Hi guys, just got my electricity bill for the period 5th June - 5th July … and it's $359.
I'm on the AGL Value Saver plan (time of use meter). 1,125 kWh usage. Use ducted heating ~4hrs per day. Hot water and cooking is gas!
I am in Sydney on Ausgrid network.
What is going on here.
EDIT: I have an electric meter and the readings are actual, not estimates.
That would be too simple
I read 'I use ducted heating' and was wondering how he kept it to only $359
100% this, especially on time of use
Can you see your electricity meter and can you see what the start read and end read of your bill says? Do they align and does it align with the previous bill? Does the read in this bill say the actual meter read or "expected/estimated".
Have an electric meter so always have actual readings.
Its normal to pay this amount in winter, its called INFLATION!
Thats not actually the case. Can be faulty communications causing estimates. Your bill should confirm the type of read though
What is going on here
Well assuming both start and end readings are actual and not estimated, I'd say
1) you consumed 1125kwh
2) that's an average of 37.5kwh/day
3) you have a $359 bill for the month
4) that's an average of about $12/day
5) that's an average elec rate of about 32c/kWh which seems about right considering the current elec rates out there
Seems pretty logical
I'm sure dumping that info chatgpt could give you an even more detailed breakdown
Yep, heating at night is expensive. Set your air con timer right and you should only need 1hr of heating right before you go to bed + 1hr of heating in the morning right before you get up. Otherwise the aircon will be going all night long and your bill will be through the roof.
I'm in SA, which is even more expensive than NSW and we run ours all night. My bill was only $145 for the same period of time as OP.
Different system, house size and and insulation….
Op is using gas to heat, the fan shouldn't use much electricity
ETA looks like they're also using oil fin heaters at night, a detail that needs to be in the original post.
Obviously that is the reason.
Why do people insist on keeping their homes above 20c at night when sleeping is beyond my comprehension.
I set my rcac at 16.5, turn on electric blankets before bed then off when in bed and try to run appliances during the day when solar output is highest.
For my case, I've got a baby, and it's inadvisable to use heated blankets etc with them. I set baby's room to 20c; and I sleep in the baby's room. Before the baby i would raw dog no room heating, just electric blanket, which uses piss all (<50w == 0.05kw/h). The partner sleeps in their own room; set at a very toasty 26c… so now we've got two rooms going :(
I put my oil heater on a smart plug to be only on between 3am-6am which is the coldest period of a day.
I love these breakdowns
Roommate mining crypto?
Shhh! I was able to mine $3.76 of bitcoin last month
just hold onto it for another 69 years
Use ducted heating ~4hrs per day.
OzBargainers should be using their unmetered gas cooktop for heating.
/$
And deals on fire pits and heat bricks??
"Sir, there are six cinder blocks missing…"
"There will be no hospital then, I'll tell the children.."
I understood this reference
Better option is a small wood fire in a portable wood burner using free wood from the local park (trees and benches). Warm enough to keep the windows open and send those carbons into the atmosphere to shorten future winter's! And a free cough!
Wow! I have solar and charge my EV during a free 3 hour window each time and would love to know how you get your bill so low…I'm up to $1500~2000/quarter. I would kill to have a sub~$400 power bill each month.
🤑
Fam of 3 in Sydney, no solar, no gas, no pool. Live in a house, averages around $120/month.
We use ac for cooling maybe 10-20 days a year, and even then for couple of hours and not the whole day. During winter we use it for heating also maybe 10-20 days during dinner time or in the morning. In shower we have a column heater that runs maybe max 45mins a day during winter.
We use cold water with laundry, but hottest setting with dishwasher. Have a 65" tv and large newish fridge.
All lights are LED as well.
What size area are you heating in Winter.
I want to know yor secret
Just our small livingroom for couple of hours, 10 or 20 days a year depending the winter when the indoor temperature goes below 14c in the morning and in the evenings.
We of course wear more clothes indoors, but by no means we feel we are suffering :)
Sounds like they live in an ice box in winter.
@AustriaBargain: LOL!
To be fair, we get good amount of sunshine to our bedrooms in the mornings, and afternoons in kitchen and living room, maybe it helps :D
We feel perfectly fine :P
@AustriaBargain: Sydney is hardly a cold climate even in winter you can easily get by with minimal heating.
@gromit: Our Sydney 2brm unit with ideal thermal mass (brick/concrete slab floor and ceiling with neighbours above/below and both sides) with a split system air-con heating used 140kWh in June (this colder than last year winter) - at 31c/kWh, that looks about $43 for last month.
When we lived in Canberra winters in a freestanding 1970s house with an insulated ceiling but uninsulated brick-veneer walls, we could have 2 oil burners going full blast to warm just the living area and 1 bedroom before we went to bed, and we'd wake up to 3 degrees inside and a terrifyingly cold toilet seat !
