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June 15th, 2013 
HOUSE RULES: Nicole Smyth, 42, and children, Jasmine, 11, Alexander, 9, and Kimberley, 12, and dog ”Max” rug up to keep warm rather than switching the heater on.
Source: News Limited
NEW research has found 40 per cent of households have taught their children ways to monitor energy usage, including turning the heating down, closing doors and wearing warmer clothing.
But only 33 per cent of households say their children understand how to save energy at home.
Find out how to save on your energy bills by completing the My Energy IQ Quiz at www.news.com.au/myenergyiq, and be in the running to win a year’s supply of free energy from AGL.
AGL Energy marketing and retail sales general manager Mark Brownfield said children had become more “energy aware” but it was important to get them involved, particularly during the school holidays, in adopting ways to cut costs.
“The first way is look at the household temperature – if you heat the household between 18 and 20 degrees it’s a good temperature to set it at because every one degree above that uses five to 10 per cent more energy consumption,” he said.
“Just simply shutting doors to areas of the house you are not using, like bedrooms and the laundry, is a good idea because then you are the heating areas of the house you are using and you’re not getting drafts from multiple places.”
Mr Brownfield said leaving electrical appliances in standby mode was costly and could equate to five to 10 per cent of an energy bill.
Mother of three Nicole Smyth, 42, said her children were energy conscious and had been taught from a young age to save power.
“We’ve got rules during the day that the heater has got to be off so the kids have to rug up and wear sweaters and dress appropriately,” she said.
“We just put the heater on for a couple of hours at night and they know not to turn it on the full 25 degrees, instead it’s on at 19 or 20 degrees and I put the fans on reverse to push down the heat.
“The big thing the kids know not to do is use the dryer – it’s for emergency use only if they need something desperately.”
Mr Brownfield suggested playing games with children during the school holidays to get them involved in cutting energy costs.
“Get them to make a map of the house and draw on it where all the doors and windows and the heating is and move around and try and find energy leaks,” he said.
“One of the simple ones is get a ribbon and go around to the windows and if the ribbon moves there’s air moving in or out of the window and mum and dad might help them seal the window.”
Find out how to save on your energy bills by completing the My Energy IQ Quiz at www.news.com.au/myenergyiq, and be in the running to win a year’s supply of free energy from AGL.
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