Thermometer Guide

Adjust Temperature Settings & Save Energy

Did you know? Heating, cooling and hot water alone account for over 50% of energy consumption in Australian homes.

Energy usage pie chart

Typical energy usage in an Australian Home (source: sa.gov.au)

The temperature settings of appliances which heat or cool are a key driver of their underlying power consumption. It is for this reason that you should make sure that appliances are operating within an optimal temperature range. This is precisely what this simple thermometer allows you to do.

You can quickly check the temperature of key appliances with this thermometer, including:

Freezers - between -12˚C and -18˚C

  • You will find that freezers are often still stuck on their over-spec factory setting of -20˚C or less.
  • Increasing their set-point temperature will substantially decrease electricity consumption.
  • As the CSIRO explains "Small quantities of bought food can, however, be held frozen for a few weeks at temperatures of between -15 °C and -12 °C without serious loss of quality."

Refrigerators - between 3˚C and 5˚C

  • Refrigerators are often set too warm (above 5˚C).
  • Whilst decreasing their temperature will not reduce your energy use, it will allow you to store foods safely and for a longer period of time, which reduces food waste!
  • Leave the thermometer inside the fridge for at least 10 minutes before checking.
  • You can can check the electricity usage of individual appliances (such as freezers) with a plug-in power meter.

Cooling - between 24˚C and 27˚C room temperature

  • Households and offices often unnecessarily over-cool in summer.
  • The good news is that for every 1˚C temperature increase you will save between 5 and 10% of your air conditioning power consumption.
  • Ceiling fans reduce the perceived temperature by up to 8˚C. You can use ceiling fans in conjunction with your AC to drastically reduce your electricity usage.

Heating - between 18˚C and 20˚C room temperature

  • Contrary to popular wisdom, setting your heater or air conditioner at a higher temperature will generally not heat your room up faster, it just wastes energy.
  • Furthermore, your heater thermostat is often not located in a position where it records actual room temperatures.
  • Place the thermometer in your living room to check the actual temperature.
  • See our energy efficient heaters.

Hot Water - running hot water no higher than around 50˚C

  • Apart from the fact you could burn yourself, a high hot water temperature just bumps up your power usage (regardless of whether is is power by electricity, gas or solar).
  • Note that a hot water temperature at your tap of around 50˚C still means a likely tank temperature of around 60˚C which is recommended for safe storage.
  • Place the thermometer's bulb under running hot water to test.