Sustainable households

It is estimated that stand by power can account for up to 10% of ahome’s electricity bill. Stand by power is when an appliance is using power even though the device isn’t in use (for example remote controlled devices such as televisions, DVD players, game consoles, stereos as well as touch lamps). 

Find out how much your appliances are costing by borrowing a Save Power Kit from an AlburyCity library. 

When purchasing a new appliance check out its Energy Rating. Assuming you use the appliance per its description below the stars, simply multiply this number by your energy rate (e.g. $0.35/kWh) to find the annual cost of running the appliance. Sometimes, the more expensive appliance will save you money over the life of the item as it costs less to run. 

When selecting your block, consider: 

• Rectangular blocks that enable living areas to face north; 
• Are the sun’s rays to the block impacted by the lot size, orientation, slope of the site and vegetation or adjoining buildings? Solar access to the block is important for passive heating/cooling, solar hot water and / or a solar PV; 
• Check how the terrain or vegetation could affect air movement; 
• Potential overshadowing from height and spread of trees, and neighbouring houses; 
• The benefits from existing vegetation relating to wind protection and summer shading. 

Lighter colour roofs typically have a low solar absorptance compared to darker coloured roofs. Solar absorptance is a measure of how much solar radiation the roof absorbs (0 indicates no roof absorbance and 1 indicates the roof absorbs 100%). Houses with a low solar absorptance roof, heat up less in summer months and thus require less air conditioning. You can find your roof’s solar absorptance from your manufacturer’s specification sheet. 

The smaller a home’s footprint, the easier it is to achieve high energy efficiency. 

The Your Home ‘Design for climate’ section provides talking points to have with your draftsperson or architect early in the design phase to ensure your home is comfortable, healthy and affordable to run . The Your Home website also have FREE designed homes ready for use covering two to four bedroom homes, multiple living areas and homes with up to three bathrooms. These designs can be customised to your individual preference and site. 

Switching to electric appliances creates homes that are both healthier and cheaper to run.  

The transition to an electric home can be done at your own pace whether that’s gradually replacing one appliance at a time, waiting until something breaks, or going all-in. If choosing to replace one appliance at a time, start with the largest gas user which is typically your hot water unit followed by heating and then cooktop/oven. 

For more information visit Energy Saving tips for households and A practical guide to electrification for new buildings, and information on the health benefits are available at Asthma Australia. 

Reverse cycle air conditioners are an electrical, climate control system that provide both heating and cooling. These units typical have efficiencies ranging between 300% to 600% (meaning you achieve three to six times of cool or warm air out compared to the energy used) and provide health benefits when compared to internal gas heating systems (link to Asthma Australia Asthma Australia Guide on Gas Appliances and Asthma).  

When considering supplementary heating and/or cooling for your home, select a system that suits your needs and is energy efficient. To maximise your home’s comfort and energy savings ensure that draughts around doors and windows are sealed, roof and walls are insulated and hang heavy curtains with pelmets. 

Keep room temperature between 18 - 21oC in winter and 23 - 26oC in summer. Each degree change from these recommendations can increase the heating/cooling of your home up to 15%. 

All installers are required to be licensed through the Australian Refrigeration Council (insert Australian Refrigeration Council) and you can verify their licences through the online licence check portal (insert online licence check portal). They can assist in ensuring that your unit is sized correctly. Undersized units may struggle to effectively heat or cool your home, taking longer to reach a comfortable temperature, whilst oversized units can be more expensive to purchase and operate. 

For more information about heating and cooling options visit energy.gov.au. 

Water heating typically accounts for the second-largest portion of household energy consumption, typically between 15% and 30%. Heat pump hot water systems are an efficient and eco-friendly solution for heating water. Heat pumps work by extracting heat from the air and transfer it to the water in a storage tank and typically provide three to five times more heat energy than the electrical energy they consume. 

Heat pumps use the same technology found in reverse cycle air conditioners and refrigerators, making them highly efficient at transferring heat. Most households can schedule their heat pump to operate during the day to maximise efficiency and any household solar, models typically function in temperatures ranging from -5°C to +43°C, making them versatile in various climates. When purchasing consider: 

• Coefficient of Performance (COP); the higher the number the more efficient the system 
• Temperate range 
• Global Warming Potential (GWP) of the refrigerant; the lower the number the better 
• Noise level: a unit with a noise rating 10dB higher than an alternative will be perceived as double the loudness. Locate units to ensure that the unit is inaudible in neighbouring bedrooms, living rooms, or kitchens, in line with EPA Noise Guidelines EPA’s Noise Guide).  

