Highlights
- Heaters consume a lot of energy. An alternative to them would be thicker doonas and wearing thicker clothes at home.
- Energy consumption during winter is a balance between taking care of yourself and taking care not to overspend.
- Changing energy providers can give you access to rebates and discounts. Research on the best fit for you.
"At first, we didn't know why our electricity bill went up that much," Nelly Bonilla shares, adding, "My husband and I do sharehousing with another friend and we share rent and bills. It used to be 70 AUD per person for the bills; now, it's 150 per person."
Nelly soon discovered that the reason their electricity bill significantly increased was that their housemate had a standalone heater and bed heater running for practically the whole day.
While Nelly had to have a heart-to-heart with her housemate about using the heater less, international student Bane Agbon shares that other boarders in the house she lives in are also international students who are cautious about how they spend their funds.
"We're very careful about using electricity because the repercussion falls on us as well. We turn off the lights when not in use. And if we can tolerate the cold, we don't use the heater."
"If we do start freezing, we turn on the heater of course. It's about finding the balance between taking care of yourself and making sure you don't overspend on bills."
While Bane admits that her body doesn't deal with the winter cold very well, she counters this by staying in her school's heated library for a good part of the day, wearing winter clothes inside the house and buying a double-layered doona and electric blanket.
"We also changed our energy provider. Last year, the one we had overcharged us. The new provider we have now gave us rebates and discounts."
ALSO READ / LISTEN TO
