail, is when you are using this power and the size of the loads in question, thus getting a more accurate idea of the true saving. All of these facts are easily discovered when a SOLAR POWER ASSESSMENT of your home is undertaken.

Now if you do not want a Solar Power Assessment you could work this out for yourself by simply reading your electricity meter, at the time the sun hits your roof and leaves your roof.

Another option is to install an ELECTRICITY MONITORING DEVICE where of course you will be able to learn far more, about electricity in your home other than the sunny hour usage.

So what are you waiting for? Solar Power is one of the best ways to save on electricity costs. Not in all cases, but where there is high sunny hour usage, it is sure a great winner!

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Becoming A Smarter Electricity User In Australia

Stop The Electricity Bill Headache

At Aussie Home Energy we are constantly on the lookout for those people, whom are stuck in a rut with their electricity costs and do not know where to start in doing something about it!

For many of our clients, life is very busy and there is little time to spend on trying to discover the reasons why their electricity costs, are out of control. So realise this now, you are not alone if you are also finding,

• You are often ignoring the electricity bill
• You do not have a clue to understanding the bill
• And you do not know where to start

These common reasons for electricity costs being out of control are a headache for many householders. A headache that has moved recently to migraine severity, after recent rises in electricity tariffs and service costs across Australia.

Unfortunately until the time is found, or contact is made with HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION professionals, nothing much will change for many of these householders.

They will keep on suffering due to,

• Constantly ignoring the electricity bill
• No understanding of the bill's contents

All made worse when there is little time for many householders and the pressure is there to 'pay on time', or get a fine from the electricity retailer.

Now if this sounds like you, then call our office and we will help you move on from the years of being stuck in an electricity cost nightmare!

Let us help you to stop the next electricity bill, from hitting that nerve! You may end up like most of our clients, looking forward to the electricity bills, where they constantly see electricity cost savings.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

A Website Full Of Electricity Savings Solutions

As our Electricity Savings Solutions website has grown over the years, so has the complexity of the information. 

We have therefore introduced a new menu at the bottom of every page, with the goal of helping you find the information you are looking for a lot easier and importantly quicker.

Services Introduction To Services Sydney Home Power Audit In-Home Electricity Audit Telephone Consultation Metering & Billing Check Strata Power Presentation Sustainability Assessment Solar Power Assessment LED Light Assessment Monitor Data Online Service Monitor Data Extraction Free Advice Friday Aussie Home Energy Home Page About Us Contact Us Service Area Support FAQ Legal Media Business Networking Testimonials Helping The Community Event Calendar Site Map Payment Options Solar Power Introduction To Solar PV Solar Power Assessment Solar Power Monitoring Maximising Solar PV Gain Solar PV Solutions Solar PV Output Factors NET Fit Metering & Billing Types Of Solar PV Meter Energy Calculators CO2 Calculator Energy Costs Calculator News & Videos Website News Electricity News AUS CO2 New AUS Renewable Energy News AUS Energy Saving Videos Social Networking Networks Blog Forum Newsletter

Products 24/7 Monitoring Standby Elimination Switch Solar Power Monitoring Introduction To Monitoring Selecting Your Monitor Monitoring Software Monitoring Web Portals Monitor Data Online Service Solar Power Monitoring Monitoring Solution Ideas Monitor To DIY Audit Tool Complex Monitoring Apps Getting Your Data Online Sample Of Online Clients DIY Electricity Audit Self Audit Solution Spreadsheets & Forms Guides Surveys Energy Reduction Guides Help Us With Our Surveys Electricity Information  Introduction To Supply Electricity Retailers Electricity Distributors What Is Standby Electricity? Electricity Supply Problems Electricity Billing Electricity Concerns Home Energy LPG & Natural Gas Mains & Tank Water Lighting LED Light Assessment Low Energy Lighting LED Comparison Tests Links Energy Saving Complex Monitoring Apps Subscription Email & RSS Subscriptions

Electricity Retailer's Customer Service QOS Powers Debate

Not Happy Jan!

