Aussie mum's trick to save $3,540 a year on bills
Nicole Ciantar is switching to solar to save money.
Sydney mum Nicole Ciantar is looking to do “everything and anything” she can to save money, as her family feels the pinch from rising energy bills, groceries, petrol and more.
“The cost of living is exponential, it’s just ridiculous. Being a family, or even as a single person, you really need to look at where your money is going and how to reduce your cost of living,” Nicole told Yahoo Finance.
The mum-of-two said energy was one of her major pressure points at the moment, with her family slugged with electricity bills of between $1,300 and $1,500 each quarter.
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Along with avoiding using the clothes dryer, pulling appliance plugs out from the wall and installing a pool cover, Nicole is also looking into installing solar.
She figured out she could slash her electricity bill to $440 a quarter by making the switch, saving her family a whopping $3,540 per year.
The upfront cost of solar installation has been one of the main deterrents for Nicole in the past - with her household looking at a total cost of $10,000 for installation - but she thinks now is the right time to make the switch.
“I always knew about solar but I never knew how much I would save. It’s a massive conversation in our household now of, ‘let’s find the money and put it on sooner rather than later’,” she said.
Energy bill shock
Rising electricity prices are a major concern for many households at the moment, with the Australian Energy Regulator flagging increases of up to 25 per cent for around 1 million Aussies next month.
Energy expert and Solar Analytics CEO Stefan Jarnason said he expected more Aussies would be facing energy bill shock and had noticed an increase in customers looking at other energy options as we head into winter.
Solar Analytics have launched a new independent calculator, used by Nicole, which calculates how households can save money with Smart Energy options such as rooftop solar, batteries and heat pumps.
“[The calculator] makes recommendations unique to you, your lifestyle and household. It’s not trying to sell you anything, it’s trying to educate,” Jarnason said.
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