Ways to save power?
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Category: General Chat
Forum Name: General Chat
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URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=17656
Printed Date: 02 April 2026 at 2:51am
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Topic: Ways to save power?
Posted By: MissCandice
Subject: Ways to save power?
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 2:50pm
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Our power bill this month is $499.11
Any ideas on how to cut down the cost of power? We only run Kylahs heater 24/7 TIA ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Replies:
Posted By: Candkids
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:07pm
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our house power bills used to be bigger than DH's workshops whis also have 3 flats above them & all the heavy machinery etc our house bills were huge!
make sure all your power points that arnt being used are switched off, and also switch off any appliances that dont get used much. we got energy saving bulbs where we could but most of our lights ar halogen bulbs  .
also if you have any switches that arnt working get them fixed as they can short out and cost ya lots. also if they really dont change alot, you may need a new thermastat on your hot water cylinder, ours didnt change much and then we discovered our hotwater thermastat was buggered so got a new one put in and our bills have dropped over $300!!! 
also if your on a day/ night meter do all your washing etc at night  ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  DD 10.5yrs DS 6yrs DS 11mths 5 little angles watching from above |
Posted By: NeoshasMummy
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:10pm
EEEK, I asked DP the same question and he said stay off the computer  Yeah RIGHT!
Maybe you could look into getting a heatpump in?? They dont use much power at all. What kind of heater are u using at the mo? Quick showers instead of baths No dishwasher use No dryer use Dont wash clothes in hot water Anything that heats munches up power so heated towel rails and stuff like that is best avoided Switching everything off at the wall Lol or when people wonder why you havent vacumed your floor.. "oh im saving power" and when you look at that pile of dishes "better save power!" hehe ------------- https://secure.fertilityfriend.com/home/30c4ec/" rel="nofollow">  Mrs Te Kani ❤️ Neosha 26/5/2007 |
Posted By: NeoshasMummy
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:12pm
Whats that and how do u know if you have one lol ------------- https://secure.fertilityfriend.com/home/30c4ec/" rel="nofollow"> Mrs Te Kani ❤️ Neosha 26/5/2007 |
catrad wrote:Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:13pm
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We have a 5 star front loader that heats its own water, so no worries there. The dryer was getting used ALL day EVERY day. Iv just knocked that on the head and cut the plug off.
The hot water cylinder is leaking, we have contacted the landlord a million times and have heard nothing back, not a call, letter nothing. The taps in the bathroom leak from a) the pipes and b) the bottom of the tap. Both toilets in the house leak from the pipe. GRR. There are 3 plugs that are faulty in this house. We use a 5fin oil heater in her room. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:14pm
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Neoshasmum - call your power company, if you want to be on day/night rate they change you i think. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:22pm
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Towels rails are only 60w so are no more expensive that running a light bulb.
Leaking cold water won't matter (price wise, obviously not great for the environment) but leaking hot water will cost you a fortune. You will probably notice a massive change with not using the dryer as they use so much money its not even funny. Make sure you turn appliances off completely and don't leave them on standby. It costs as much money for a tv to be on standby as it does for it to be switched on, as standby means that everything is being kept ready to go, same with not switching computers off properly etc. Oil fin heaters are super expensive but are cheaper than fan heaters and probably the only real option you have. Have you asked your landlord about the cleanheat thing, they might be able to get a heatpump put in for you. Neoshasmum, if you are on day and night then you will have two meters but easiest way is like Kylayhsmum said phone and ask your company. If you want to change then it costs about $50 to have the extra meter added. We're on night rate and run the washing machine and dishwasher at night and if need be thats when we put the dryer on as well, but we try to never use it. ------------- 
 
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Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:25pm
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The landlord is never in the country and never bothers to contact us back. Might have to get the hot water cylinder checked.. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: ohanlon82
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:27pm
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yip you on the first step to saving.. knock the dryer on the head.. we only used it once last month and we saved about $50 :)
if you water temp is too hot will be costing you money aswell :)  ------------- http://lb2f.lilypie.com/TikiPic.php/RPaODBg.jpg |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:31pm
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The water here is so hot that you burn yourself by putting your hand under that hot tap, if you can get it under.. might go turn that down without anyone knowing lol.