There is so much discussion within Australian households, on the quality of Electricity Retailer's QOS [quality of service], when it comes to finding out what is on offer from their Customer Service centre.

Is it not that long ago where a smart business said such comments as, 'the customer is always right'. Of course everyone has heard this line, which relates to a business wanting to retain it's clients and thus treats then with respect to do so.

Well this clearly is not the case with Australian Electricity Retailers. It appears there is little respect shown for the client and no real effort made to retain the client before, during or after a dispute.

For sometime now at Aussie Home Energy, we have been amazed at what the Electricity Retailer's customer service operatives seem to offer. Where we continually hear that the customer is NOT CORRECT!

A lot of the time we would argue it is the Australian Electricity Retailer's whom are NOT CORRECT! Not at all correct on such issues as,

• Knowing if off-peak electricity is available on-site
• Knowing what hardware is actually installed on-site
• Knowing the correct meter id numbers on-site
• Billing errors with very simple maths
• Billing errors with two electricity tariff types

Now whilst we could list many more issues, the point here is there seems to little progress being made, from what we see and hear, in sorting out these very basic issues.

The client's we visit, seem to have very basic errors with their metering and billing. Errors that should not be there in the first place and at least be very easy to fix over the phone!

The errors are almost 100% of the time, very difficult to fix over the phone! WHY? Because often the householder according to the Electricity Retailer is NOT CORRECT! And in some case photographic information is not enough! In such cases as this the Electricity Retailer is simply not interested, to fixing the issue FAST! 

Add from the Electricity Retailer's Customer Service department a little rudeness, a lack of respect, incorrect facts and more poor QOS and it is no wonder there are many Aussie householders, whom are in a state of disbelief with their electricity billing!

Could all of this poor QOS stem from the poor systems in place for tracking hardware, or the lack of hardware checking, or the sharing / access of information between electricity distributor's and retailer's computer systems. Add to this, possible poor system management and a lack of quality staff training and it is not to hard to understand why householders around Australia have just about had enough.

And when a householder has had enough BAD Customer Service from an Electricity Retailer they do one or both of the following,

They MOVE Electricity Retailers & Call The Ombudsman.

This surely is not the road to progress! Moving electricity retailers is a known area we would say, where errors can occur, so this can create more of the same issues.

Contacting the Ombudsman means creating a case and this takes valuable householder's time. And all of the Ombudsman around Australia, are reporting shocking rises in the number of electricity billing complaints.

• So why is it, the Australian householder is having to suffer all of this heart ache?
• Is it not to hard for the correct regulatory bodies to lay down the correct regulation to stop these very simple errors?
• Why do the Electricity Retailer's themselves seem to be at a loss to driving their own business improvement? 
• What about an Electricity Retailer Customer Survey? 
• Would this not answer a lot of the questions on what needs to be improved?
• Why not use the same team to carry out such a survey. That same team that annoyed all the householders with the constant door knocking to switch electricity retailer's.

Until major development and progress occurs, it would seem the Aussie householder is going to remain in a state of suffering. Suffering from these very, very basic Electricity Retailer errors.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Solar Power Data Logging Via Remote Connection

Monitor Your Solar PV Remotely

There are so many reasons for looking at remote access Solar Power Data Logging. You may have seen a suitable SOLAR POWER SOFTWARE APPLICATION, that unfortunately is not available for your OS on your main computer, or the software provides everything you want, except for uploading the data to where you can access it remotely.

In such cases have you ever thought of logging into the solar data logger computer via a remote connection. You may not be aware Windows offers you this service, but often it is time consuming to setup and you need a certain level of expertise. 

So welcome to Splashtop, which allows you to do this very easily. You simply create a username and password, then select the necessary downloads for your hardware.

We were suprised to find we had the Splashtop system up and running, in less than ten minutes.

The scenario we used Splashtop for initially, was to get data from our SOLAR POWER DATA LOGGER software application onto a tablet and mobile phone, for remote access. 

