Turn on to energy savings

from Our Home Winter 2022

Flick the switch

With the cost of electricity rising each year, homeowners are always looking for ways to be as energy efficient as possible to keep their bills down.

STORY: THOM MONAGHAN

There is a wide range of options for homeowners to be more “If you’re building a new home, or renovating, I’d recommend for you to sit energy efficient, from installing solar panels and using batteries so no electricity goes to waste, to utilising the latest technology and smart apps. Watters Electrical general manager Peter Copley said while these options on their own were effective choices, utilising a combination of them all was the best way to ensure that homeowners were being as energy efficient as possible. “Utilising solar. Utilising batteries. Utilising apps. That’s the best way to be as energy efficient as possible because they all complement each other,” Peter said. down with your electrician and come up with a plan to be as efficient as possible. “These days, you can set up your home so your essential power runs on one circuit, and your non-essential runs on another. “You could wire your ovens, fridges and freezers and whatnot onto their own circuit, whilst having all your other electronics such as TVs and lamps on their own circuit so when you go away, you can turn off the master switch without cutting off the essential power. “And if you are just looking to upgrade, speak to your solar installer or your battery installer and ask them

For Watters Electrical general manager Peter Copley, energy efficiency goes hand-in-hand with effective choices.

what you can do.” While solar panels can be seen as an expensive investment, Peter believes it is worth the cost for what it provides in the long term. “At the moment, the average price per kW is 28 cents, whilst on average, solar owners are getting paid six or seven cents for every kW they export back to the grid. That’s at least a 35 cent per kW saving which adds up.” However, unless homeowners with solar panels have a battery, they will be paying for any electricity used after the sun sets, amplifying the need for both solar panels and batteries, so any electricity that was generated during the day can be stored and used at night. “If you want to be as energy efficient as possible, solar is the way to go,” Peter said. “You’d be foolish not to use it.” Watters Electrical is at 19–35 New Dookie Rd, Shepparton.

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