Powershop support for customers impacted by COVID-19
Our new normal – home energy usage
family of four
townhouse
working at home
working on site
increased usage
Two school-aged kids studying at home, one parent working from home and one at their workplace.
What made their usage go up?
- Keeping the study areas warm by using air con
- Cooking lunches instead of lunchbox lunches
- More dishwasher cycles
- Study/work device usage
2019 winter usageTheir tips for how to they've reduced their usage
- Make sure dishwasher is completely full and hand wash large items immediately after use
- Close doors to rooms that don't require heating
- Wear more winter clothing and turn heating down to comfortable a comfortable temp
- Use your dining table as table tennis for entertainment instead of TV / Netflix / TikTok
2020 winter usagecouple
apartment
working at home
increased usage
Couple both working from home full-time.
What made their usage go up?
- Leaving too many lights on
- Having the heater on throughout the day
- Turning the TV on earlier in the evening
- Doing more washing because it was convenient
2019 winter usageTheir tips for how to they've reduced their usage
- Do your 1 hour of exercise at the end of the day, reducing TV time
- Make a hot water bottle or add a jumper before turning on the heater
- Make sure windows and doors and closed before turning on the heating and turn it off after you feel comfortable
- Doing a load of washing once the laundry basket is full
2020 winter usagefamily of 4-6
house
working at home
solar
increased usage
Family of 4-6 with solar.
What made their usage go up?
- Heating was being used all day during the colder winter months
- More frequent use of the dishwasher, multiple computers, TV & lights
- More clothes washing since the kids were out of school uniform
- Using the oven/kitchen appliances to make more food for meals at home
2019 winter usageTheir tips for how to they've reduced their usage
- If you have solar, run as many appliances (washing machine, dishwasher) during the middle of the day to take advantage of solar generation
- Run the central reverse cycle AC all day at a constant lower temp (20-21˚C) to reduce load
- Wear extra layers of clothes
- Close the curtains and blinds at night to keep the heat in
2020 winter usagecouple
apartment
working at home
working on site
increased usage
One working from home full time and the other working to reduced hours.
What made their usage go up?
- Turning split system and fan heaters on at the start and during the day
- Doing a load of washing each morning
- Using more appliances during the day (TV, Playstation, speakers, monitor, charging laptop, lamp, lights etc.)
- Using the dishwasher a lot more - more at home time = more plates.
2019 winter usageTheir tips for how to they've reduced their usage
- Using the heating only to take the chill off the air and then dressing warmer and being more active to get the blood pumping
- Taking advantage of the split system economy feature
- Doing a larger load of washing less frequently
- Turning the home workspace off at the wall at the end of the day, rather than leaving it on standby
2020 winter usage