Other tips to save hotwater include installing water efficient showerheads, as showering uses the most hot water in an average household.  

Also be aware if installing mixer taps, these can waste hot water if not used correctly. Be sure to leave the handle in the cold position. 

Induction cooking is a healthy, low cost and safe cooking option. 

Evidence is growing on the benefits of removing gas from our homes. Healthy Futures and NSW Doctors for the Environment are advocating to create healthier homes by transitioning homes to all electric. The Healthy Futures website states: 

‘A child living with gas cooking in their home faces a similar risk of asthma to a child living with household cigarette smoke. Indoor gas has been estimated to be responsible for up to 12% of childhood asthma in Australia’. 

Asthma Australia also recommends that internal gas appliances are switched to electric to reduce harm. 

Fortunately, the solution to a healthier home is also the most cost efficient; this is especially important during the current cost of living crisis!

Try before you buy! 

Library members can borrow a Westinghouse Portable Induction Cooktop for free. 

The portable induction cooktops provide our community with an opportunity to experience the benefits of cooking with an induction cooktop prior to making the upfront purchase. (Reserve Now) 

The Induction cooktops are loaned in a large protective carry case. These do not fit in the book return shoot and thus will need to be retuned during library opening hours to the front desk. A Library Officer will inspect the unit to ensure it is returned in a satisfactory condition.

Household lighting costs are decreasing as light emitting diodes (LEDs) are replacing halogen and incandescent lights. LEDs save money as they use up to 75% less energy and need replacing less often. 

When designing your home consider: 

• How to minimise artificial lights during daylight hours; 
• Avoid rooms with a dark interior as this will absorb light and require more artificial light to be provided; 
• General lighting and task lighting for each space; 
• Locating switches so they are easily turned off when leaving the room; 
• A lower wattage light as this will save energy costs compared to dimming; 
• Energy efficient LEDs over lighting types that are being phased out; and 
• Sky lights as these can provide three times as much light into a room compared to a vertical window. 

Take advantage of the climate to maintain a comfortable temperature range in your home without (or greatly reduced) supplementary heating or cooling and save up to 40% of energy use in Australian homes. 

For more information visit Your Home.

If you’re not installing solar during construction, ensure pitch and orientation allows for installation in the future. 

Panels perform best when they are installed at an angle as they capture more energy from the sun. The added benefit is the angle also assists rain to wash off dust and grime. 

A flat roof will require solar panels to be mounted to at least 10 degrees to avoid rain damage to the panels. However, the additional cost of adding a frame to a flat roof to tilt the solar panels is generally not cost effective. 

Solar panels used to be installed facing north to maximise daily production. However, if you want to save the most on your electricity bill, you may be better to have some panels facing partially east and some partially west so that the panels are generating electricity from sunrise to sunset. 

Electricity prices have increased significantly over the past few years and one method to reduce your bills further is to install solar. Solar should be considered after implementing energy efficient options identified above as this will reduce the size of the solar system required and thus its cost and how long it will take to pay it off. Generally, a warranty on a PV system is for 20+ years and a system can be paid back in under five years. 

The majority of installed solar systems are grid connected, supplying the home with solar power first and then either exporting the excess to the grid or importing additional supply from the grid. However these systems are typically not operational during a blackout. If you would like to partially power your home with a grid connected solar system, be sure to specify this during the quotation stage. 

While solar panels enable households to reduce their daytime energy consumption, batteries can store electricity to use when your solar panels are not generating enough electricity, or if on Time of Use billing and electricity costs are high.   

Assess your own property for solar and battery using SunSPoT.  

More information is available at Your Home ‘PV Systems’, ‘Batteries’ and ‘Choose your solar retailor and installer’. 

Draughts can increase heating and cooling costs by 25%but these costs can be reduced by installing draught seals around doors and windows. Internal doors can also have draught seals to minimise heat loss between rooms that are air conditioned or heated with those rooms not in use. This is a cost effective way to save energy and can easily be completed on existing homes. 

The other benefit is that it stops windows from rattling! 

Position windows and or doors on more than one side of a room or house to enable natural cooling by cross ventilation. 

Use internal lined curtains or close-fitting Holland and or roman blinds with pelmets. Vertical blinds, conventional or timber venetians are generally not as good at keeping the heat out during summer or warmth in during winter.