Climate Action Merribek: people in Brunswick, Coburg, Fawkner and Glenroy wanting action on climate change

Energy Efficiency

You can become an ‘energy control freak’
(but in a nice way, of course…)

The following is a reasonable list of things anyone can do to help improve their energy efficiency at home. It is not meant to be comprehensive but endeavours to show the sorts of things you can start tackling immediately, as well as things to consider for future…

All of these actions also save you money on your energy bills. And of course everyone is concerned about energy bills these days.

We need to tackle energy efficiency before we think about installing renewable energy,

Remember to share these ideas with other people. People don’t give as much thought to energy efficiency, compared with renewables. So sharing your experiences is a great way to spread the word.

 

Insulation
Draughtproofing
Heating/Cooling
Hot water
Lighting
Energy Star appliances
Standby loads
Transport
Cooking/Food
Laundry

More Resources

Insulation

If there are three things you should do, they are insulate, insulate and insulate. It’s probably the best thing you can do to reduce your energy use and create a better, more comfortable living space. While you’re doing a renovation is the perfect time to upgrade your wall insulation. If you’re ‘topping up’ your current insulation, lay the batts directly over the current batts otherwise, the next time someone gets up into the roof space, they won’t know where the ceiling joists are and that could get ugly…

Heavy curtains and pelmets also help. In summer, outside blinds or deciduous plants to the north and west can help reduce your home’s heat load. Closing the curtains on a hot summer’s day can also help to keep the heat out and is a cheap alternative – it is always better to try to stop your home heating in the first place, rather than removing the heat after the fact.

After-market double-glazing is also available if you want to improve your windows further. You can also replace your glass with ‘low-e’ glass which will give about 75% the effect of double-glazing.

Draughtproofing

If you added together all of the ‘holes’ in the average home’s envelope you would have a 1 m² hole in the wall!!! If you had a 1 m² hole in your wall, would you fill it???

Use ‘no more gaps’ or other caulking compound to seal architraves. Your local hardware has oodles of draughtproofing kit to drool over for your windows and doors but buy quality as you don’t want to have to do it again for many years.

Unless you have an unflued gas heater, those vents in the walls can be sealed over as they let heat out in winter (and in in summer).

Heating/Cooling

Between 19 °C and 26 °C there is no need to either heat or cool – it’s comfortable. Every degree above 19 °C you heat (and below 26 °C you cool) puts an extra 10% on your heating/cooling bill!!!

Ceiling fans are usually an effective way to cool down in summer. They use only a tiny amount of electricity. Use them in reverse mode in winter to mix the hot air at the ceiling with the rest of the air in the room.

Only heat or cool your living areas – bedrooms don’t need heating; you sleep better when the temperature is lower. Cooler temperatures also gives your body the signal to ‘wind down’. Close doors and use door ‘snakes’ to seal off draughts.

Consider getting an energy efficient heat pump (reverse cycle air conditioner) when your current heater/cooler is up for replacement. Look for a high CoP/EER.

Hot water

Minimise your hot water use – it takes a LOT of energy to heat water. Use a low flow shower head and limit your showers to 4 minutes. Don’t leave taps (especially hot taps) running unnecessarily – we live in the driest populated continent on the planet and this is likely to get worse with Climate Change! When your hot water system is up for replacement, consider a heat pump or solar unit – you’ll be glad you did!

Install a ‘ValveCosy’ on your hot water storage tank PTR valve to save 7% on your hot water heating costs.

While we’re on hot water, when you want a cuppa, only boil the amount of water you need; you’ll save energy AND get your brew quicker! NB. Make sure the element in your jug is covered though.

Lighting

Replace your inefficient incandescent lights with LED lights.

Halogen downlights make great heaters – that’s why they start house fires! That’s also why you have holes in your insulation where every downlight is, making your insulation look more like swiss cheese!!! LEDs, on the other hand, make great lights and you can then cover the bulb with a “downmitt” to restore your insulation back to a semblance of “standard tasty cheese”.

Energy Star appliances

When buying any new appliances, always check out the Energy Star labels – they give a good indication of efficiencies. Go for as many stars as you can manage as the savings in energy can often offset the extra cost. Make sure you buy the right size appliance – fridges run better when they are full and a HUGE TV can literally cost you enormously both with the purchase cost and with daily running costs. When you were growing up, a 26 inch colour TV was probably the “bee knees” – why is it now so important to have a 60″ wide screen “cinema experience”???

Tip: Multiply the “kWh” figure on the Energy Star label by 0.30 to get an idea of the annual running costs. eg. a “sticker” energy use of 100kWh costs approximately $30 per annum to run.

At least ask yourself these questions when you go to buy – you may be very glad you did…

Standby loads

About 5% of your energy bill may be from appliances that are ‘on’ even when they’re ‘off’ – think TV’s, heat pumps, dvd players, phone chargers, even some washing machines and dryers – in fact anything that either has a light on or stays warm is using energy unnecessarily. Turn them off at the switch to save. For those ‘hard to get at’ switches, the “New Inventors People’s Choice” award winning EcoSwitch will make turning off a breeze.

4W that is on 24×7 costs $10 pa!!! Use an energy meter like the Australian designed and manufactured PowerMate Lite to check how much energy is being used in standby. Your local council may even have them to loan from your library…

Transport

Ride a bike, walk, catch public transport – use a car as a last resort and you’ll save heaps. Consider getting rid of your second (or first) car and joining a car share program. (GoGet or FlexiCar)

1 litre of petrol has the energy equivalent of 4 Australian adult RDI (recommended daily intake)!!!

Cooking/Food

Cook in bulk – it uses very little extra energy and you can have YMCA food (Yesterday’s Meal Cooked Again). If you would rather not have the same thing 2 nights running, you can store in the fridge or freezer. If you freeze it, get it out 24 hours before you need to use it and store it in the fridge – as it defrosts it will reduce the load on your fridge.

Make a shopping list and stick to it – you’ll save heaps. Go shopping with neighbours and buy in bulk to save even more (and you can car share to get there saving fuel as well). Better still, descend on your local food provedore en masse by bicycle!

Consider moving away from gas to induction cooktops – they are just as responsive as gas (but you might find you need to replace your pots).

Laundry

Do full loads (goes for the dishwasher as well) and hang your clothes to dry – it’s not often that you can’t get them dry outside.

If you have problems, put a clothes horse up – remember those? – as they dry they will rehumidify the air which also helps to alleviate asthma!

If you must use a dryer, make sure the lint filter is cleaned after every load as this will help maintain efficiency and could prevent a fire.