Comfort, convenience and cheaper power bills - here's how.

The average New Zealand household spends about $2000 a year on electricity and still more on gas and other fuels. That's a significant chunk out of anyone's budget. And the bad news is, with demand for energy continuing to increase, prices will only rise further.

Cutting your energy bills can be easy. It can be as simple as changing your standard lightbulbs to energy-efficient ones, switching appliances off at the wall when you're not using them, or choosing appliances which use energy more efficiently (they're just as effective but they use less power and you shouldn't need to pay more).

Saving energy benefits you through lower costs. It also benefits the environment. When electricity is manufactured by burning fossil fuels (such as coal and gas), greenhouse gas emissions are produced which contribute to climate change.