Field guide · No. 19 · Energy

Cut your power billwithout the guesswork

Practical, low-cost changes that genuinely trim energy use — ordered from free habits to small upgrades, and honest about which ones actually move the needle.

Start cost$0
Biggest leverHeating & cooling
EffortMostly habits
TiersFree → small spend

Plenty of energy advice is technically true but barely matters — switching off one phone charger saves cents a year. The changes worth your attention are the ones that target where the power actually goes. In most homes that's overwhelmingly heating and cooling, then hot water, then the big appliances. Everything else is a rounding error by comparison.

So this guide is ordered by impact, and split into tiers: free habits first, then cheap buys, then the small spends that pay back. Each tip carries an honest "impact" tag so you can spend your effort where it counts — not on the satisfying-but-tiny stuff.

Where the power actually goes

Target the big slices first
Heating & cooling~ 40%
Hot water~ 23%
Appliances & fridge~ 18%
Lighting~ 7%
Standby & the rest~ 12%
// Indicative split for a typical home — yours will vary with climate, house and habits. The point isn't the exact numbers; it's that heating, cooling and hot water dwarf everything else, so that's where savings live.
$0 · Free
Habits that cost nothing

Free changes, today

Pure habit shifts — no spending, no installs. Because they hit heating, cooling and hot water, these are quietly the highest-value moves in the whole guide.

Drop heating a degree or twoEach degree lower in winter (or higher on the AC in summer) cuts a noticeable slice off the biggest item on your bill. Layer up before you reach for the dial.
Big saving
Only heat or cool rooms you're inClose doors and shut vents to spare rooms. Heating the whole house to sit in one of it is the most common quiet waste.
Big saving
Shorter showers, cooler washesHot water is the second-biggest cost. Trimming shower time and washing clothes in cold water both add up fast.
Big saving
Use blinds and curtains as insulationClose them on hot afternoons to keep heat out, and on cold nights to hold warmth in. Free, and surprisingly effective.
Worth it
Run full loads, line-dry when you canFull dishwasher and washing loads, and skipping the clothes dryer in favour of the line, cut two of the hungrier appliances.
Worth it
Switch off at the wallStandby power is real but modest. Worth doing for entertainment units and chargers — just don't expect it to transform the bill.
Small saving
The trick

If you change one thing, make it the thermostat. Heating and cooling is roughly 40% of a typical bill, so a couple of degrees there beats a houseful of switched-off chargers many times over.

$ · Cheap buys
A few dollars, lasting savings

Small buys that pay back

A handful of inexpensive items — most under the cost of a single power bill — that keep saving long after you've bought them. These are the best value-for-money on the list.

Draught-proof doors and windowsDraught strips and door snakes stop warm or cool air leaking out. Sealing gaps is one of the cheapest ways to cut heating and cooling waste.
Big saving
Swap remaining bulbs to LEDLEDs use a fraction of the power of old bulbs and last for years. A one-off swap, then years of lower lighting cost.
Worth it
A water-saving showerheadCuts hot-water use every shower without you noticing the difference. Pays for itself within months on the hot-water portion of the bill.
Worth it
Door seals and a chimney balloonSeal the gaps under doors and block an unused fireplace — both leak heated air straight out, often without you realising.
Worth it
A simple timer or smart plugFor anything that doesn't need to run all day. Cheap, and stops forgotten appliances quietly drawing power.
Small saving
The trick

Spend the draught-proofing money before any gadget money. Sealing leaks makes whatever heating and cooling you do far more effective — it's the unglamorous fix with the best return on the list.

$$ · Worth budgeting
Bigger moves, bigger returns

Worth saving up for

Larger one-off changes that cost more upfront but deliver the deepest, longest savings. These are projects to plan rather than buy on a whim — and where it pays to compare quotes.

Improve ceiling insulationIf your roof space is poorly insulated, topping it up cuts heating and cooling loss dramatically. Often the single most effective home upgrade there is.
Big saving
Service or upgrade old heating/coolingAn old, inefficient system is the most expensive thing in the house to run. A modern reverse-cycle unit can use far less power for the same comfort.
Big saving
Choose efficient when appliances dieDon't replace early, but when a fridge, washer or hot-water system fails, the running-cost difference between models dwarfs the sticker-price gap.
Worth it
Heat-pump or solar hot waterHot water is a quarter of the bill. A heat-pump or solar system costs more upfront but slashes the running cost for a decade-plus.
Worth it
The honest take

These cost real money, so let them ride your replacement cycle — upgrade when the old thing dies, not before. Forced early, the payback is slow; timed to a natural replacement, it's close to free money over the appliance's life.

Worth-it or not?

Common savings myths, straightened out
?"Switch off every charger and standby light"
Real, but tiny. Standby is a small slice of the bill. Do it if it's easy, but don't mistake it for a serious saving — the thermostat matters far more.
?"Leaving heating low all day beats reheating"
Mostly a myth. For most homes, heating only when you're there and need it uses less than holding the whole house warm all day.
?"Closing doors to unused rooms helps"
True, and underrated. Shrinking the space you heat or cool is one of the simplest real savings — a genuine win, not a myth.
?"Energy-saving gadgets fix your bill"
Be wary. Most "miracle" plug-in savers do little. Boring basics — insulation, draughts, the thermostat — beat any gadget, every time.

This week's easy wins

// All free or nearly free. Start at the top.