Lower your energy bills by improving your home's energy efficiency. Discover tips for appliances, heating, cooling, and insulation.
Compare Australian RatesA home energy audit is a systematic review of how and where your household uses electricity and gas. It helps identify which appliances, habits, or building features are driving your bills and prioritises the most cost-effective improvements. In Australia, a professional audit can be conducted by an accredited assessor (look for Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme — NatHERS — or BCA Section J accreditation), or you can conduct a useful DIY audit using your bill data and a plug-in energy monitor.
Start with your electricity bill: divide your annual consumption (kWh) by 365 to get a daily average. A typical Australian household uses 15–20 kWh per day; if yours is significantly higher, there is likely a specific culprit worth investigating. A plug-in energy monitor (available from hardware stores for around $30) lets you measure the standby and active power draw of individual appliances. Old fridges, plasma TVs, and electric hot water systems on inefficient tariffs are the most common sources of unexpectedly high consumption.
Some state governments offer subsidised or free professional home energy audits, particularly for low-income households. In Victoria, the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) programme provides free or heavily subsidised upgrades including ceiling insulation, draught sealing, and efficient lighting through accredited providers. In NSW, the Energy Security Safeguard and Low Income Household Rebate programmes offer similar assistance. Check your state government's energy efficiency incentives before spending money on improvements.
Appliances account for roughly 30% of a typical Australian household's electricity bill. The Energy Rating label on whitegoods (fridges, washing machines, dishwashers, dryers, air conditioners) uses a star system to compare efficiency — more stars means lower running costs. The label also shows estimated annual energy consumption in kWh, which you can multiply by your usage rate to calculate running costs. When replacing an appliance, a higher star-rated model often pays back its price premium within 2–5 years.
Hot water is the largest single energy cost for many Australian homes, representing 20–30% of total energy use. If you have an electric resistance (element-style) hot water system, switching to a heat pump hot water system can reduce hot water energy use by 60–75%. Heat pumps extract heat from the surrounding air — like a reverse-cycle air conditioner in heating mode — and are most efficient above 15°C ambient temperature, making them particularly effective in Queensland, NSW, and Victoria. Solar hot water systems are also highly efficient but require significant roof space.
Refrigerators run 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, making them one of the highest-impact appliances. An old fridge (pre-2000) can consume 800–1,200 kWh per year, whereas a modern 5-star 400-litre model uses around 300 kWh. Upgrading an old fridge can save $100–$200 per year in electricity costs alone. Similarly, replacing halogen downlights with LED equivalents throughout a home typically saves $100–$300 per year with a payback period of under 12 months.
Heating and cooling is the single largest energy cost for most Australian households, typically accounting for 40–50% of total energy use in southern states. Reverse-cycle air conditioners (split systems or ducted) are the most energy-efficient way to both heat and cool a home, using one unit of electricity to deliver three to five units of heating or cooling energy (expressed as a Coefficient of Performance or star rating). Resistive electric heaters (bar heaters, oil column heaters, electric blankets as primary heating) are dramatically less efficient — one unit of electricity delivers exactly one unit of heat.
Insulation, draught sealing, and window treatments are passive improvements that reduce the workload on your heating and cooling system. Ceiling insulation with an R-value of R3.5–R5.0 is recommended for most Australian climate zones and can reduce heating and cooling energy use by 20–40%. Draught sealing around doors, windows, exhaust fans, and roof hatches is low-cost (often under $200 DIY) and delivers an immediate return. Pelmets above curtains and heavy block-out curtains can reduce window heat loss by 30–50% in winter.
Smart thermostat controls and zoning can deliver substantial savings in ducted systems. Setting your thermostat to 18–20°C in winter and 24–26°C in summer — rather than 22°C year-round — can reduce heating and cooling energy use by 10% per degree of adjustment. In multi-storey or large homes, zoning the ducted system to heat or cool only occupied areas prevents conditioning empty rooms and can halve the runtime of a ducted system.
Compare electricity and gas plans from Australian retailers in minutes. Free, independent comparison.