So yeah - insulation and thermal mass can make a big difference - also, obviously, your location
@Hangryuman: yep used to live in Sydney and currently live in Canberra (funnily enough currently in an old 1970's brick-veneer house we are renting while we are building), last quarters power bill was $1400 though not as bad as your description as it has had insulation upgraded, still takes a lot to keep it warm and we turn it all off at night while sleeping.
Turn off the heat to the butler's cottage.
Cold Jeeves
We have an EV with solar but we charge it at night during the 8 cent period. Our last bill was $125 for 1 month (family of 3 with induction cook top and reverse cycle running 4-5 hours in Melbourne)
At that usuage a battery pay back period would be under 4 years.
I suggest getting one that will control your hot water system so you can run it intthe free period as a lot of people now have their controlled load as half their bill.
Wow, with Solar and you're paying that much? You are seriously getting rimmed by the look of those numbers.
$1500-2000/quarter - ouch I am about $350-400 a quarter :)
You guys need to learn to churn between providers. I've paid $170 in electricity bills over the last 15 months so about $11/month for 3700kWh from the grid plus a free 3200kWh from my solar panels. This is also thanks to the 5x $75 government rebates ($375), credits for churning between providers every 6-12 months ($500) and cashrewards ($180).
so have you discovered the extension cord that runs next door yet?
It has happened to us that they don't take the actual reading the month prior, we only get an estimate charge. When they do the reading the month following, we then get charged the actual reading, which includes usage from the previous month, and the month billed. It is crazy!
I have an electric meter so always have actual readings.
i pay $80 a month
How?
solar and a jumper
Same. Don't use heating even though I'm in Melbourne. Just me and the mrs so not much power usage with free gas and hot water.
And people complain about renting
@Mechz: 480 a week? Perhaps consider moving to the country far away from your job, family and friends to rent a run down house for a little bit less.
You don't live near a park?
They own a little trolley they can wheel out…..
hahahahaha classic that one
You've got to be doing something other than just heating or your ducted system is a massive power hog. I use about 10kwh/day on a heavy use day, gets as low as 7.5 on a low day. The fact you're using almost 38 per day is what's costing you
There's your answer then. The small ones are 1000w units, depending on how you have the thermostat set they'll cycle on and off so won't be using that all the time but they'll still be using a fair chunk. Try blankets/doonahs instead if you don't want the power usage.
Ok, thanks. Let me trying cutting back on using this.
@Pbm33: For consideration; a middle ground compromise could be a couple of electric blankets. Your power draw is going to be way less then a space heater but you do get the heating benefit going to bed or on a couch. May be something to consider if its really cold, and the people in your home struggle sleeping without some sort of external heating or extra layers. You can even set timers on these things to turn off after you are warmed up, etc… There even ones where you can have 2 differet temperature zones if your partner prefers it cooler/warmer.
@djak: Electric throws are good, too. Pop one over your knees with a thick jumper and you're toasty warm. Especially good when you're barely moving like WFH on computer or watching TV.
Makes cents.
@djak: Kmart has an electric throw rug at $42.
160*120
Simple but effective.
Cheap to buy/cheap to run
https://www.kmart.com.au/product/heated-throw-natural-435071…
That explains alot, those oil heaters use approx 1-2 kwh per hour.
This is a really critical piece of information 😩
If you use the ducted heating 10 hrs per night, it would work out cheaper than using 2 x oil heaters.
Nope, not in my case. Checking my usage on the AGL app, during the times ducted is on - my bill is averaging $2/hr. Overnight when oil heater is running (with thermostat set to 22deg), bill is averaging $0.30 per hr.
@Pbm33: We try to use the Ducted with a 3hr timer on it to auto-off but we're in a 3 bedroom villa.
Pets in main living space (guinea pigs) and 2 adults. We'll limit ducted to living space til we need it in the rooms then whole house - temp also makes a big difference!
We set ours to 21/22 only with low fan (its a simple daikin unit, 3 fan modes) for living space only, and 23 when doing whole house at medium only.
I have a friend who runs up a hefty bill and they dont have zonings but his partner LOVES heat and they crank it to 27+. I believe generally 19-24 range is where you wanna be for efficiency generally? From memory but don't quote me on those numbers. But outside that range it becomes a much bigger struggle.
We have 1 electric throw we use when it's just one of us home for example, and it only runs up 100w at max heat but generally at half heat it's plenty warm enough! Cheapo from amazon. Does the job!
@ReaperX22: I have a partner who is also loves 27+ in winter… and in summer they want it at 19c. The mind boggles.
For energy efficiency, the less you use the more efficient - there is some curve to it (it says 5-10% energy per degree, but there is some unknown fixed startup cost). Some recommendations are 19-20c in winter and 25-27c in summer. I generally just set it as cold as i can bear in winter (around 20c) and as hot as i can bear in summer (29c)
Another pro tip is getting a thermostat - so you can see the actual temperature in the room rather than trusting the RCAC or "feel". Sometimes i'll feel cold and the thermostat says 22c. Then I won't bother turning the RCAC on.