Remote Solar Power Monitoring

On site with the solar array we left a small cheap to run Windows laptop. Being able to access this PC was a breeze with Splashtop.

Take a look at the SPLASHTOP website, where you will find a full list of supported operating systems and hardware.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Shocking Rise In Electricity Complaints

Electricity Complaint Hotline

Is the NSW electricity retail system broken, when it comes to accuracy, honesty and fairness?

Is it just NSW or are the type of issues systemic across Australia?

Why does there appear to be a growing number of issues being reported to the NSW Energy & Water Ombudsman, that can only be thought of as fraudulent or having the aroma of 'bad faith'?

Such issues as,

• Thousands of householders having their electricity accounts transferred to new suppliers in error, or without their consent. Accounts transferred in error surged by 90 per cent, while accounts transferred without consent rose 84 per cent

• Complaints about electricity companies rose by more than 50 per cent to 29,924 over the past year, hitting all-time highs according to the Energy & Water Ombudsman

• Poor electricity retailer staff-training and inflexibility in handling customer issues, have resulted in more disputes being forwarded to the Ombudsman

So what is the fix, for what we can only describe as very basic errors due to a lack of ground level training, control, regulation, rules, ethics, enforcement and so on?

To read more about this issue, visit the Sydney Morning Herald for their report on the SHOCKING RISE IN ELECTRICITY COMPLAINTS. 

Visit our ELECTRICITY BILLING ERRORS for more examples.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

6 Cases Of Electricity Billing And Metering Errors

Electricity Errors Help No One

Or should we be saying, 6 GOOD REASONS electricity billing and metering, needs to be improved and better regulated and further standardised in Australia.

Being a small ELECTRICITY AUDIT BUSINESS involved with the everyday sorting of electricity billing, metering and usage issues for householders and small business in Australia, you would think the metering and billing errors we see are far and few. We would say errors of this type, some detailed here in this blog post, account for more that 20% of our ELECTRICITY AUDIT SERVICE requests.


Business Client : Six electricity meters present with the client being billed for six meters. An electricity meter was sited that only appeared on one electricity bill during the year, whilst still being active in realtime. Another electricity meter was on all of the electricity bills with considerable cost shown, but was not found to be on site. In fact this phantom electricity meter was reported as not being listed or registered / active in NSW by the electricity distributor.

Residential Client : An elderly couple whom moved into a home eighteen months ago, had a new electricity meter installed at that time, as the original was faulty. They had only ever been charged for off-peak electricity during this eighteen month period after the new meter installation.

Residential Client : Hot water was being billed on the peak tariff, even though the ripple controller and off-peak meter was present and being seen as active by the electricity distributor and noted by the householder. The electricity retailer denying the off-peak meter was installed and the client was mistaken. Photographs were not evidence enough with this retailer to make the case!

Residential Client : Electricity billing errors on a TOU tariff, where two rates for each tariff are stated on the bill due to a price change. The problem being the first price rate for each tariff was not correctly computed resulting in a over charge, on each tariff. The multiplication of kWh used and cost did not compute. It is thought this is not to be client specific and could be a systemic billing error, by this electricity retailer. This electricity issue is still under investigation.

Residential Client : The householder was informed by the electricity retailer a TOU tariff was in force. In fact the client was being billed on a tiered rate with a hybrid electricity bill showing some details of a TOU graph and table. No TOU meter was installed and the electricity retailer was informed of this. This error by the electricity retailer was stopping the householder from sorting other electricity hardware issues.

Residential Client : Hot water found to be using 100% peak electricity. The householder was informed by the electricity retailer off-peak was not available, in any case! Off-peak electricity was in fact available and a new off peak meter was installed.


With most of the cases we come across the electricity issue is eventually solved, but why is it so difficult to solve and why is the client often treated as an idiot by the electricity retailer?

Being treated like an idiot only results in more householders changing electricity retailer, with this action opening up the chance for error yet again.

Is it not time we had more regulation to stop these simple basic issues appearing time and time again?

