The big picture
Efficiency is the only bill saving that compounds
The cheapest kilowatt-hour is the one you never use. Switching plans trims the price of power; efficiency trims how much you need, and that saving repeats every year, on every plan, no matter what the wholesale market does. The trouble is that almost none of it is visible: your bill is one number, not a breakdown by appliance. The calculator on the right turns that one number back into parts, so you can see where the money actually goes, then each guide below shows how to bring it down.
The idea that pays you back twice: a cheaper plan is a discount on a moving target, because tariffs and the wholesale price keep changing. An efficient appliance is a permanent cut to the target itself. Replace a plug-in heater with a reverse-cycle one, or electric storage hot water with a heat pump, and you keep that saving every winter, under every retailer, for the life of the unit. Cut the usage first, then put what is left on the sharpest plan for your address.
Where your power actually goes
Three things decide most of your bill
Spread your effort evenly and you save little. Aim it at these three and you change the number that matters.
Heating & cooling
Comfort is the biggest single slice of an Australian bill, and the most wasteful when it is done with resistance heaters or by cooling rooms nobody is in. A reverse-cycle system, used only where you are, is the largest lever in the house.
Hot water
A quarter of a typical bill heats water you then send down the drain. It is also the easiest big win, because swapping electric storage for a heat-pump or solar system cuts that slice by two-thirds without changing a single habit.
The always-on tail
The fridge, standby electronics and old appliances draw small amounts around the clock, and small times 8,760 hours a year is real money. Star ratings and switching things off at the wall quietly claw it back.
Explore the guides
Every appliance on your bill, explained
Independent, Australia-specific guides on what each appliance costs to run and the cheaper way to do the same job.
Heating your home
Home heating costs
What is genuinely cheapest to run in an Australian winter, ranked.
The most efficient heater
Why a reverse-cycle unit beats every plug-in heater on the shelf.
Ducted heating
Gas versus reverse-cycle for whole-home ducted warmth.
Hydronic heating
Boiler versus heat pump for radiators and slab heating.
Underfloor heating
Electric versus hydronic, and what each really costs to run.
Cut winter heating costs
The habit and zoning changes that shave a winter bill fast.
Cooling & climate
Air conditioner running costs
What an hour of cooling actually adds to your bill.
Air conditioning: ducted vs split
Cool the whole house or just the room you are in.
Portable air conditioners
The convenient option that quietly runs dearer per hour.
Heating and cooling
One reverse-cycle system for both, or two appliances?
Heat pumps & hot water
Everyday appliances
Fridge running costs
The appliance that never switches off, and how to tame it.
Washing machine costs
Why washing cold is the single easiest saving in the laundry.
Clothes dryer costs
Heat-pump versus vented: a threefold difference per load.
Dishwasher running costs
Nearly all of it is heating water, not washing dishes.
Keep exploring
Efficiency works best alongside the rest of your energy plan
Once your usage is lean, the other two levers are generating your own power and understanding the market you buy the rest from.
Rooftop solar
Make your own power for the hours your efficient home still draws, and read your roof before you buy.
ExploreRenewable energy
Why a greener grid has not cut your bill yet, with the live National Electricity Market mix.
ExploreHow the energy market works
The NEM, the wholesale price and the reference price, so you can judge any plan against one number.
ExploreCommon questions
A Selectra expert answers your energy efficiency questions
For most households it is heating and cooling first, then hot water, then the always-on appliances like the fridge and standby electronics. Together, heating, cooling and hot water are usually well over half the bill, which is why they are where efficiency upgrades pay back hardest.
Yes. A reverse-cycle heat pump moves heat rather than making it, so one unit of electricity can deliver three to four units of heating or hot water. That is why a reverse-cycle heater or a heat-pump hot water system runs at a fraction of the cost of plug-in electric resistance.
It does, because the running cost is paid every year for the life of the appliance, while the higher purchase price is paid once. On a fridge or air conditioner that runs for a decade or more, an extra star or two usually saves far more than it costs upfront.
In almost every part of Australia it is a modern reverse-cycle (heat-pump) air conditioner, used in the rooms you actually occupy rather than heating the whole house. The home heating guide ranks every option on real running cost.
They do different jobs and stack together. Switching to a cheaper plan lowers the price of each kilowatt-hour once; efficiency lowers how many you buy, every year, on any plan. The biggest wins come from doing both: cut the usage, then put what is left on the sharpest plan for your address.