What’s a powerhack, you ask? Think of it as a life hack that helps you save on your power bills. With energy prices at a high, these powerhacks can help you reduce your energy and save money.  

Welcome back to our third powerhacks edition. Last time we looked at home entertainment. In this edition, we explore powerhacks that keep you cool while looking out for your back pocket. 

Temperature Matters 

Every degree of cooling bumps up your air-con energy use by up to 10%. Keep your air con at 24 degrees. Resist the urge to make your aircon super cold – it just makes it work harder to cool the room, which uses more energy and runs up your power bill.   

Fan-tastic 

Fans rule! These sweet breezes against your skin can make you feel 3°C cooler. That’s right, the movement of air actually has a cooling effect. 

Cover those windows

In summer when you leave the windows and blinds open, you let the outside temperature heat up your place. In fact, a sunny window can radiate as much energy as a bar heater! If you then run the aircon, it works harder to cool the room, costing you more money on your bill. Closing your windows, curtains and blinds helps keep warm air out and stops the cool air from escaping.  

Combo deal

On hot days, try running your air conditioner and fan together to cool your place faster. Aim to turn the air con on for no longer than an hour to cool the room, then maintain a cooling effect by using your fan. The movement of air from the fan will help you feel cooler. Given your air con can cost up to 25 times more than using your ceiling fan, this is a winning combination.  

Polar bear

Summer is the perfect time to save money on hot water, especially as water heating accounts for up to 25% of an average Brisbane household’s bill. Try changing to cold showers for big savings on your bill and a refreshing burst to your day! Plus, according to hair experts, rinsing in cold water makes your hair shiny. Bonus!  

Performance boost

Have you cleaned your air con’s filter lately? A build-up of dirt and dust on the filter will use more energy as your air con works harder to cool the air.  

Summer snoozing

To save some watts on those long, hot summer nights, try running your air con for an hour or so before you go to bed, then switch over to a fan to maintain the cooling effect during the night. Or if your air con has a timer, use that to reduce the length of time you have the air con running.  

Summer vibing

The perfect way to give your energy bill a break in the long summer days? Grab a beach towel and a buddy and spend the day at your favourite public pool, waterhole or beach.  

If your monitor is too bright, it can put a strain on both your eyes and your wallet. Check your screens, from your computer to your TV, to your iPad and your laptop. Dimming your screens by a couple of shades could make a bigger difference than you think. 

Get cultured 

Entertain you kids on those long hot summer days and grab a dose of culture at the same time. Visit a museum, art gallery or library – the coolest place to be, in so many ways.  

That’s it for our summer powerhack edition – let us know on our socials what hacks you’d like to try or even share one of your own powerhacks that has helped you keep cool and lower your energy bill.  

It’s easy to mistake computer screensavers as energy savers. However, when your screensaver is on, so too is your screen, which means you’re still using energy. Close your laptop or switch your monitor off completely when not in use to save energy.  

That’s it for our summer powerhack edition – let us know on our socials what hacks you’d like to try or even share one of your own powerhacks that has helped keep you cool while lowering your energy bill.