New Homeowner Energy Checklist Before the First Summer Bill
The first summer bill in a new home is a baseline, not a verdict. Before making any energy upgrade decisions — solar, battery, new appliances, plan switch — you need one full billing cycle of data from your actual usage in your actual home. The decisions that look obvious before the bill often change once you see what the house actually uses and when.
- Read the first bill line by line — check the daily supply charge, usage rate, usage tier if applicable, and whether the plan has time-of-use pricing.
- Check the retailer portal for half-hourly usage data — this shows when the house uses energy and reveals any unexpected always-on loads.
- Start with low-cost, reversible actions first — smart plugs, scheduled appliances, standby reduction.
- Do not sign up for solar or battery quotes until you have a bill to reference. Quoting without usage data produces poor-fit systems.
The checklist — before the first summer bill arrives
Check 1: Know what you are paying per kWh
Find the usage rate on your bill (or in the product disclosure statement if you signed up without comparing). In Australia, general usage rates in 2025 typically range from 28–40c/kWh depending on state and retailer.
If you cannot find the rate: call the retailer and ask "what is my current usage rate in cents per kWh?" Write it down. This is the number that determines whether any energy decision pays off.
Check 2: Set up the retailer portal access
Every major retailer provides a portal or app showing half-hourly usage data. Set this up now, before the first bill. The usage data for the days you have already lived in the house is there — you can see what has been happening already.
What to look for: overnight baseline (kWh consumed midnight–6am divided by 6 = baseline watts). A 100–200W overnight draw is normal. 400W+ suggests something is running that does not need to be.
Check 3: Walk through the appliances
Make a list of every appliance that is always plugged in. This takes 10 minutes and is the most useful energy audit most households never do.
Particular focus:
- Second fridge or drinks fridge
- Old chest freezer
- Pool pump (and its timer settings)
- Hot water system — is it electric? What is the timer set to?
- Air conditioner — does it have a filter that needs cleaning? (dirty filters reduce efficiency)
- Any older appliances that are always on
Check 4: Check the hot water timer
Electric hot water is typically the third-largest energy user in an Australian household (after heating and cooling). If the home has an electric hot water system, check:
- Is there a timer? Is it set to heat overnight (cheaper on most plans) or mid-peak?
- Some homes have solar hot water — if present, check whether the electric boost is set correctly
Check 5: Check the plan for fit
If you moved into a plan that came with the house (or accepted the retailer's default offer), the plan may not be the best fit. Before the first summer bill:
1. Log into the Energy Made Easy website (or Victorian Energy Compare in VIC) with your postcode
2. Enter your estimated usage (use the previous occupant's history if available, or a generic estimate)
3. Compare what you are currently paying versus market alternatives
A better plan does not require any work on the house — it is purely an administrative change.
The three actions that cost under $30 and reduce waste
1. Smart plug with monitoring ($24) on the suspected biggest draw. If there is a second fridge or a plasma TV, plug it into a Tapo P110M and read the kWh over 48 hours. That number tells you whether to act.
2. Standby off schedule on the entertainment area. A smart power board ($45–$80) with a midnight-to-6am off schedule eliminates standby draw from TVs, gaming consoles and soundbars without requiring any habit change.
3. Check air conditioner temperature settings. Setting cooling to 24°C instead of 21°C reduces air conditioning energy use by approximately 10% per degree. This costs nothing.
Wait for the first full billing cycle before making expensive energy decisions. Use that time to read the bill, check the portal, identify any obvious always-on loads and confirm your plan is competitive. The data from one summer bill is more valuable than any assumption made before you moved in.
Analyse your bill once it arrives to understand what the numbers mean and what to do next.