Visit our ELECTRICITY BILLING ERRORS for more examples.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Is Your Solar Power Monitor Measuring Electricity Consumption?

Electricity Consumption Monitoring

A lot of homes with SOLAR POWER MONITORING via bluetooth or wi-fi connection from the inverter, lack home electricity consumption monitoring. 

And where net metering is installed at the property, your home electricity consumption and solar generation are both as important. You really need to know them both!

If you know what you are generating but not consuming in a net metering environment, how do you maximise the gain of your system.

Could you be letting valuable energy slip out to the grid at only 8 cents per kilowatt?

Could you be using more electricity from the roof, when it could be worth up to 55 cents on a TOU tariff?

How do you know you are not using more electricity than is being generated, meaning you are now importing electricity? You could use less now and more later, but when?

It is with no answers to questions such as this, that prove there is no way you can efficiently manage the cost effectiveness of such a system.  

Simply put if you are generating electricity and have no idea of the power consumption, then you are losing out as you do not have the necessary tools to know otherwise.

By adding a simple ELECTRICITY MONITORING SOLUTION to your house, for the purpose of measuring the electricity consumption, then of course you are now in a position to make the best decisions based on generated electricity and consumed electricity.

To learn more about the monitoring and analysis of your electricity usage and solar pv system's output, visit our ONLINE ELECTRICITY MONITORING page, where we make the task of getting your data online, very easy.

Sep 2015 : See our addition to this post, where we discuss a great SOLAR PV MONITORING ANDROID APP suitable for all net metering environments.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY SAVING SERVICE industry in Australia.

7 Easy Ways To Improve Electricity Billing In Australia

After checking the billing components of various Australian electricity bills, offered to householders in New South Wales, we would suggest there are many changes to be made, to help add clarity to residential electricity billing.

Changes and improvements that allow the householder and electricity retailer, to reduce the number of times confusion arises, due to incorrect or lack of information.


1. A STANDARD COMMON LAYOUT offered by all electricity retailers is sought. Retailers can add to occurring errors, by constantly encouraging householders to change their electricity plans, to further save off costs. This constant changing back and forth along with different billing layouts, increases the total confusion by the householder and also can add the chance of error from moving billing from one computer system to another.

Required is a simple and easy to understand layout, designed and tested to help the Aussie householder understand the electricity bill. When you are faced with a variety of electricity bills from many retailers in a day as we are, it makes you realise how varied these electricity bills are in layout and design. 

There does not seem to be a logical structure with some of the electricity bills offered.


2. EASY TO UNDERSTAND CONTENT which is designed to make the electricity bill an easy read 100% of the time. The electricity bill has for to long, been a 'no go' area for many householders. Due often to the complexity of the bill. With the increase in electricity costs, householders need to be able to understand the bill quickly.

We have seem some electricity bills that are so complex, on some occasions they are not even fully understood, by the electricity retailer's telephone contact!


3. TIME OF USE COST ANALYSIS for a true understanding of this tariff's costs. Electricity retailers provide a usage graph related to the Time Of Use tariff, so why not offer one with the cost analysis of the same.

It is all very good to pat the householder on the back for using only 25% of peak electricity, without pointing out that this same usage, could be accounting for close to 50% of the electricity costs! This is very misleading as the householder thinks they are doing the right thing, whilst they could still be doing far more to reduce their electricity costs, if the tariff was understood 100%!


4. NUMBER OF DAYS BILLED FOR needs to be clearer and highlighted more, to reduce the chance of the householder thinking they have used more electricity, for a standard period. 

We have seen electricity bills for 83 days to 125 days. Meaning a large electricity bill can all of a sudden ring alarm bells for many householders and create unwanted stress. The householder thinking they have used far more electricity. And for this same unknown reason they are being billed for a far greater amount than normal! 

When in fact they may have used the same, amount of power per day. The number of days needs to stand out like the total cost! Is this practice of better clarity not going to result in less phone calls to the retailer? 


