If you are a residential customer and can't find a recent gas or
electricity bill, and don't know how much electricity or gas you
use or how much you spend you can still use IPART's
myenergyoffers comparison website to get an idea of the energy
offers available in your area and how much you might pay for energy
each year under different offers.
Energy use varies throughout the year and depends on the number
of people per household, the type of dwelling, and the number and
age of appliances in use.
IPART periodically
surveys households in New South Wales to learn more about
residential resource use and to collect the socio-economic,
demographic and behavioural data that inform and strengthen our
pricing review process.
Typical electricity use
Based on the results of our 2010 survey of households in the
Blue Mountains, Illawarra and Sydney, we know that larger
households tend to use more electricity than smaller ones.
Typically
- Households with 1-2 residents use about 1,400 kWh of
electricity per quarter
- Households with 3-4 residents use about 2,100 kWh of
electricity per quarter, and
- Households with 5 or more residents use at least 2,700 kWh of
electricity per quarter.
Further, residents of freestanding houses tend to use more
electricity than residents of semi-detached dwellings and flats,
and the more energy-intense appliances a household of any type has
- such as air conditioners, refrigerators, dishwashers and swimming
pools - the more electricity it uses.
Typical gas use
The results of our 2010 survey also indicate that gas use varies
by household size. Typically:
- Households with 1-2 residents use roughly 3,100 MJ of gas per
quarter
- Households with 3-4 residents use roughly 5,400 MJ of gas per
quarter, and
- Households with 5 or more residents use at roughly 6,400 MJ of
gas per quarter.
But gas usage also depends on what it is used for, and
households that use gas only for cooking only use about 500 MJ per
quarter. Furthermore, residents of freestanding houses tend to use
more gas than residents of semi-detached dwellings and flats, and
households in cold climates tend to use more gas than those in
warmer areas.
Estimating your energy consumption more accurately
If you would like to estimate your energy consumption more
accurately, you can use IPART's energy
Consumption Comparator.