Originally Posted by spuddyo (Post 9926715)

26 degrees ? Are you sure ? Our aircon is set at 18 degrees, or what's the point ? :cool:

Originally Posted by moneypenny20 (Post 9926746)

Holy cow. I'm thinking of lighting the fire at 20 degrees let alone having the aircon down that low. How on earth can you acclimatise to the real temperature if your house is that low? :confused: It must be unbearable any time you go outside. :unsure:

Originally Posted by kips (Post 9916472)

So if anyone has any tips on how we can save on the electricity but still use the air con on very hot days I would be eternally grateful.

Originally Posted by spartacus (Post 9926760)

You might set it 18 but it'll never get there, just keeps the condensor running permanently in a vain attempt to achieve that temperature, which equals mammoth bills.

I set ours to 26 or even 28. Takes the humidity out of the air and does a bit of cooling, condensor runs only intermittently, which equals small bills.

Originally Posted by Seabird (Post 9919625)

Alot depends on where you live in Australia. You need advice from those living in dry hot locations! I lived in Adelaide for 5 years where we had the very high temperatures you talk about and the whole house heats up. A fan is inadequate on its own as all it does is circulate hot air, and the temperature is already above body temperature. As your sweat it evaporates more quickly in low humidity so a fan does not speed up that process and cool you down as well. We now live in Brisbane where you feel warmer at lower temps because of humidity, but fans work a treat, especially on the ceiling, and I have hardly used aircon for the entire summer. It doesn't go above body temperature.

In Adelaide I would have it charging away and get $700 bills. I must admit to my quarterly bill now being a steady $360 for two of us in a four bedroom house. It was twice that in Adelaide in the summer and also in the winter, because you will pay stacks more to HEAT your house in winter than the cool it in summer. Winter is a bigger bind in my opinion as you need heating everynight in Adelaide and probably Perth for around 4 months a year....

To get back to some tips:

Set the air con to a slightly higher temperature and use fans. Once you get temperature down to around 30C you can use fans to boost its effects.

Close your windows and blinds during the day - roller blinds look awful but are excellent for this. Once the temperature outside is lower then inside, open the house up for a few hours.

Brick houses act as radiators - close the area off where you have the aircon system, and live and even all sleep in there for the few days when it gets above 40C if you are unable to sleep elsewhere in the house.

Put on an old teeshirt and shorts, stand in the shower and then drip dry - you act as your own convective cooler! This brings instant relief and means you don't need the air con, but be careful of your water bill.

At night, put a wet towel over yourself or the kids. If you then turn on a fan you will be chilled as!! this is a great use of a fan even in very high temperatures, and costs very little.

Part of being in Australia is that it is unsurprisingly hot... It is the winter that surprised me far more, as houses are not geared up for it. Really miss central heating in winter even in Brisbane - daughter had really bad chilblains on her hands and feet last year in Brisbane!

Hope this helps..

Originally Posted by mulben (Post 9926721)

25c to 26c is perfect under low humidity , 18c is seriously cold - hate it !

ours doesnt get a look in till its over 32c

better acclimatized I suppose.

Originally Posted by spuddyo (Post 9926715)

26 degrees ? Are you sure ? Our aircon is set at 18 degrees, or what's the point ? :cool:

Originally Posted by kips (Post 9916472)

Our last electricity bill for 12/10/11-8/12/11 ie 58 days was $167.25.
The latest bill for 9/12/11-10/2/12 - ie 64 days is a whopping $392.15.:frown:

Originally Posted by paulandcelia (Post 9935012)

Not surprised your freaking out at that bill:eek:
This being my first summer in oz I've been paranoid about turning our a/c on...but thought our bill (14dec-17 feb) of $159 was high until I've just read this thread.

I'm obsesive about turning lights and appliances off and I've changed all the globes to energy efficient ones....a/c is not the only thing that eats electric.

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 9935347)

You have to be kidding if you think that's a big bill. My last Winter bill was over a grand.

Originally Posted by iamthecreaturefromuranus (Post 9935347)

You have to be kidding if you think that's a big bill. My last Winter bill was over a grand.