5. TIME OF USE TARIFF TIMES are not stated on any electricity bill we have seen in NSW. Time Of Use electricity bills need to contain the time of use tariff information. 

Whilst some homes may have a variety of in-date or out-of-date Time Of Use stickers on the fridge, not many homes fully understand their current TOU tariff times. 

This data needs to be added to the electricity bill, so the householder can manage their costs better. Which is it not, the main reason the householder is on the TOU tariff according to the electricity retailer? We would argue that managing and reducing, are two very different subjects, when it comes to the electricity bill.


6. METER TYPE & TARIFF TYPE are not often known or understood fully by the householder. The type of meter installed by the electricity distributor could help a lot of householders with issues related to meter. During discussion with the retailer about billing, the meter type is important as it can help to clarify certain aspects of the billing.

For example in a home with three mechanical spinning disks meters, the householder thought they had a digital meter, after speaking to the electricity retailer's support centre. No digital meter was present and no time of use tariff was in force, as discussed by the electricity retailer. A tiered rate tariff in fact was current with an electricity bill showing both tiered rate billing and graphs for a TOU tariff. Totally confusing! 

Now whilst this may have occurred during a changeover of retailers, it would certainly have helped reduce the confusion in the home. Especially where the retailer thinks they are correct and in fact in this case were mistaken. Meter type and tariff type clearly needs to be stated at the beginning of the electricity bill.


7. ELECTRICITY RETAILERS PLAN NAME can be sometime really difficult to find on the electricity bill. And even harder on some electricity retailer's websites, unless you sign up for the plan! Should we not have access to the information before deciding to commit? This needed information is not on all electricity bills.

It is often easy to see the tariff rate, but if other information is sought after by the householder, for let us say on off-peak options, these may differ where there are many types of plan. Sometimes we know the householder thinks they are on a certain plan, with the retailer saying they are on another plan. 

Questions then arise as to whether this changed without the householder's knowledge. Confusion and disagreement easily arise in this environment. The plan name needs to be added to the main page of the electricity bill.


As we can see a little basic information provided by the electricity retailers in a common and standard format, will assist in helping to make the electricity bill easily understood by many householders in Australia. This is not rocket science!

This is just a starting point for electricity bill improvement in Australia.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Why It Pays To Check For Electricity Bill Errors

Let's face it, we live in an automated society where electricity billing is left to the programmers and computer systems. The electricity bill nowadays for many householders, is often paid in a rush. This results in a lack of time for analysis. With further pressure being applied by the electricity retailers, to 'pay on time'. This 'paying on time' carrot, results in a nice hefty discount for many homes!

At Aussie Home Energy we have a different outlook regarding the attractive 'pay on time' discounts.

NOT Paying On Time Gets You A Fine!

And a fine of 17% for late payment can seriously hurt the bottom line!

With the pressure of 'paying on time', the busy household does not take the time to check the electricity bill. Once paid the electricity bill is filed away in many homes.

We often say not checking the electricity bill means you are going to remain solely a bill payer. None the wiser to your electricity usage, or electricity billing. 

So why not start taking the time to check your electricity bill?

Let's say you take a full 15 MINUTES out of your hectic lifestyle once every three months, to check your electricity bill. What could you discover? Are there really errors within Australian electricity bills?

The sample electricity bill shown here may answer that question. Whilst we are not going to mention whom the electricity retailer is whom supplied this bill, it does back up our statement that you need to check your electricity bill for accuracy. 

Checking The Electricity Bill Can Save You

Remember in most cases your electricity bill is generated by a computer system, with ONLY YOU to check the accuracy of the bill! If you think your electricity bill is checked for accuracy by a human, think again!

Take a look at the sample electricity bill and see if you can spot the errors. In this case the errors are almost double any 17% discount! 

The total cost with errors for the electricity usage in our sample is $923.66. What is the correct total?

If you wish to add the maths with your comments, then please do.

Visit our ELECTRICITY BILLING ERRORS page for more fine Aussie examples.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Aussies Blinkered To Reducing Electricity Usage

See The TRUE Savings!