@aong152: Haha yeah! I've got a couple of meross temp sensors - one near the Guinea pigs and if its sub 16 there ac is often on. The place we moved into this year was built 1992 and has zero damn insulation apart from some crappy stuff in the roof. Nothing under floors or in walls that I can tell. Its so freakin cold here haha. Our circa 1960s/70s villa from before was much warmer! And that wasnt even that warm heh.
@aong152: 'I have a partner who is also loves 27+ in winter… and in summer they want it at 19c'
lemme guess - they're not paying those bills … ? ;-)
In which case, we train others how to treat us …
I do the opposite - set our air-con to 26 in summer and 19 in winter
and yes I have some cheap red liquid thermometer/hygrometers (look like https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005007171958146.html - but C only not F, and not recommending this site!) - in shade blutacked outside north and south window glass to check outside temps, in the living room, bedroom, bathroom (steam reading ;-) for an easy empirical comparison
They may not be accurate and can vary by 3C (at comfort now, one shows 18C, another shows 21C) but for daily reference, easy peasy!
Oil heaters give a comfortable and consistent warmth, so much better than ducting heat while sleeping.
You have deeper sleep in cold environment anyway
And RHR drops as well.
I toss and turn and try to wrap blankets around me, but my RHR is at my lows. When I'm too warm, RHR swings above average.
… when we camp, apart from being tired with long hikes, my RHR drops to the 40s sometimes.
Try running the ducted set at 17 degrees over night and turning these off. Since you have a smart me meter you should be able to get a daily reading the next day so you can quickly see the difference.
Since the ducted system is a heat pump if is 3-4 time more efficient than the oil column and likely distributes the heat better as oil columns send most of the heat straight up to the ceiling. Closing blinds and putting draft stoppers behind the doors will further increase efficiency.
The ducted system will work better and heat more evenly of their is a clear path for the air to get back to the return grill too so cracking the bedroom door should help. If the ducted over night works out you can get a simple two zone switch put in which can let you send the air to the bedrooms or the living area but this will cost a bit (probably under $1k) so you will need to do the math to work out if that is worth it or just put it towards a split system for each bedroom.
'oil columns send most of the heat straight up to the ceiling'
convected heat certainly - but I believe they also provide nice RADIANT heat - quickly warming cold surfaces within line-of-sight to result in a comfortable warm feeling loved by mothers for babies sleeping areas - so mothers tend to leave them on 24/7 - until they get the next electricity bill
but yeah - I call them 'silent assassins' for their ability to silently max out your electricity bills …
this. These use a butt tonne of electricity. You wouldn't think it for the amount of heat they put out, but they do. If you have an electric meter you should be able to check your power usage overnight. If these are the only things on at night you should be able to see how much they are consuming (obviously your fridge and the odd light might be on, but these don't use much).
~10hrs per night.
4 hrs ducted heating but leaves this out
I ran a test recently using exactly this - because I'm super exciting. My usage went from about 15kWh to 35 per day.
Stopped doing it.
Underfloor insulation coming soon - draughty old wooden floors.
I have solar and pay $120. I have a spilt system heating the place 24/7.
you need to find a house in a better neighbourhood, in close proximity to some extra high voltage power transmission lines like me. your fluorescent lights will glow for free 24/7 and you will save so many $$$ on your electricity bills
Doesn't seem that bad. Our family has solar and have a $250 per month electricity bill. We do have 6 people though.
That's insane, you guys use too much electricity at night. I have an 8.5kW inverter for solar and I've been paying $11/month for the last 15 months with 4 people in the house. I do have gas for cooking & hot water though so it's not a fully electric household. We use about 460kWh/month.
Get the 5 min actual usage from your distributor (not the retailer), it’ll be a csv file. Open it in excel and try to locate the big chunks of usage, like heat maps.
just got my electricity bill for the period 5th June - 5th July … and it's $359.
1,125 kWh usage
Do you want to pay mine? It was 1540kWh and $587 before discounts. After 26% discounts, it is $434. I also have 6.6Kw worth of Solar.
June is always a high month for us because of bad sunlight and heating required.
What is going on here.
Why do you think it should be less? Maybe you should consider a PowerPal (or similar) and monitor your usage.
Double check if your time of use plan is the best one via energymadeeasy website. I was on a peak/shoulder/off-peak plan which was better than a single rate plan but recently I checked and a better peak/off-peak plan became available which has peak time only at 4-8pm weekdays. Now our peak usage is less than 10% of total as I ensure all our power hungry devices are off during that period.
Just about to get an additional solar array/battery installed which should cover most usage in winter and allow for VPP in summer.
I'd say you have used electricity at times of peak demand.