This is just a quick post to let you know I got my electricity bill. You might remember I posted about electricity charges after Hanno died when I was trying to establish what I used. While Hanno was sick at home I was using every appliance that made it easier for him and easier to look after him. I knew my solo usage would be less but I didn't know how much less. Click on that link to see the post.
I'm happy to tell you that bill reflects the one I got yesterday. My old usage was 5 kWh and my current is 4.06 kWh, less than half one person's usage. I'm glad I did this so I know how low I can go if I need to in the future. I have no doubt I'll use the air conditioning during summer but I doubt I'll stray too far from what I'm doing now. The main thing for me is to use my solar power as I generate it by doing my housework in the morning when the sun is on the roof and to always turn off power when I'm not using it.
With the price rise on 1 July, the cost of electricity per day here increased from $1.99 to $2.28 kWh and my greenhouse gas emissions reduced from 1.1 tonnes to 0.6 tonnes. I hope this encourages you to reduce your usage too. It's not easy to do at first but it gets easier as you get used to it but as you can see here, it WILL make a difference.
For the rest of today, I'll have a salad wrap for lunch and make bread this afternoon before spending a couple of hours in the garden. I had a new gardener come over yesterday. He's fantastic and I hope he'll return in a couple of weeks to clean my roof and do a bit of pruning.
Enjoy yourself over the weekend. I hope you get the chance to spend time relaxing at home. 🥰
Yikes Rhonda, I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the bill. I didn't see the credit notation 🤣. I don't have solar panels yet, I am saving up for a battery as well for the inevitable blackouts over the coming summer's. Just not this one coming🥲. My bill just arrived too $65 so did happy dance as I had reduced my usage by 1/3. I also love my induction plate and use a turbo oven to keep costs down. I picked up a couple of rechargeable fans to help keep me cool if the power goes out and rechargeable lights. Cheers Bernie
ReplyDeleteThat’s great Bernie. It just shows how all the little things add up. Keep going, girl!
DeleteThat's awesome!
ReplyDeleteSo, even in the summer, your air conditioning will not cost anything, just use a bit of credit on the bill.
We've just got our solar fixed, after it not working for >6 months, I'm looking forward to our bill too.
I hope it's an easy bill. Solar makes such a difference. xx
DeleteAt first I thought that was the amount you had to pay, until I saw the "cr" after it. That's wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThanks Terri. I'm really pleased with the bill.
Delete😍🥰
ReplyDeleteThat's fabulous Rhonda. Shows what can be achieved with planning.
ReplyDeleteThat's wonderful! So glad you can use solar. I'm in a townhome and the Home Owners Association controls what goes on the roof. So far, no go. But I hear they are looking into it. Fingers crossed.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! Your cost per KWH seemed so high, so I looked up our cost…$0.15 per kWh here in Arizona in the US ($0.24 in Australia). I am now going to find out why your costs are so high, that seems crazy given your natural resources….hilogene in Az.
ReplyDeleteHi, my comment makes no sense anymore ;). You were doing cost per day…not per unit. Once I looked at the data again, your costs per unit are close to the world average. But your usage is incredibly low! Sorry for my confusion ;). Hilogene in Az.
DeleteWe pay 0, 45 € per kilowatthour, which is about the same in $ ! Our energy costs have risen so much over the last two years. Our government keeps telling us that wind turbines and solar energy will make electricity cheaper, but until now, the costs are only going upwards.
ReplyDeleteHilde in Germany
Hi Hilda , our friends in Germany tell us the same. Solar only works when the sun shines and turbines when the wind blows. No sun or no wind then no power. I do wish governments would be honest. After all it’s our money they are using.
DeleteWow! That's amazing.
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda...soooooo lovely to have you back in this space!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately or is that fortunately due to our home being surrounded by beautiful gum trees it is not viable for us to have solar panels. We have a pool which uses a lot of power but as we are constantly in the pool during the day we very rarely have the air conditioning on. We open our doors (we have security screen doors) and let the sea breeze flow through. I have had a number of solar panel suppliers visit and fortunately they have been honest enough to tell us that it is not worth us installing solar unless we wish to cut down our trees or ask the neighbours to do the same ( which I wouldn’t do). We love our trees and hearing the birds.
ReplyDeleteWe're all so different and we should live our lives in the way that suits us. I wouldn't have cut down trees either for solar, thank goodness we didn't have to do that. But you have your pool, that cools you all down and you have air flow in your home. It sounds lovely. xx
DeleteHi Rhonda, thanks for following up on this topic. I've been tracking my electrical usage for the last year on a sub -sheet in my budget spreadsheet, and my monthly usage in 2022 was 10.07 kWh and so far in 2023 it is 9.65 kWh, so I'm not in your league yet. All of my appliances and my central air are 20+ years old, so I'm pretty sure that is having an impact on my kWh. It will be interesting to see what happens when I eventually update. I do want to use things as long as possible since that's also a form of conservation, but there is the trade-off on energy efficiency. I'll keep working on it! Beth in MN
ReplyDeleteHi Beth. You're doing well. You'll find a big difference in your electrical usage when you upgrade. xx
DeleteI have used more electricity this year as I live in Tasmania and had a reverse cycle air conditioner installed for the first time - but I have kept the heating to the minimum required for health and comfort, and have discovered that the extra cost in electricity is less than I would have spent on fire wood in the past. Plus, I get to reduce my greenhouse emissions, as Tas electricity is hydroelectric, and smoke is a problem in our city. Even with the extra costs, my electricity bill for a two people still comes in just a tad under the average usage for a one person household, and like you, I am very satisfied with that:)
ReplyDeleteMy house was fairly efficient. I had pared things down so that I could manage them post divorce. Then came my eldely parents' plan. Long story short, both have passed and I had to sell my home and live in their home...probably about another year and a half.
ReplyDeleteNo trees, brick home that heats up like an oven, no roof venting. The roof needs to be replaced and they will be installing a ridge vent.
This last month's light bill? $315 usd. The roof is 85 foot long with southern exposure and perfect for solar. I won't install as I don't plan on living here long term.
Me? I'm looking for a small cabin in the north woods of Michigan. Cheap and simple.
That's amazing, Rhonda and an inspiration. It shows what we can achieve as individuals to make a difference. Our bill is due any day! Not sure it will be as good as yours but here's hoping! Carolyn xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a great savings, sadly here in NZ they only pay $0.10 cents a unit that you send back to the grid. Does your power company pay you if your credit gets too high that you are never going to use it Rhonda?
ReplyDeleteHi Rhonda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing the details of your bill. I’ve just had a look at mine and as a family of 5, we’re using 17kwh so I’m quite happy with that! It’s apparently less than the average household of 2! Even so, there are still areas that we can improve on and I’m willing to give it a go and see how much lower I can get it! Jade
Thanks fantastic, Jade. Well done. I'm not trying to push mine down anymore. I know I can do it if I must but I'll be using my air conditioning over summer, that will increase my costs and I'm okay with that.
DeleteVous me manquiez vraiment, tellement contente que vous ayez repris le blog !
ReplyDeleteEn France nous avons une électricité beaucoup plus chère que chez vous, et un climat qui ne nous permet pas d'avoir une énergie renouvelable facile. Je subit en faisant très attention à l'utilisation, les veilles d'appareils, l'optimisation de l'utilisation.
Encore ravie de vous retrouver.
Amicalement, Sophie