Save energy – and the world

Installing the right fittings and appliances now will reduce your electricity use for years to come.
By Alex May

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I installed eight halogen downlights in my last renovation.
I assumed "low voltage" downlights used less energy than a regular light fitting. I was wrong. Halogen downlights can use as much electricity as regular light fittings.
"If we killed every halogen light in NSW, we could decommission a power station," says Jeremy Davies, the director of Neco, an assessment service that helps create energy- and water-efficient homes.
"Some houses have a hundred of these downlights, which is the equivalent of running four big air-conditioners," says Davies, who estimates that changing from halogen transformer-powered lights to compact fluoros could save up to $600 a year on electricity costs for such houses.
Who knew? Rupert Posner, the Australian director of The Climate Group did. He says household energy efficiency is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And reducing demand for coal-fuelled electricity - which emits three times the greenhouse gases of natural gas - is the big thing.
Consultant Nick Rowley, a former NSW government adviser who worked with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on climate change, says people are not always inspired to turn off their lights.
"Even if you tell people they can save money on their bills, they don't really want to do it," he says. "The thing that has the biggest impact of all on climate change is changing to green power. If everyone did that - which they can do with one simple phone call - they could at least know they are investing in renewable energy sources."
But Bruce Taper, the architect of NSW's energy-efficiency guidelines BASIX, says while green power is useful, reducing energy demand is more important. "It's best to switch to green and reduce your energy demand by 30 per cent - just shortening a shower by one minute can be the equivalent of saving the same amount of power that would run a TV for 20 hours," he says.
Rowley says a household's energy use is dictated by the decisions made when big appliances such as hot water heaters, cooling and heating systems and refrigerators are bought and replaced.
"You take the decision to buy something like a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader, and in the taking of it, you will have a major impact on energy use over the next five to eight years."
Adapting poorly designed houses to become energy efficient is far from impossible. Shading east- and west-facing windows, adding insulation and reducing household energy demand is key. See the website www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome for ideas.
Not that any of this energy-efficiency caper is as simple as black and white. After all, it's better to have a room of halogen downlights than a west-facing house that relies on air-conditioning for cooling and heating. Different houses need different ways to find their own shade of green.

Reduce demand
* The first priority is to tackle the big energy guzzlers. The Institute of Sustainable Futures says hot water systems and a home's heating and cooling systems are the two biggies.
* Air-conditioning, especially ducted air-conditioning, which cools or heats an entire house, is the most inefficient form of cooling. While it's best not to use air-conditioning at all (ceiling fans are the preferred cooling method), cooling or heating each room individually is better.
* The five-star energy rating is a guide to selecting appliances, but make sure you check the kilowatt hours used - a four-star refrigerator can burn through more electricity than a five-star washing machine.
* Don't let your mobile phone chargers sit there without an appliance to charge - it's churning through electricity for nothing.
* Switch off the television and home entertainment systems at the power point each night - some TVs use as much power on stand-by as the old-style cathode-ray
televisions did when they were turned on.
* It is a myth that turning lights on and off uses more electricity than leaving them on. So just turn them off!
* Refrigerators chew through about 10 per cent of a household's energy - so make sure you buy an efficient one. Fridges work best at full capacity and make sure you keep the seals around the base clean.
* Switching to 100 per cent accredited green power forces electricity retailers to buy the same amount of energy your household uses from a renewable source. Check out www.greenpower.gov.au.
* Reduce electricity usage first, then choose efficient appliances, don't leave appliances on stand-by, and change light fittings to compact fluorescent globes.
* If you can't be bothered undertaking any energy efficiency measures, switch to green power and buy carbon credits through offset schemes such as GreenFleet (www.greenfleet.com.au), which plant trees to offset your evil Earth-gobbling ways.


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Installing the right fittings and appliances now will reduce your electricity use for years to come. By Alex May Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. I installed eight halogen downlights in my last renovation. I assumed "low voltage" downlights used less energy than a regular light fitting. I was wrong. Halogen downlights can use as much electricity as regular light fittings. "If we killed every halogen light in NSW, we could decommission a power station," says Jeremy Davies, the director of Neco, an assessment service that helps create energy- and water-efficient homes. "Some houses have a hundred of these downlights, which is the equivalent of running four big air-conditioners," says Davies, who estimates that changing from halogen transformer-powered lights to compact fluoros could save up to $600 a year on electricity costs for such houses. Who knew? Rupert Posner, the Australian director of The Climate Group did. He says household energy efficiency is one of the keys to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. And reducing demand for coal-fuelled electricity - which emits three times the greenhouse gases of natural gas - is the big thing. Consultant Nick Rowley, a former NSW government adviser who worked with the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on climate change, says people are not always inspired to turn off their lights. "Even if you tell people they can save money on their bills, they don't really want to do it," he says. "The thing that has the biggest impact of all on climate change is changing to green power. If everyone did that - which they can do with one simple phone call - they could at least know they are investing in renewable energy sources." But Bruce Taper, the architect of NSW's energy-efficiency guidelines BASIX, says while green power is useful, reducing energy demand is more important. "It's best to switch to green and reduce your energy demand by 30 per cent - just shortening a shower by one minute can be the equivalent of saving the same amount of power that would run a TV for 20 hours," he says. Rowley says a household's energy use is dictated by the decisions made when big appliances such as hot water heaters, cooling and heating systems and refrigerators are bought and replaced. "You take the decision to buy something like a front-loading washing machine instead of a top loader, and in the taking of it, you will have a major impact on energy use over the next five to eight years." Adapting poorly designed houses to become energy efficient is far from impossible. Shading east- and west-facing windows, adding insulation and reducing household energy demand is key. See the website www.greenhouse.gov.au/yourhome for ideas. Not that any of this energy-efficiency caper is as simple as black and white. After all, it's better to have a room of halogen downlights than a west-facing house that relies on air-conditioning for cooling and heating. Different houses need different ways to find their own shade of green. Reduce demand * The first priority is to tackle the big energy guzzlers. The Institute of Sustainable Futures says hot water systems and a home's heating and cooling systems are the two biggies. * Air-conditioning, especially ducted air-conditioning, which cools or heats an entire house, is the most inefficient form of cooling. While it's best not to use air-conditioning at all (ceiling fans are the preferred cooling method), cooling or heating each room individually is better. * The five-star energy rating is a guide to selecting appliances, but make sure you check the kilowatt hours used - a four-star refrigerator can burn through more electricity than a five-star washing machine. * Don't let your mobile phone chargers sit there without an appliance to charge - it's churning through electricity for nothing. * Switch off the television and home entertainment systems at the power point each night - some TVs use as much power on stand-by as the old-style cathode-ray televisions did when they were turned on. * It is a myth that turning lights on and off uses more electricity than leaving them on. So just turn them off! * Refrigerators chew through about 10 per cent of a household's energy - so make sure you buy an efficient one. Fridges work best at full capacity and make sure you keep the seals around the base clean. * Switching to 100 per cent accredited green power forces electricity retailers to buy the same amount of energy your household uses from a renewable source. Check out www.greenpower.gov.au. * Reduce electricity usage first, then choose efficient appliances, don't leave appliances on stand-by, and change light fittings to compact fluorescent globes. * If you can't be bothered undertaking any energy efficiency measures, switch to green power and buy carbon credits through offset schemes such as GreenFleet (www.greenfleet.com.au), which plant trees to offset your evil Earth-gobbling ways.