[Anchor]

We have reporter Han Jiyeon with us for Thursday's "Friendly Economy." Han, it is really hard not to turn on the air conditioner at home these days, and many people must be worried about their electricity bills.


[Reporter]

Electricity bills have what you might call a magic section.

Once you cross these progressive brackets, the unit price shoots up for any usage beyond that point.

So, I calculated myself just how much this amounts to.

With shocking heat reaching the level where a "severe heatwave warning" was issued in Seoul, you often hear people say things like, "I look for bank ATM booths even on weekends," or "Airports have become a hot spot for seniors these days."

This is all because people want to save even a little bit on electricity bills by going to places with strong air conditioning.

So, I looked into how much electricity bills actually come out to.

Electricity bills use a "progressive system" structure where prices jump sharply by stage.

Originally, 200 and 400 kilowatt-hours are the thresholds where the stages change, but strictly for the two months of July and August, these thresholds are generously relaxed and increased to 300 and 450 kilowatt-hours, respectively.

So, if a four-member household used an average of 419 kilowatt-hours last summer, it costs 77,000 won in a month. But if you blast the air conditioner and exceed 1,000 kilowatt-hours, it could even come out to 370,000 won.

Then just how much can you run it to stay within the threshold? There are many sites that calculate this these days, so I went and calculated it myself.

According to the calculator, for an average home, the first bracket is already filled up even before turning on the air conditioner.

Based on a 15-pyeong stand-type air conditioner, you can defend yourself in the middle bracket for up to 5 hours a day, but at 6 hours, it immediately crosses over to the highest bracket.

However, these numbers may vary depending on the type and size of the air conditioner and the amount of electricity originally used.


[Anchor]

So you've prepared ways to save on electricity bills.


[Reporter]

I also had a bit of a bad habit; some people turn off the air conditioner when going out briefly, but repeatedly turning it off and on can actually be a loss.

There is a so-called "90-minute rule."

Researchers at a major corporation actually conducted an experiment.

Turning an inverter air conditioner off and on for just 30 minutes used 5% more power than leaving it on continuously, and turning it off for 60 minutes used 2% more.

However, once it exceeds exactly 90 minutes, turning it off and heading out used less power.

Why does this happen? Inverter air conditioners run the compressor gently when the desired temperature is reached, maintaining it with minimum power.

However, if you turn it off in the middle, the compressor runs hard to drop the temperature sharply when you turn it back on.

As a side note, constant-speed air conditioners are the exact opposite.

Constant-speed models do not have the function to adjust power gently like inverters, so it is more advantageous to turn them off after lowering the temperature sufficiently.

You might wonder what kind of air conditioner you have at home, but if you replaced it within the last 15 years, almost all of them are inverter types, so constant-speed models are quite rare these days.

On top of this, raising the set temperature by just 1 to 2 degrees can reduce power consumption from the 10% range to the 20% range.

If filters are neglected, they use 3% to 5% more power, so it is recommended to clean them once every two weeks.

Electricity saved this way also returns as cash.

Originally, you had to save 3% or more to receive a cashback, but in the second half of this year, saving just 1% makes you eligible.

You can get back up to 120 won per kilowatt-hour for the amount saved.

You can apply through KEPCO's representative energy platform, Wise Energy Life.


[Anchor]

Next, you've organized the parts of the tax code revision that are changing to be life-adjacent.



[Reporter]

The tax cuts given when a child is born are now transitioning to a direct budget support method.

Until now, 300,000 won for the first child, 500,000 won for the second, and 700,000 won from the third onwards were deducted during year-end tax settlement, but this structure meant that households paying less income tax could not fully receive the benefits.

Therefore, the government stated it will change to direct support at the time a child is born.

Specific amounts are scheduled to come out in next year's budget proposal.

There are also changes regarding cars.

The individual consumption tax benefits given when purchasing hybrid cars end at the end of this year.

The government's stance is to concentrate support on electric and hydrogen vehicles rather than hybrids, which already sell well.

There are also changes for those using public transportation.

Public transportation expenses paid with cards previously received a separate preferential deduction of 40%, but since other supports like the K-Pass have been increased, this preferential treatment will be eliminated starting next year, applying only 15% to 30%, the same as general consumption.