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How to make your home more energy efficient

Improving the energy efficiency of your home can save electricity and/or gas consumption, and make your home more comfortable.
There are many areas where improvements can be made - start with the ones you feel capable of and make use of online resources to help.

Find out ...
  • Find out your average daily electricity usage in kWh/day (hint - look for a small bar graph on your bill)
  • Find out your daily gas usage in MJ/day (if you use gas)
  • Look at the difference in daily usage for a summer vs winter and across Autumn and Spring bill.  

Reading your bill a key to understanding how you are using energy If your electricity usage is already below 10 kWh/day, you are doing very well. Even so you still might be able to improve the comfort of the home though. 
If your electricity usage is between 10 kWh/day and 30 kW/day, depending on your household size, there are almost definitely  savings to be made.
If your electricity usage is over 30kWh/day, there will almost certainly be 10-20% savings possible and it is time to assess what is happening.

PictureHousehold electricity meter

If your daily electricity usage is over 30kWhrs/day, there will almost certainly be 10-20% savings possible and it is time to audit what is happening..

Where to start?

The pie chart shows the energy use for a typical household without a  swimming pool. It shows that the biggest energy users are the heating and cooling devices:
  • Hot water system
  • Room heating
  • Room cooling (Air-conditioning)
  • Refrigeration

Some uses like cooking may be difficult to reduce. Others may be easy and cost nothing. So why not start with the easy ones.

Free energy savings

  • Set your washing machine to cold wash and rinse - most clothes do not need a hot wash
  • When replacing an appliance, choose one that uses less kWh per year see: http://www.energyrating.gov.au
  • Switch equipment off at the power point when not in use - especially computers
These changes can make a big difference to your bills.

Low cost saving

  • Plug-in timers are cheap and can be used to switch off devices like pond pumps or fish tank lights that currently run 24/7 and which you don't want to have to turn on and off manually. Note that the mechanical ones will need to be reset after a blackout
  • A  remote control switch wirelessly controls a device plugged into a hard-to-reach power point.
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Inexpensive but a bit more effort

If you have a storage hot water tank, 
  • Fit a 3 star WELS rated shower head - changing a shower head is explained in this video
  • Fit a Valve Cozy to the pressure release valve on the tank
  • Insulate the any exposed copper hot water pipe - especially the first couple of meters from the tank

Draught-proof the home
Australian homes typically leak air around doors, windows and skirting boards, and through wall vents, exhaust fans and ceiling downlights. 
On a windy day, close the house doors and windows and feel for draughts in the above places with the back of your hand or by watching the smoke from a burning incense stick. All these draughts can be stopped as shown in the great how-to videos by greenityourself.
To find out how we can help reduce your energy bills call  John 0418 262706 or email [email protected] 

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At Ecological Design we realise that each home is unique in both challenges and opportunities. We are able to make pragmatic recommendations that will both save you money and make your home more comfortable.  

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