No Hassle Ways To Save Money This Christmas

Christmas can be an expensive time of year for most Kiwis, so many of us are keen to look for ways that we can save some money while still enjoying the holiday season. Your household energy bill is a great place to start. There are lots of easy things you can do over the holidays that save you money, and benefit the environment at the same time.

‘The average New Zealand household spends up to $1000 more a year on household energy and fuel bills than they need to,’ says Mike Underhill, Chief Executive of the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. ‘When you think about what you could dowith an extra $1000 and how easy it is to make changes, taking time to be a bit more energy efficient really makes sense.’

Here are some tips to get you started these holidays.

Turn your appliances off especially if you are going away. Don’t leave them on standby - switch them off at the wall. New Zealand homes consume $100 million worth of electricity a year by having their appliances on stand-by. So turn off your microwave, stereo, television, dishwasher, washing machine, DVD player, set top box and home computer equipment to save money. If you have a lot of gadgets, standby energy consumption can account for up to 10% of the total electricity use in your house.

If you're going away for more than one week turn off your hot water cylinder. Almost 30% of energy use in New Zealand homes is used for hot water heating – one third of the average bill. The money you spend keeping the water hot while you are away adds up to much more than the cost of reheating it when you get back.

If you own a second fridge consider only switching it on when you really need it. Fridges use around 10% of the average annual electricity bill, and chances are your second fridge is old and uses twice the energy of your kitchen fridge.

Over the summer holidays use cold water for washing your clothes. This uses 90% less electricity than hot water washes.

When you are on the road, try to keep to the speed limit. By travelling at 100km/h instead of 110km/h you can cut around 13% off your fuel bill. And only use air-conditioning when necessary as this uses up to 10% more fuel. 13% saved by reducing speed, 10% on air-conditioning – that is the same as having an extra ¼ of a tank of fuel. With the escalating price of petrolefficient motoring is one area where we can all save money.

ENDS

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