The dry winter has resulted in low levels of hydroelectric energy generation, forcing NZ to rely more on other energy sources, in turn forcing the wholesale price of energy through the roof. The full effect of this will be felt over the next few months as energy retailers start to pass on their additional costs to households and businesses.
With the ‘Dry Winter’ in full swing, all New Zealanders are now in a position where they need to look at developing habits and strategies to reduce the costs associated with energy consumption.
Not only will these habits and strategies save you a lot of money over your lifetime, they will also reduce your household’s share of carbon emissions. One of the tried and true methods for reducing energy expenditure is to condition yourself to use power during night time hours using a Day and Night ICP.
What is a Day and Night Meter?
A Day and Night Meter is a particular type of energy meter that tracks consumption according to the time of day. During ‘Day’ periods, households will be charged the higher ‘Day’ rate per kWh, reflecting the generally higher level of consumption during these ‘peak’ hours. During the ‘Night’ periods, households will be charged the lower ‘Night’ rate per kWh, reflecting the fact that these are off peak hours and power is generally more available. Keep in mind that that the cost during a ‘Day’ period is often as much as three times more expensive than the ‘Night’ period.
So for example, our Day rate is currently 24.317c per kWh. Our Night rate is 8.418c per kWh – literally almost a third of the Day rate. By comparison, the Anytime rate if we were on an Anytime meter would be 22.548c per kWh.
These are the rates for one particular retailer – but keep in mind we have shopped around a little bit.
Will a Day and Night Meter Be Relevant For Me?
It depends on your habits. If you are an early riser or a night owl, then the Day and Night Meter could be very suitable. If you are only going to be awake and using energy during the peak ‘Day’ hours (between 7am and 11pm), however, then it is generally going to be a waste of money.
Keep in mind that many power companies have very restricted ‘Night’ hours. For many companies, ‘Night’ rates will only be available between the hours of 11pm and 7am. (The obvious reason is that these companies want to make a profit but there may also be legitimate savings that justify these incentives.)
If you are only awake and using power between the hours of 7am and 11pm, you are generally better off selecting an ‘Anytime’ meter. While the ‘Anytime’ meters do not offer you the heavy discount of ‘Night’ rates, the cost per kWh on your ‘Day’ rates will generally be around 7% cheaper.
How Do I Find Out If I Am On Day and Night?
The easiest way to do this is simply to look at your most recent energy bill. Under the section ‘Electricity Charges’ there should a column titled ‘Item’. If the Item column contains the words ‘Controlled’, ‘Day’ and ‘Night’, then you are already on Day and Night. If it contains the words ‘Anytime’, then you are on an Anytime meter.
You Have To Be An Early Riser Or A Night Owl
Unless you can find ways to structure your energy consumption between the hours of 11pm and 7pm, the Day and Night Meter is essentially useless. If you are an early riser or a night owl, or if you have programmable smart devices, it might work.
Keep in mind that ‘Night’ rates are generally three times cheaper than ‘Day’ rates, so the overall saving you can make if you follow this strategy can be significant.
Write a Plan
The first place to start is with a plan. Jot down the main sources of energy consumption that you use during the day. Next, write down the processes that could be transferred to the hours between 11pm and 7am.
Some obvious ones might be using the dishwasher, using the washing machine or dryer, but could also include the cost of heating rooms in the morning or charging mobile and computer devices from a power point overnight.
Keep in mind that heating constitutes by far the biggest single source of household energy consumption during winter, so if you can program your device to turn on at 4am for you to switch off when you wake up at 6am, that will save you tremendous amounts of money.
Is It Worth Switching From Another Meter to Day and Night?
The cost of switching meters is significant, because you need an on-site technician to complete the process. Such a switchover may cost around $50-150 + GST, depending on whether an electrician is required, but will vary from retailer to retailer. Although this is a significant cost, it is a once-off cost, and can be justified if there are long term savings.
We run a motel, and have an ICP on Day and Night. At the moment, around 44% of our power consumption for this meter occurs at night. If we were on Anytime meter rates, our standard power consumption would cost us 30.4% more with the same retailer.
It will, however, differ depending on the timing of your household power consumption habits. You should check your own meter readings before making any decisions.
So in addition to changing energy retailers, there’s another important vector to achieving energy savings. If used correctly, it can provide lifelong savings, help you cultivate good energy consumption habits, potentially reduce your household carbon emissions, and pay for itself within a fairly short time.
Why Night Time Energy Consumption is More Likely to be Green Energy Consumption
It of course makes sense to encourage more people to move over to night time energy consumption. Because NZ national energy generation is based off a ‘capacity’ model, meaning if we run out of hydro electric capacity we start using wind, if we run out of wind we start using geothermal, and on and on up to coal and diesel, when we replace day time energy use with night time energy use, there is a far greater chance that the energy consumption will fall within the ‘green energy’ capacity limits.
Just another way in which saving money and reducing long term inflationary pressure goes hand in hand with being green.
