Tips On Reducing Your Electricity Bill

[Di]

MJM, I think your question should be, "Why build more dams instead of recycle toilet water?"

The adverse effects on ecology due to dams are many and you only have to read about the environmental issues the Murray-Darling Basin faces .

http://www.environment.gov.au/water/...sin/index.html

Unfortunately, the government always looks to the short term since they are only in office for 3-4 years. They are more about what they can get out of office in the short term personally instead of what they can offer us all for the long term.

I also wondered why they bothered building the desal plant in Sydney when they could have just provided substantial rebates for the installation of water tanks. Who knows where they get their advice from.

[mjm]

I haven't got a rain tank yet, but it definitely is in my list of things I would like

[Cherylle]

I know I don't like expenses to increase, but electricity and water should be charged at a level which does discourage waste.

[Julie-Ann]

It doesn't help when the Western Australia government has decided to reduce the state’s solar feed-in tariff rate from 40c/kWh to 20c/kWh. It makes you think are solar panels really worth it? Also our home faces north so the solar panels would go along the front of the home. That's not quite the front facade we were aiming for.

[Di]

Funnily enough, and it makes sense, the builder and plumber both said not to bother with a rainwater tank. They said the cost of water is minimal compared to the cost of having one and paying for the pump (electricity) and maintenance of it and when there is a drought/little rain, it will not be operational anyway.

I'd love to get solar panels but hubby is against them due to the number of house fires there have been because of them. We'll just have to wait and see what our combined gas/electricity bill is and decide then.

I'm all for saving $$.

[mjm]

geez guys, so rainwater tank is out and solar panels a fire hazard are now also out...

ok tomorrow I will go around the house and try and make a list of things I CAN do, change light bulbs, organize powerboards that can be turned off at the wall etc...

[Julie-Ann]

I didn't know solar panels have caused fires

[Trish]

We have 4 kids & we are trying so hard to teach them to turn things off, but I fear they all have painted on ears...We changed all of our light globes to energy saving ones but are guilty of running 2 fridges.
They wont encourage to many houses to install solar because then that does our coal miners & power station employees out of jobs, not to mention the flow on effect & these large industries are what keep our enconomy alive !