The dryer was being used 24/7 for everything. Nothing was getting hung out all month. So i chopped the plug off it. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:40pm
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First step good idea getting rid of that dryer!
Second - your power bill is MASSIVE! There is no way it should be anywhere near that by the sounds of what you are using, so it must be something to do with the leaking bits. Are you through an agent through your landlord? If so go to them. If not try him again and if you can leave a message saying we are desperate as our power bill was this much so we are going to have to go to the Tennancy tribunal if you dont contact us - surely that will get him to return your calls! What power company are you with? We are with Empower and find them great. |
Posted By: peanut butter
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:43pm
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definately turn your water down to 55. It is too dangerous for Kylah otherwise. She could get badly scalded.
Marisa, does running the dishwasher etc at night really make a difference? I thought appliances had to be hooked up to the second meter to be cheaper like your hot water and nightstores are. Otherwise I thought it was all the same....or is that a different plan? |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:44pm
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We are with meridian.
We are not through an agent, this time i wish we were at least they fix things. Tenancy tribunal might have to be it or we just wont pay rent and fix the stuff and keep the reciepts. ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:49pm
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I just had a look at the hot water cylinder it was on 70!! I just turned it to 55 ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: NeoshasMummy
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:49pm
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hmmm isnt there someone you can ring.When I was in my first flat we were having huge bills like $500 a month for two people working full time with no washing machine or dryer lol. DP called someone out and they checked everything in the whole house and it turned out to be a faulty hot water cylinder sp? It was free and thats all i remember lol not sure if it was the power company???
I thought towel rails used so much more than that. We switched ours off and stopped using the dishwasher and only washed washing once a week and BAM our power bill dropped by $80 a week and stayed that way. ------------- https://secure.fertilityfriend.com/home/30c4ec/" rel="nofollow"> Mrs Te Kani ❤️ Neosha 26/5/2007 |
Posted By: NeoshasMummy
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:51pm
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We have our water heated by gas but it seriously burns anyone know if you can turn gas water heating down???? ------------- https://secure.fertilityfriend.com/home/30c4ec/" rel="nofollow"> Mrs Te Kani ❤️ Neosha 26/5/2007 |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 3:57pm
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With the whole tenancy tribunal thing does it matter if you have no agreement, mums been here 4 years and never had a tenancy agreement? ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 6:53pm
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You could be in trouble not having an agreement, i'm not sure what rights you would have. Phone the tenancy tribunal anyway its a free number and i'm sure they can give you some advice.
Nikki, you are thinking of ripple meters, normally hot water cylinders are hooked up to ripple so that the power companies can switch the ripple off at peak times, normally they only run the ripple for 16 hours out of every 24. What we found out when we moved here though was that ours weren't (we have 2 cos we have a rental as part of our property) our first power bill gave me a heart attack. So instead of getting ripple we got day/night meter ( was already there but not being used) hooked up and then put timers on both our water cylinders so that they only come on during the cheap rate. So basically anything in our house that is on between 9pm - 7am is charged at the cheaper night rate and anything on between 7am-9pm is charged at the dearer day rate. -------------
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Posted By: Maya
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 7:00pm
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I agree with Marisa - talk to the tenancy tribunal straight away coz you/your mum should have a tenancy agreement, otherwise you don't have a legal leg to kick the landlord with.
As for the $500 power bill  That sounds like something is definitely not right! I use the dryer every day, usually 2-3 loads, we have a dishwasher (but heats it's own water), and we have on average 2 baths a day plus 2 showers and our bill is still only around $200 odd.
One thing - do you need to run Kylah's heater 24-7? Can you put it on a timer or something? Also, how old is the heater, coz if it is an older one it might not be running as efficiently. -------------  Maya Grace (28/02/03)
 (02/01/06)
The Gremlins:Sienna Marie & Mercedes Kailah (14/10/06)
Lil miss:Chiara Louise Chloe (09/07/08)
Her ladyship:Rosalia Sophie Anais (18/06/12)
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Posted By: mum2emj
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 7:01pm
| OWCH! that is one HUGE bill!! eek! i felel for you, power isnt cheap, our bill has been cut heaps since we switched to gas heating and cooking last year when we renovated. |
Posted By: mummy_becks
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 7:19pm
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Don't just stop paying your rent (without letting them know) as that will come back to bite you in the arse. Are you sure neither of you signed something for the house?? Turning the water temp down is good, but if you are leaking hot water that will hurt your bill. I would send your LL an email stated all the issues with the house and say something like if you do not respond within a certain amount of time then we will be using our rent money to pay for the repairs until it is all fixed. That way you have given them pleanty of notice. ------------- I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived! |
Posted By: emachan
Date Posted: 27 May 2008 at 8:19pm
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eek - that is a HUGE bill for just one household!
