We recently had a customer that was reporting energy usage upwards of 75 kWh per day. The typical Australian household uses around 20 kWh per day, so we were keen to investigate and help them solve the mystery of their astronomical electricity bills.

The customer owns a lovely, large apartment in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. There is a communal garage and each resident has a storage area which includes their electric hot water service. The hot water is pumped up to their apartment, one floor above.

The customer had played around with different forms of heating and altering their electricity usage, but couldn’t work out why their bills were so high. We suspected it might be to do with their hot water. But even though electric hot water systems are inefficient and use a great deal of electricity, we didn’t think it would account for all their excess usage.

We installed a Reclaim heat pump hot water unit in early October 2025 and the results were amazing – a 66% reduction in electricity usage. Their energy usages is now down to a more reasonable 25 kWh per day.

 

The before and after. Previously electricity usage was around 75 kWh per day. Now it is closer to 25 kWh.

 

The drop in electricity was due to two factors. First, the Reclaim heat pump is much much more efficient than their previous electric resistance hot water unit. The customer estimates this is saving them around 35 kWh per day.

The second reason is the reticulation pump which was continuously pumping hot water up to the apartment. It turns out, the reticulation pump was consuming around 1 to 1.3 kW per hour, which adds up over the course of the day. And there’s no need to run it 24/7. We installed a timer on the reticulation pump so it only operates between 6am and 9am and 4pm and 9pm. The reticulation pump kicks in and pumps the hot water more quickly to the taps in the house. If hot water is used outside these hours, it still gets there, but just takes a long time (about 3 mins).

 

 

 

The customer suggested that of the 50 kWh reduction per day (the 66% saving) about 15 kWh is due to the reticulation pump being on a timer.

I’m very pleased we could help solve this mystery.

There’s a clear lesson for everyone – if you are considering a ring main or reticulation pump with your hot water, definitely include a timer!