Look for a charge tied to kWh.
On your electricity bill or tariff information, find the variable unit price for energy. It may be called an energy charge, consumption charge or unit rate. Check whether the displayed amount is in major currency units or cents.
25 cents per kWh is 0.25 in a currency whose major unit contains 100 cents. Enter 0.25, not 25. A price of 250 per kWh in another currency may be perfectly valid; follow the units on your own bill.
Keep fixed charges separate.
A daily standing charge or monthly connection fee is usually payable regardless of whether one appliance runs. Don’t assign the entire fee to a single appliance. The budget tool has an optional fixed monthly charge so you can show it separately.
Dividing your total bill by kWh can be useful as a historic blended figure, but it also spreads fixed charges and adjustments across that month’s usage. That figure may be a poor estimate of the cost of one extra kWh.
Use a rate appropriate to the question.
If your tariff has peak and off-peak rates, use the rate that applies when the appliance operates. For mixed use, calculate a representative weighted rate yourself or run separate scenarios. PlugMallow uses one flat rate at a time; it does not model time bands, tiers, export credits or a changing tariff.
If you include variable taxes and charges in the rate, the result includes those amounts. The calculator does not look them up or add them. Check the same tax basis when comparing two estimates.
For a clearer estimate
- Check the currency and whether the bill uses cents or major units.
- Choose the variable price per kWh relevant to your appliance’s schedule.
- Use that same rate in both sides of a comparison.
- Add a fixed charge separately only if you want it shown in your selected-appliance budget.
Changing the currency in PlugMallow asks you to enter a new rate. It never converts a tariff or a purchase price using an exchange rate.
Further reading on multiplying energy use by your own rate: Australian Government: energy rating.