Aussie dads might mean well, but their energy-saving hacks don’t always cool the home or bill.
New research suggests dad hacks from kiddie pools in the lounge room to help young families beat the heat, light‑switch policing to aircon crusades aren’t cutting the household energy bill as expected.
The research conducted by Pureprofile and commissioned by Origin surveyed a national representative sample of 1,004 Aussie dads with 68 per cent of respondents aged between 35 and 64.
A 64 per cent of dads revealed to hate a light left on in an empty room while 41 per cent of dads lose their cool over the aircon.
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Dad DIY energy saving hacks. Source: Origin.
Only 27 per cent of Dads are confident their hacks work, 45 per cent were said to be copying their parents, 27 per cent listen to mates and 19 per cent admit they are just winging it.
When asked how they police the house during summer, Aussie Dads generally fall into one of four “Energy Dad” archetypes.
“The console controller” with 32 per cent obsessing over the airconditioning at a perfect temperature ensure it’s not used unnecessarily or left on when no one is home.
“The thermal tactician” as 29 per cent are constantly closing doors and curtains around the house, and sealing gaps to keep the heat out and the cool in.
“The solar strategist” with 17 per cent keeping a close eye on daily generation and adjust the timing of appliances to ensure electricity comes from their panels, rather than the grid.
Finally, “The appliance accountant” as 15 per cent obsessively time their appliance usage, tracking running costs, and monitoring every watt of household energy consumption.
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Most frustrating house habits for dads. Source: Origin
Aussie dad Ward Horsnell from NSW opts for a range of habits whether summer or winter.
“When I go to bed at night, I walk around the house, lock the door and switch whatever non-essential power, lights and fans,” he said.
Mr Hornsell also aims to optimise the solar and battery system, running the pool filter, charging his hybrid car and prioritising appliances in the middle of the day.
“You can change your behaviour and use them when the sun shining and your solar works at its most efficient,” he said.
“Things like the dishwasher, clothes washer and the clothes dryer if we can run that during the day.”
Origin General Manager, Retail Consumer and Property Duncan “the Dad Debunker” Permezel said while the research shows how innovative some dads can be, it also revealed a lot of myths.
Where many dads get their energy saving tips. Source: Origin.
“We’ve all heard the stories or lived them ourselves, of dads laying down the law in the house to save a buck on the energy bill,” he said.
“We decided to put those ‘Dad rules’ to the test, and it turns out the creative hacks some Dads enforce aren’t always the most effective way to cool the house or energy bill.
“I think one the most common ones while coming off the back of summer is the airconditioning and the Goldilocks zone.”
Mr Permezel said a lot of dads wait to turn the aircon on when it gets “too hot to bear” or turn it on at a very low temperature for a short period of time.
“Most airconditioning will run a lot better in the Goldilocks zone around the 24 to 26 degrees — any further below that every degree can cost you another 10 per cent on your energy,” he said.
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Duncan Permezel
Mr Permezel said this also saved alternatives seen through the research such as putting a kiddie pool in the living room or building your own evaporative effect with towels and fans.
“Even the unfortunate example of expecting everyone to walk around in wet bathers through the house during summer!” he said.
Mr Pemezel recommended sealing off the rooms for better air conditioning.
“A lot of the inefficiency is in the house itself, not just the operation of the airconditioning, so door cracks, windows that have direct sunlight,” he said.
“Blinds definitely help – things that stop the glass itself getting warmis very helpful to saving that cost.”
One dad put a kiddie pool in their lounge room. Picture: Supplied.
While there is no harm in turning everything off at the wall, Mr Permezel said only certain appliances draw power when not in use.
“Things like Xboxes computers will keep consuming power,” he said.
“Those things are always better to turn off completely and turn off at the wall if you don’t want that vampire power leakage.”
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