As usual it hangs around $75-$85.
Last month, it was $77.89.
So I didn't bother taking a look at it more closely.
Today I had another look.
In the usage graph, I'm always aware that I'm under my neighbour average and national average.
But I never thought about what the numbers meant...
I got a bit curious and decided to tabulate the numbers just for fun.
Now please note, I did a simple linear estimation for the numbers in yellow.
This is NOT accurate. Actual numbers should be MORE than my estimates, cos the more utilities that is used, the more expensive the next tier cost will be.
The numbers are eye boggling.
HOW do people use so much power??? Approximately 68% more.
I'm not someone who proactively tries to save power.
I leave my laptop on when I leave the house, sometimes I leave the fan or lights on, stuff like these.
So it's not like I make an effort to turn off everything in the house before I go out.
There was once a neighbour was looking for me and kept knocking on my door in the evening and she thought that we were at home cos all our lights were on, but we were out.
Well... We are only a couple, some families have kids so I reckon having 68% more power usage would be somewhat expected. They may turn on air-conditioning for another room at night. Do more washing with the washing machine, keep the hot water pot on at night, stuff like that... Or turn on the air-conditioning in the living room when they come back after work.
So I would think, maybe... this is somewhat reasonable with kids or other family members living within the household. Cos it's only around 68% more.
And then next comes the gas numbers...
Ok this one is even more strange... I fail to understand how people could be using more gas than me... I cook every evening. I boil hot water using the old school kettles over the gas.
And yet, the national average is 73% more than mine.
This would make sense if people cooked lunch AND dinner, which would effectively double the usage...
But this would mean that on average, most households cook lunch AND dinner? I'm not sure how true that statement is.
The the best of them all... water usage...
How does the average national household use 3.2x water compared to me?!?!
Does everyone have a swimming pool or something? Or do they all have bathtubs at home?
What's the main usage of water?
Baths, washing machine, flushing the toilet, washing floor, washing dishes.
I doubt drinking is the reason people are using more water than me.
Ok we use the washing machine once in 2 days. Many households wash everyday.
I'm at home most of the time and I think many households have someone at home during the day so I suspect toilet usage is about the same.
I don't wash my floor very often, I vacuum daily so it's clean all the time.
We eat at home for dinner, so I reckon we wash dishes as much as any other household, unless the previous statement is true, and the average household also cooks lunch and thus also have increased dish washing activities...
Then finally the bath, we take short showers. I don't know how the average Singaporean bathes...
So the conclusion for water is... it's likely that the average household has more people in their household, they take more baths and use their washing machine more maybe they also wash their floor more than me.
But seriously??? 3.2x water?
I'd think it would be reasonable to have more water usage up to double my usage, maybe similar to electricity and gas due to more people in the house... but 3.2x is pretty high.
As I said earlier, my estimations on the cost are understated, and should be more expensive in reality, cos the cost of utilities get more as you enter the next tier of usage. Which also means that on average, most Singaporean households have utility bills more than double of mine!!! *GASP*
Now I understand why they can't understand when people talk about reducing utility bills to $50.
If your monthly bill is $150, you'd probably think it's not possible to reduce utilities to $50...
But for me, my utility bill is $78... So to me, it's pretty possible, I just need to turn off the air-conditioning at night and I'll probably achieve a chunk of savings.
It's really quite intriguing, now that I've tabulated this, cos I never really bothered thinking about the actual numbers and the cost. I've just looked at the bar chart and noted that I was using less than my neighbours and national average.
But now that I've tabulated it, it makes more sense and I have a better understanding why some people feel like it's impossible to reduce utility bills. Simply because, they are just too far away from the goal. They don't understand what is possible.
It's like when you struggle to run 2.4km in 15 minutes and someone else is talking about running 2.4km in under 9:45mins.
<<PREVIOUS POST // NEXT POST>>
Did you like this post? If so, could you "blanjah" me 1/4 cup of my morning coffee pls.
You may also consider subscribing to receive the articles in your email, link in the column on the right.