All of us know that using air conditioners increase our power bills. But did you know that even if you don’t personally use air conditioners, your power bills are increasing along with everyone else’s?
Heat waves causing power usage peaks
During a heat wave, it is natural that almost everyone who has an air conditioner will use it, causing a spike in the demand for electricity. But in order for the system to handle such peak demands, it needs to have in place adequate cabling, generators and substations. The cost of building this higher capacity infrastructure accounts for almost 25% of your power bill. In effect, all consumers are paying for the larger system, whether you use one small air conditioner, a large ducted 3-phase system or even if you don’t use them at all.
If you consider the fact that such peak demands caused by heat waves occur only a handful of times year (around 40 hours in a year in NSW), designing a system for this capacity seems wasteful. According to the Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee, 20% of the network capacity is being used less than 2.5% of the time.
Growing problem
Currently, about 65% of NSW homes use air conditioning, a percentage that has been steadily increasing over the years. As per the calculations of the Productivity Commission, there is a one-off cost of $2500 that each 2KW air conditioner imposes on the system. This takes into account the fact that higher efficiency machines are being used and that not all air conditioners are used to their full capacity, even during a heat wave. This cost is being paid by all of us – said to be an extra $350 a year on our power bills.
As the usage increases, peak demand also increases – forcing us to build larger systems or control the peak demand remotely. Building larger systems means spending even more on infrastructure that is used sparingly – not a sound economic plan.
Queensland is showing us an effective way of handling the problem with Peak Smart air conditioners.
A feasible solution
Peak Smart air conditioners have a small signal receiver which receives a signal from the system to switch off or slow down operation when peak demand is reached. This switch-off lasts only a few minutes – most users do not even notice the difference since the fan still stays on.
But these few precious minutes add up reducing the demand on the network. Different suburbs are switched off at different times, so that extreme peaks can be avoided at any time. The user does not need to do anything, just install the system and forget about it.
There has been some criticism for this technology since the idea of government-owned corporations dictating when customers ACs are shut off does not appeal to many people. But since it is not a mandatory programme, instead governed by customer willingness and cash incentives, the system has a greater chance for success.
There are numerous benefits for the customers and for the providers: a reduction in peak energy demand, an overall reduction in energy prices and a system for emergency management.
Manage your power bills!
Here at Everest Electrical, we offer electrical safety tips and power-saving strategies to all of our clients. This includes ceiling fan installation, which, when used along with air conditioners (on a low setting), work well to cool off your home using lesser energy, even during a heat wave. Sectioning your house and closing internal doors also help to avoid extra work for your air conditioner.
While you cannot control the energy rates in your area, you can take steps to minimise your energy bill by choosing licensed electricians who can do an assessment and suggest energy-saving alternatives for your Sydney home.