Transforming the Cost of Living payment into more than $800

Olivia Wannan

September 1, 2022 • 5:00am

How to cut your power bill by at least $500

A new showerhead, LED bulbs and power-reduction tips saved Christchurch families an average of $865 off their annual energy bill.

The home assessments – conducted by an initiative of lighting firm Ecobulbs – are free to families. The equipment and expertise costs an estimated $350, the same as the Government’s Cost of Living payments.

But unlike a one-off sum, the families will cut their energy bills year after year, the group said. By reducing electricity demand, the work also reduces the fossil fuels burned to generate power.

The Christchurch City Council covered the cost of the assessments for 200 households. The KnowHow initiative has also provided home energy makeovers in Ashburton, Ōtorohanga, Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Tūrangi and Whangārei, with funding from councils, local trusts and electricity companies.

During a home visit or community session, KnowHow energy assessors ask homeowners about their lighting, hot water usage, heating and appliances. As well as tips on how to cut power waste, homeowners are provided Ecobulb LEDs – at no cost, says Ecobulb founder Chris Mardon​.

LED bulbs have a higher upfront price tag, but their low running costs more than make up for that.

Families are also eligible for a low-flow showerhead that consumes 40% less water. Hot water typically contributes about a third of a home’s energy bills, with showers and baths responsible for the vast majority of this.

In Christchurch, homes reduced their annual water consumption by roughly 26,500 litres each – a bonus after the city introduced excess water rates.

Families don’t have to compromise on water pressure, Mardon said. “They typically give you a better pressure than the showerhead you have.”

Assessors advise families to switch off unnecessary appliances, starting with an old and inefficient drinks fridge. “It’s consuming hundreds of dollars per year to keep those beers cool.”

Because families can save hundreds of dollars a year by switching power companies, the assessors also use data from Consumer NZ’s Powerswitch to determine the cheapest deal.

With the assessor, each family will develop a tailored power-reduction plan, which calculates how much money they could save each year. Some families are keen to take shorter showers, turn down heater temperatures or switch off heated towel rails after a few hours – while others opt out, Mardon said.

Before they leave, the assessors also check and clean the filters of any heat pumps.

Mardon wants to take the KnowHow service nationwide. He’s applied for $200,000 of funding from the Government’s Support for Energy Education in Communities Programme, to provide more assessments for lower-income Christchurch families.

After that, he hopes to secure funding to provide home energy makeovers for the country’s 300,000 lower-income families. He believes the feat could take just over a year.

“If we rolled this out to every single home in the country, it would save Kiwis $1 billion per year on their power bills,” Mardon said.

Would the Government have been more effective funding energy assessments rather than a Cost of Living payment? “There’s no reason they can’t do both… The great thing is it delivers twice that in annual savings and it keeps doing it year after year. It’s not one and done.”

At scale, power savings could almost turn off the coal-and gas-burning Huntly power plant. Mardon estimates his initiative could save the country 428 megawatts of power during peak times, while Huntly provides 500 megawatts. “It would save the equivalent [emissions] of taking all the cars off the road in Christchurch.”

The KnowHow assessments provide families company-made Ecobulbs. The lights come with a 10-year warranty, though are designed to last for 50 years. So the company “hasn’t designed these for repeat sales”, Mardon said.

But this work is more about reducing bills than selling bulbs, he added. “This is more fun.”

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