Why is it that everyone seems to be abnormally focused, just on the cost of the electricity unit?

Why is there little focus on reducing the electricity usage in the average Australian home?

We would argue that reducing electricity, is far more important than a small reduction offered by the electricity retailer, per electricity unit. After all you could possibly save far more, than ten or twelve per cent off the electricity usage costs if you reduced all of the wasted electricity in your home and also used it more efficiently.

Ask yourself are you aware of where you are using electricity in your home, when you using it and how much? Why not?

Imagine driving a car where you do not know how much petrol you have, how much petrol you use, how far you have gone and how far you have to go, to reach your destination. Imagine if that very useful dashboard, was simply not there! You would simply be out of touch big time, YES? You would not have a clue!

And guess what, this is where most Australian householders are when it comes to electricity usage and costs. Did you know there is a home dashboard for your electricity usage and costs? YES it is called a HOME ELECTRICITY MONITOR. And household electricity monitors have been on the market for well over five years!

These electricity monitors when installed in a typical Sydney home, often pay for themselves within the first quarter, sometimes many times over, with the electricity savings that are easily highlighted to everyone in the home. And it is not just the savings in electricity costs that are important, but more so the increased electricity reduction awareness.

Those householders that have taken the time to learn, where and when electricity usage occurs and what the cost is regarding the electricity used, simply know how to make electricity savings easily. Once they know this basic electricity information, they are in an educated position to make such decisions as,

• Whether solar will work for their home.
• How to reduce ALL standby electricity.
• How to keep track 24/7 of electricity usage and costs. 
• What the best electricity deal on the table is.

With no information on electricity usage and costs, guaranteed is the fact you will always remain in one place. The place of being 100% of the time, just a bill payer! Not knowing and repeatedly just paying the never increasing electricity bill. Being often kept forcibly in the loop by rushing to pay the bill on time, so as to not lose the 'pay on time' discount, offered by the electricity retailer! And the electricity retailer, LOVES people who are just bill payers, especially when they are using far more electricity than they would be, if they became Smart Electricity Users.

Of course once the electricity bill is paid, our everyday busy lifestyles means we file away the settled electricity bill. Learning absolutely nothing again of the electricity usage. And then we repeat the same process again and again.

And this is why most Australian households know little. And we end up with the situation of very happy electricity retailers and not so happy electricity users. The retailers know it is hard for the user to break the habit of just going ahead time and time again, to pay the electricity bill on-time with little resistance to anything else.

And if you are not educated at all on the electricity metering and billing, well than it is hard for you to understand how to discuss electricity usage and costs in detail, or even start to think about making a case for discussion.

If you were a little more power savvy on the other hand, you may notice what other householders notice, with that little electricity reduction knowledge at hand.

Ask yourself why is it that households similar to your own, are using less power? This is a common discussion we have with clients when starting a HOME ELECTRICITY AUDIT. Householders often think there is a problem with the meter, the billing or the appliances. Often there is not! It is the unknown usage that is the issue raising the electricity costs!

The biggest problem is that there have been far to many years of electricity bill darkness, for many householders. And most householders are simply using more and more electricity. It is not hard to fall into the trap of buying an efficient appliance that uses more power due to the increase in components, features or size. Most people look at the stars but not the energy used!

If you really do want to move on from being just an electricity bill payer, then Aussie Home Energy has more than a handful of ELECTRICITY SAVING SOLUTIONS, to help remove those electricity usage and cost blinkers!

Become a smart electricity user and call Aussie Home Energy today for HELP!

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Help For Electricity Billing Problems In Australia

Help With Electricity Billing Problems

If you are seeking help with your electricity billing problems, then please visit our website where besides highlighting common areas of concern amongst Australian householders, we offer you electricity billing suggestions.

All of our electricity bill advice helping you to increase your understanding of electricity supply and billing. Assisting you in finding a solution or being in a suitable situation to take the correct educated action.

• ELECTRICITY SUPPLY An easy introduction into electricity supply, metering and tariffs.

