What each appliance is worth in the free window
The value of shifting an appliance is simply the energy it uses multiplied by the rate you would otherwise pay. At a typical rate of around 35c/kWh, here is what a run of each appliance is worth if it happens inside the free window instead of outside it:
| Appliance | Energy use | Value per run at ~35c/kWh |
|---|---|---|
| EV charging (7 kW charger) | 21 kWh over a 3-hour window | ~$7.35 per day — the biggest prize by far |
| Electric hot water (resistive, 3.6 kW) | 8–11 kWh for a full reheat | ~$2.80–$3.85 |
| Vented clothes dryer | 2–4 kWh per load | ~70c–$1.40 |
| Pool pump | 3–4.5 kWh across the window | ~$1.05–$1.60 per day |
| Heat-pump hot water | 2–3 kWh per day | ~70c–$1.05 |
| Air conditioning (pre-cool or pre-heat) | 1–2.5 kWh per hour, per unit | ~35c–90c per hour |
| Heat-pump dryer | 1–1.5 kWh per load | ~35c–50c |
| Dishwasher | 1–1.5 kWh per cycle | ~35c–50c |
| Washing machine (cold wash) | 0.3–1 kWh per load | ~10c–35c |
The pattern is obvious: one big load a day beats a fistful of small ones. Religiously delaying every cold wash saves you a coffee a fortnight. Moving an EV charge, a hot water reheat or a battery top-up into the window is where the real money lives.
Set-and-forget strategies
Delay-start buttons and smart plugs
Most dishwashers and washing machines built in the last decade have a delay-start function; load them at breakfast and set them to run at 11am. For dumb appliances, a $20 smart plug with a daily schedule does the same job. Once configured, the shifting happens whether you remember or not, which is the only kind of shifting that survives past the first fortnight.
Hot water timers
An electric storage tank is one of the biggest loads in the house, and it does not care when it heats. A timer that fires the element at 11am captures $2.80 to $3.85 of free energy a day on a resistive tank. Two warnings, though. Hardwired tanks need an electrician to fit the timer, and if your hot water is on a controlled load circuit (off-peak hot water), it is not free under either the Victorian Midday Power Saver or the Solar Sharer Offer — controlled load is metered separately and charged normally. Moving the tank onto your main circuit may mean retariffing, so talk to your retailer before you pay for any rewiring.
EV and battery scheduling
Every mainstream EV and home battery lets you schedule charging from an app. Set the EV to charge 11am to 2pm on days it is home and a 7 kW charger takes on 21 kWh — over 100 km of range — for nothing. A battery scheduled to charge in the window and discharge through the evening peak effectively extends the free window across your whole evening.
Pre-heating and pre-cooling
Your house is a thermal battery. Running the air conditioning hard from 11am to 2pm to pre-cool in summer (or pre-heat in winter) means it coasts through the expensive 3pm to 9pm peak doing far less work. Each unit draws 1 to 2.5 kWh an hour, and every one of those kWh is free instead of peak-priced.
Watch the 24 kWh cap
Free usage is capped at 24 kWh per day under both regulated schemes. Ordinary appliances will never get you there — a dishwasher, a wash, a dryer load and a pool pump together total well under 10 kWh. The cap only bites when the big three stack: an EV (21 kWh), a battery charge and a hot water reheat running simultaneously can push past 24 kWh, and everything above the cap is charged at the plan rate. If you have all three, stagger them across different days or check what your window can actually hold.
Build your own shifting plan
Our load shift planner works out which of your appliances to move, what each is worth, and whether you will clear the 5–6 kWh a day that makes a free plan pay.
Plan my load shiftWhat a realistic total looks like
Most households can shift somewhere between 4 and 10 kWh a day without buying anything more exotic than a smart plug and a timer. At around 35c/kWh, that is roughly $500 to $1,250 a year of free energy in gross terms.
The net benefit is smaller, and it is important to be straight about why: free power plans charge more outside the window, so some of what you save at lunchtime is clawed back at dinner. The rule of thumb from our decision guide still applies — shift 5 to 6 kWh or more a day and you should come out ahead; shift less and a cheap flat-rate plan probably beats the whole exercise.
Our take
Appliance shifting sounds like a lifestyle change, but done properly it is a one-off afternoon of setting timers and schedules. Focus on the loads that move real energy: hot water, EV, battery, pool pump and pre-cooling. The dishwasher and washing machine are worth delaying because it costs nothing to press a button, not because they will change your bill on their own.
And check the controlled load trap before anything else. Plenty of households will set a hot water timer expecting free reheats, only to find their tank is on a separately metered circuit the free window never touches.