From this story - the general idea being their bills dropped by 1/3 to 1/2 when a smart meter was installed.
It's made me wonder if this is one reason my power bills are so high - well they seem high compared with say my Mum or a friend who I was talking with. It's just my wife and I, we have an old house that I've insulated well (ceiling two layers of pink batts, wall with foam, under floor), with some double glazing. In winter we heat 1/3 the house to 21 or 22 degrees using a new efficient heat pump, between 6 and 10pm, then other than the coldest days it's off overnight and is on for 30 minutes in the morning. All year we have two showers a day each - occasionally three if we're very active. We cook aomost every day on electric stove, no gas, everything electric. Hot water cylinder is brand new and also has an insulation blanket just because I had one around. Downlights removed because they waste heat. Significant effort taken to reduce usage, such as a device that shuts off power to the TV and such when it's not in use. One fridge/freezer, nothing much on during the day. One computer runs 12 hours a day.
Example power bills:
- April $221 850kwh (estimated)
- May $185 682kwh
- August $330 1386kwh
- Sept $485 2292kwh
- Oct $179 764kwh
- Dec $196 849kwh
Is this high or pretty standard? We do heat the place to a comfortable temperature all winter, but only when we're here.