How can I reduce unnecessary household electricity use?

Read bills for kWh and actual versus estimated readings. Identify heating, cooling and water-heating controls with the owner or installer. Shade sunny windows before the room overheats; when air conditioning is operating, avoid leaving external doors open, while maintaining appropriate ventilation. Clean accessible filters only as instructed.

Use hot-water timers only after learning the installed system; do not switch unfamiliar solar or immersion controls experimentally. Run full appropriate laundry/dishwasher loads with a suitable economical programme, and air-dry where practical. Switch off unnecessary lighting without interrupting essential equipment. Compare kWh across similar occupancy and weather conditions. Repeated tripping or hot sockets need an electrician, not efficiency experiments.