About EcoGuide

EcoGuide answers one kind of question: what is this going to cost me? Running the aircon through a heatwave, switching to a heat pump dryer, charging the car at home, mulching the back beds. Quick, honest numbers for the decisions Australian households make every week.

Where the numbers come from

Every running cost uses your state's regulated reference electricity price for 2026–27: the AER's Default Market Offer, Victoria's Default Offer, and the government-set tariffs in WA, Tasmania and the NT. We refresh them every July when the new financial year's rates land. Appliance figures come from the government's energyrating.gov.au registration database, using a July 2026 snapshot that covers about 3,700 current fridges, 830 dryers, 1,200 dishwashers and 4,100 air conditioners. Our model search runs over that same registry, so the number you get is the tested label figure, not a guess. Project quantities are good old-fashioned geometry.

They're deliberately ballpark figures. Your retail plan will differ a little from the reference price, but the reference is the most honest single benchmark that exists for each state.

Who's behind it

EcoGuide is made and maintained by Miles Smith, an independent Australian, not an energy retailer, so we're not trying to switch you to anything. The site may show advertising, which is what keeps it free.

If a number looks off, or you want a calculator we haven't built yet, tell us. The roadmap is largely reader requests.