We often come across Aussie householders whom could be saving far more off electricity costs, by simply changing electricity tariff type.
For example a Time Of Use [TOU] electricity tariff, is not necessarily the best tariff for you when you are a young family or an older couple. Simply because you may use high cost power [peak] and not be in a position to use more of the cheap power [off-peak], to offset the high cost of the peak. Thus you pay more!
Commonly the reason for this can be due to lifestyle restrictions. Affecting when the power is used based on the time of day. You know you have to feed young children or you may go to sleep quite early at night!
In these cases, the home could be better off on a flat or block / tiered electricity tariff. Now there are a few ways to check if your electricity tariff type is supplying you with the cheapest electricity costs, such as:
- ELECTRICITY METER & BILLING ANALYSIS
- ENERGY MONITORING WITH TARIFF COMPARISON
- Check Your Bill & Use The Calculator
What you need to understand first of all, is most electronic meters in Australia support ALL available electricity tariffs. If you have been forced onto a TOU tariff [commonly when solar power has been installed], then you need to discuss your options again, with your existing electricity retailer or switch. Not all electricity retailers have all the options!
Your freedom of choice Australian electricity tariffs are:
- Flat Rate : Charged the same for all your peak power [ie 24 cents] Commonly this is used alongside a controlled load tariff
- Increasing Block Rate [IBR] : Charged less for the first block / units of power kWh [ie 24 cents for 0 to 1000 kWh] then charged more for the next block [ie 27 cents 1001 to 2000 kWh]
- Decreasing Block Rate [DBR] : Charged more for the first block / units of power kWh [ie 27 cents for 0 to 1000 kWh] then charged less for the next block [ie 24 cents 1001 to 2000 kWh]
- Time Of Use [TOU] : Charged at different rates based on the time of day. [ie off-peak 22:000 to 07:00 18 cents / peak 14:00 to 20:00 48 cents / shoulder 07:00 to 14:00 & 20:00 to 22.00 34 cents / Weekends different]
- Controlled Loads : Available on all of the above tariff types. Used for the connection of hot water and other devices, such as pool pumps or large storage heaters. This controlled load rate being similar in cost to the off-peak price for a TOU.
1st Step : Understand fully what electricity tariff type your home is connected to.
2nd Step : Select a way to work out if the existing electricity tariff, truly is the best option for lowering electricity costs for your home.
If you are short of time and experience, then working this out with a calculator and taking meter readings is not for you.
3rd Step : You may wish to install a simple ENERGY MONITOR WITH TARIFF COMPARISON software, to supply you with the answer on auto-pilot.
Or pass the job over to the experts here at Aussie Home Energy where we will check your:
- Meter type
- Electricity tariff type
- Analyse your electricity bills
- Supply a list of cheaper electricity offers
See our ELECTRICITY METER & BILLING ANALYSIS for further information.
Note : Mechanical meters [clock face / spinning wheel do not support the TOU electricity tariff.
This blog post brought to you by Aussie Home Energy, a major player in the HOME ELECTRICITY SAVING SERVICE industry in Australia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
We have in the past disabled comments due to spam. It is in the interests of our readers for comments on posts to be meaningful and related to the post in question. We value your input where it is going to add value to our blog.