• ELECTRICITY BILLING Increasing your awareness of how to understand the bill 100%.

• ELECTRICITY PROBLEMS What to do when you have electricity meter & billing issues.

• ELECTRICITY RETAILERS All about electricity distributors, retailers and discounted offers.

• ELECTRICITY NEWS The latest Australian news talking about electricity.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Give The Switch The Flick & Reduce Your Power Usage

Now surely in an educated smart society, it is common knowledge that using more electricity costs more? So why are we finding it HARD to use less?

Why are most Australian households fixated on the cost of the kWh? Hours spent on shopping for the best kWh rate. Why not spend the same time working out where you are using the electricity and how to reduce the usage?

Remember this,

USE LESS AND YOUR BILLED LESS

Now this is a 100% sure way to save off electricity costs.

At Aussie Home Energy we help all of our clients to save by using common sense approaches. And they all save!

The idea of using more and paying less is a short lived game. It can only go on for so long and then you will be paying more because you are using more!

Reduce the usage and give the switch the flick in your home. Start saving the smart way today.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

In-Home Electricity Audit Service

Electricity Audit Service

At the top of our Home Electricity Reduction Services is our IN-HOME ELECTRICITY AUDITING SERVICE. Professionally designed to pinpoint why your electricity bill is so high and what you can do to reduce the bill and save hundreds of dollars.

This service primarily targets Aussie householders with major concerns over rising electricity costs. Where electricity use can be totally out of control! 

When is your electricity bill going to push a button?

The electricity audit is designed to create awareness and importantly educate you on all aspects of, 

• Understanding your electricity bill
• Home electricity use
• Energy efficient appliances
• Electricity monitoring
• Electricity retailer's options
• Electricity standby costs
• Electricity tariffs
• Energy efficiency versus energy use

Our Home Electricity Usage Audit will offer you clarity on issues such as,

• The true cost of standby in your home, due to appliances being left on
• The true cost of a 250L HW system and what you are not being told
• How much it costs you to run a pool pump
• Where you are using the most electricity in your home
• What the most effective / efficient form of electric heating is

Now there is really no reason to guess anymore! Guess work that has so far cost you dearly on each and every electricity bill! And of course will continue to do so, unless you take action today!

Our Home Electricity Audit comes complete with a detailed report.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.

Can I Expand My NSW 60 Cent Gross Solar System?

NSW SBS 60 Cent Gross Options

The following is extracted from the NSW Trade & Investment's SOLAR BONUS SCHEME web page, primarily for adding clarity to questions from the Australian householder, regarding the available options when it comes to modifications to existing solar systems.

I am a 60 cent Solar Bonus Scheme customer. I wish to expand the generating capacity of my solar system. What are my options?

NSW Solar Bonus Scheme customers receiving the 60 cents per kilowatt hour tariff who increase their Scheme generator’s capacity will move to the 20 cents per kilowatt hour tariff unless the components (for the expansion) were purchased on or before 27 October 2010.

The customer will remain eligible for the 20 cent tariff provided the system does not exceed 10 kilowatts (kW) of generation capacity.

Alternatively, Solar Bonus Scheme customers who receive the 60 cents per kilowatt hour tariff MAY EXPAND their overall generating capacity and retain the 60 cents tariff for their Scheme generator, if the additional capacity is from a separately metered non-Scheme generator.

No Scheme payments are available for the non-Scheme generator. Customers should check what feed-in tariffs are available and confirm with their preferred retailer whether they will pay a non-Scheme tariff in addition to the Scheme tariff. At the time of writing this entry in NSW this is 6 or 8 cents per exported kilowatt.

Customers should consider how the expansion of their solar PV system will affect Scheme tariff payments and other benefits before deciding to expand the generating capacity of their solar PV system.

For detailed information on the effect of expanding a 60 cent or 20 cent GROSS system visit the NSW Trade & Investment's SOLAR BONUS SCHEME web page.

This blog post and podcast brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY REDUCTION SERVICE industry in Australia.