He owns a large house with water and electricity guzzling features like a pool and airconditioning – but’s it’s been nearly three years since Luke Spicer has been charged for utilities usage.
And that’s thanks to some clever changes he and his family have made to their daily routine, along with an array of modifications to their house in Sydney’s northwest.
They’re among a rare breed of homeowners who have become “nil bill” families – they get utilities bills, but they don’t owe anything on them.
It’s a status that’s particularly coveted in the current climate of skyrocketing energy prices and other soaring living costs.
Mr Spicer said achieving energy independence for three years straight wasn’t easy and his family had to make significant investments to achieve it.
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Kylie and Luke Spicer, with son Elijah, installed solar and use batteries to power their home. Picture: Richard Dobson
They designed their home in North Kellyville to include extra insulation and it was orientated to capture the winter sun, while blocking out the summer heat.
Multiple solar panels and Tesla power walls were added to the home, along with rainwater tanks. They also renegotiated with the energy provider to get better rates.
Mr Spicer said the key to driving down their energy charges was not simply having energy-producing infrastructure, but coupling it with an understanding of when to best use it and adjusting their habits accordingly.
“It’s about maximising the use of our production,” he said. “We changed our habits to use dishwashers, aircon and all that during the day to draw the solar.
“Then at night time it’s low energy usage because of our use during the day, the aircon doesn’t have to work as hard.
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Mr Spicer said his solar power infrastructure was a gamechanger.
“Just by changing how we use things, and when we use them, it maximises what we do.”
Mr Spicer said his home generates more power than it uses each month and each month he gets credit.
This largely covers the cost of his water consumption, which is low because he uses rainwater tanks to fill his pool, water his garden and other tasks.
Mr Spicer also saved money by installing some of the solar infrastructure himself, admitting that he was lucky that he worked in the industry and was able to get a discount.
“We estimate we will get the full return on our investment in about five or six years, but having energy independence now is a big factor for us,” he said.
“For us, it just makes total sense to use the abundance of sunlight we have. We don’t have to buy it from energy companies. When there’s a blackout, we are set up to keep running.”
Stefan Jarnason, CEO of Solar Analytics, said many electricity users were coming up with creative ways to bring down their energy usage.
“We’ve seen a big increase in people looking to put solar panels on their roofs,” he said.
“We’ve also seen our solar customers taking the following actions to reduce their energy bills – swapping out their old gas hot water for an efficient heat pump hot water system; increasing the size of their solar system; switching to a cheaper electricity provider; or adding a solar battery so they can use their solar in the evening.
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Luke Spicer hasn’t needed to pay for electricity for three years. Picture: Richard Dobson
“To get to the nirvana of a nil bill home, people generally need to do three things. First, get a large solar system, we typically say just cover the roof. Second, shift your hot water and any large energy loads into the daytime. Finally, get a solar battery … the optimal size battery varies from 6kWh to 16kWh.”
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