SILICON
SILIC
CHIP
www.siliconchip.com.au
Publisher
Leo Simpson, B.Bus., FAICD
Editor
Nicholas Vinen
Technical Editor
John Clarke, B.E.(Elec.)
Technical Staff
Jim Rowe, B.A., B.Sc
Bao Smith, B.Sc
Tim Blythman, B.E., B.Sc
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Duraid Madina, B.Sc, M.Sc, PhD
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Ross Tester
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Silicon Chip is published 12 times
a year by Silicon Chip Publications
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ISSN 1030-2662
Recommended & maximum price only.
Editorial Viewpoint
Don’t be ripped off by your smart meter
AS I AM SURE you well know, the cost of electricity for Australian consumers is among the highest in
the world, which is a huge change from a decade ago
when our electricity was among the cheapest. This is
not a problem that will be solved easily or quickly but
there are some things you can do to minimise the size
of your quarterly bill.
You can shop around and get significant “discounts”
if you switch to a different provider and pay your bills on time. Even if you
don’t want to switch, you may still be able to get the discount.
When your current contract expires, shop around and find the best offer
available to you, then contact your existing electricity provider and tell them
you’re going to switch because you were offered a better rate. They may well
be able to match it or even do better. Even that result can leave a bad taste because if they’re prepared to offer you a discount when you threaten to switch
suppliers, that means they have been overcharging you.
But even with the discount, depending on the size of your home and your
heating/cooling needs, your family could still be paying many hundreds of
dollars a month. So what can you do about it?
First and foremost, you must know how much you are paying and how much
power your appliances use. If you have a “smart meter” (whether you wanted
one or not), you are likely subject to a much higher tariff during peak periods
(usually in the evening) than if you did not have a smart meter, although that
is offset to some extent with a lower tariff during off-peak periods (usually
late at night and in the morning).
The difference between the peak and off-peak tariffs can be huge. One of our
staff members cites his latest electricity bill with a peak tariff of 59.4c/kWh,
compared with an off-peak rate of 16.5c/kWh (both including GST). So if you
can arrange for your most power-hungry appliances to run at off-peak times,
you could make significant savings. But you need to be aware at all times just
what the tariff is.
The Tariff Super Clock project in this issue means you don’t have to note
the time and then mentally consider the tariff. It’s displayed on the clock at all
times so you know just how much you are paying for power at any given time,
to help you make informed decisions. And other members of your household
can also see the rate so there is no excuse for them to be careless of this aspect.
Of course, you can’t always avoid using power when the peak tariff is in
effect. They call this peak time because that’s when demand is the highest,
partly because it’s around dinner time when you are likely to be cooking and
partly because it’s around sunset, when people with full-time jobs usually get
home and switch on the lights, TV and other appliances.
But if you can run the dishwasher in the morning or late at night and set up
your pool pump to run during the off-peak or shoulder periods you can save
significant amounts of money, with very little inconvenience.
By the way, if you are presently paying a relatively low flat rate for electricity and are considering installing a solar system, just remember that any grid
feed-in tariff will be overwhelmed by the much larger time-of-day tariffs that
will be applicable because you will have a mandatory smart meter. In fact, depending on your usage and the size of the feed-in tariff, you may not be any
better off overall. Look before you leap!
Printing and Distribution:
Nicholas Vinen
Derby Street, Silverwater, NSW 2148.
2
Silicon Chip
Australia’s electronics magazine
siliconchip.com.au
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