Good move checking your hot water cylinder- that means it wont be 'boiling' the water up 24/7 like it would've been doing. Maybe invest in a night store heater or another heater for the bedroom - check with a store to see what is the best option - I've heard that oil heaters arent very energy friendly. I hang all of the washing we do onto 2x clothes horses and although it takes up a lot of space, we put them in our lounge with our dehumidifier nearby and at night when the gas fire is on, they dry in a few hours. I've only used the dryer once when we had no more room and lots of washing needing drying! You will be amazed at how efficient they are (they're so worth the money). We have ours running almost 24/7 and our biggest powerbill we've had this winter was about $160 (I live with DH and my brother - who often has his GF stay) As with the others - turn off things at the wall. Its also good for safety too!!! ------------- http://lilypie.com" rel="nofollow">  DD#1 Sept 08 DD#2 Oct 09 |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 8:42am
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Does anyone know what a sparky would charge to replace 3 plug sockets if i had the new ones?
Also.. we have a wiring problem in our house downstairs, if you switch the light on in the garage/renovated sleepout.. if blows all the lightbulbs on the bottom floor? Dodge i know, we have been trying to get the LL to sort it, but feel it may be better to do it ourslves ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: IVFGirl1111
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 8:56am
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Gosh your landlord needs a kick up the butt!
So can your Mum remember if she payed a bond? If she did then by law the LL would have had to send that in. Still cant get over that bill that is MASSIVE! I would also try ringing your power company and just saying look we have received this massive bill, is there any charge to have someone come out and look at our house as we think you have got it wrong and that we are going to have to go to another power company as this is just to big - that way you should get someone out free to have a look! |
Posted By: MissCandice
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 8:59am
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No bond, no agreement. Its mums old boss, she bought the house for her to livee in as she needed to get out of her old house, but this one is worse! ------------- ~ Mummy to a beautiful girl ~ |
Posted By: cuppatea
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 9:12am
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They would charge about $50 an hour plus travel from where ever they come from. Changing 3 sockets, so long as the wiring itself is ok, shouldn't take more than an hour. -------------
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Posted By: Southlandmummy
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 10:19am
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Our power bill this month was $500 also but that was after i found out the last 3 mths had only been estimates...
Check yr meter with what yr bill says... ------------- Cindy - Princess and Princes Samia Isobel Joy born 9th September 2008 Spencer Graeme John born 29th May 2006 Kaylin Gavin Robert born 19 December 2004 |
Posted By: .Mel
Date Posted: 28 May 2008 at 5:34pm
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Kandice, you are well within your rights to serve your landlord with a 10 day notice to fix the issues in the house. It basically gives her 10 days to sort the most important items out. It doesn't matter if you have an agreement or not. If she doesn't do it within that time period then you go to mediation. The mediator will then rule on what she needs to fix. This may take awhile as she may have to provide quotes and/or you will have to provide quotes. Most companies will quote to have bulk items fixed. Also in Auckland to replace a low pressure cylinder not including the valves can cost between $1300 - $1500+GST. Not sure what it would be down there as I don't know what the hourly rates are for plumbers down your way. The hot water cylinder if over 25 years old should be replace, is there any rust around it? Cylinders can be dodgy because of the calcium, they can cause the cylinders to break down and also for the water to be not so good. Another hint for you; when you fill your jug dont' use the hot tap, use the cold tap. It may take longer for the jug to boil, but the water you will be getting from the cylinder will be from the bottom. Our company would charge approx $300 to replace the light switches, so that's about what Cuppatea estimated also. Personally I'd be going for 10 day notice. ------------- Mr Mellow (16) Miss Attitude (8) Destructa Kid (3) 
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