How to improve home efficiency

Home Owner

Key points

Continuous Improvement: There’s always more you can do to enhance efficiency. As a home owner you have lots of options. Treat it as a journey and celebrate each small win along the way.

Professional Help: Getting professional assistance, often available for free, can identify what’s needed and provide the best return on effort.

Active vs. Passive Efficiency: Efficiency can be active (e.g., technology or building-related) or passive (e.g., behavioral or process-related).

Mindset Shift: Saving the environment and the planet isn’t always about money, although that helps. It’s about adopting a mindset open to change and willing to embrace new approaches.

Where do I start? – identifying the problem

Ways to assess your home’s efficiency:

  • Review Your Bills. The average daily household usage in Australia is 18.71 kWh for 3 people and 21.36 kWh for 4 people. Aim for much lower usage if you’re focusing on efficiency.

  • Evaluate your home’s comfort. Are you often too hot, too cold, or too muggy?

  • Asses your home by looking for gaps, drafts, and hot/cold spots. Check the energy ratings on your appliances (1-5 star) and whether your lights are LED. The Clean Energy Council provides a handy checklist for this here 

  • Audit your home:

    • Paid Services: See the SOS and Geelong Sustainable Electric Homes program run every September or visit their website

    • Free Services: Government-subsidized services, such as AusEnergy Assessment, may visit remote areas like Apollo Bay if there’s enough demand. More details here

  • Monitor Your Energy Use: Various devices can help monitor energy usage. Options include:

    • Standalone Monitors: Measure individual devices, just plug them in.  Available for under $30

    • Whole House Monitors: Measure overall household usage. Just turn appliances on and off to identify energy guzzlers. A free, state-subsidized option is PowerPal, which clips onto your smart meter and sends data to a smartphone app.

  • Borrow a Heat Meter: Many libraries lend tools like heat-sensitive meters, which show hot and cold areas in your house. The Geelong Libraries have a “library of things”. Log in / join here. select the library of things catalog, click the search glass scroll down to one of the following for pickup at the apollo bay library

  • Building a new house or renovating: Now is the time to consider building aspects like orientation, appliances, curtains, split air conditioning, and heat pumps. Explore the SOS website for more details.

These approaches will help you identify and improve your home’s efficiency effectively.

What are the main areas that can improve efficiency?

Areas to focus on tp enhancehome efficiency. More detailed information on bigger items can be found elsewhere on our website.

  • Lighting: Switch to LED lights, which use up to 80% less energy than halogen globes. Also, make use of natural light whenever possible.

  • Appliances: Opt for energy-efficient appliances and choose Energy Star-qualified models. An Energy Rating Calculator can help compare the energy ratings of different appliances.

  • Insulation: Insulate your walls, ceilings, and floors. Consider double glazing or special window coatings for better insulation.

  • Temperature Control: Lower your thermostat settings. For every degree you increase the temperature, your energy use increases by 5% to 10%.

  • Windows and Doors: Seal gaps in windows and doors and use door snakes to prevent drafts.

  • Draught-proofing: Use shade cloth or bamboo blinds to keep heat out in summer. In winter, rugs and curtains help retain heat. Growing deciduous trees can provide shade in summer and allow sunlight in winter.

  • Time of Use: Turn off appliances and lights when not in use. Use appliances during more energy-efficient times, such as when solar PV is generating power or during cheaper tariff periods.

These steps can significantly improve your home’s energy efficiency.

SOS Energy efficiency studies

In 2021 and 2022, SOS conducted two energy efficiency projects with the support of COS grants. The activities resulted in a set of written and video reports .

These can be viewed here

FAQ

Here are some additional points to consider:

  • Local Experiences: Curious about what others in Apollo Bay think about their household efficiency? Check out our local stories available from the home page.

  • Additional Resources: For more information, visit yourenergysavings.gov.au for general advice on creating an energy-efficient home.

Renter

Key points

Continuous Improvement: There’s always more you can do to enhance efficiency. Even as a renter you still have quite a few options.. Treat it as a journey and celebrate each small win along the way.

Professional Help: Getting professional assistance, often available for free, can identify what’s needed and provide the best return on effort.

Active vs. Passive Efficiency: Efficiency can be active (e.g., technology or building-related) or passive (e.g., behavioral or process-related).

Mindset Shift: Saving the environment and the planet isn’t always about money, although that helps. It’s about adopting a mindset open to change and willing to embrace new approaches.

Where do I start? – identifying the problem

Ways to assess your home’s efficiency:

  • Review Your Bills. The average daily household usage in Australia is 18.71 kWh for 3 people and 21.36 kWh for 4 people. Aim for much lower usage if you’re focusing on efficiency.

  • Evaluate your home’s comfort. Are you often too hot, too cold, or too muggy?

  • Asses your home by looking for gaps, drafts, and hot/cold spots. Check the energy ratings on your appliances (1-5 star) and whether your lights are LED. The Clean Energy Council provides a handy checklist for this here 

  • Audit your home:

    • Paid Services: See the SOS and Geelong Sustainable Electric Homes program run every September or visit their website

    • Free Services: Government-subsidized services, such as AusEnergy Assessment, may visit remote areas like Apollo Bay if there’s enough demand. More details here

  • Monitor Your Energy Use: Various devices can help monitor energy usage. Options include:

    • Standalone Monitors: Measure individual devices, just plug them in.  Available for under $30

    • Whole House Monitors: Measure overall household usage. Just turn appliances on and off to identify energy guzzlers. A free, state-subsidized option is PowerPal, which clips onto your smart meter and sends data to a smartphone app.

  • Borrow a Heat Meter: Many libraries lend tools like heat-sensitive meters, which show hot and cold areas in your house. The Geelong Libraries have a “library of things”. Log in / join here. select the library of things catalog, click the search glass scroll down to one of the following for pickup at the apollo bay library

  • Building a new house or renovating: Now is the time to consider building aspects like orientation, appliances, curtains, split air conditioning, and heat pumps. Explore the SOS website for more details.

These approaches will help you identify and improve your home’s efficiency effectively.

What are the main areas that can improve efficiency?

Areas to focus on tp enhancehome efficiency. More detailed information on bigger items can be found elsewhere on our website.

  • Lighting: Switch to LED lights, which use up to 80% less energy than halogen globes. Also, make use of natural light whenever possible.

  • Appliances: Opt for energy-efficient appliances and choose Energy Star-qualified models. An Energy Rating Calculator can help compare the energy ratings of different appliances.

  • Insulation: Insulate your walls, ceilings, and floors. Consider double glazing or special window coatings for better insulation.

  • Temperature Control: Lower your thermostat settings. For every degree you increase the temperature, your energy use increases by 5% to 10%.

  • Windows and Doors: Seal gaps in windows and doors and use door snakes to prevent drafts.

  • Draught-proofing: Use shade cloth or bamboo blinds to keep heat out in summer. In winter, rugs and curtains help retain heat. Growing deciduous trees can provide shade in summer and allow sunlight in winter.

  • Time of Use: Turn off appliances and lights when not in use. Use appliances during more energy-efficient times, such as when solar PV is generating power or during cheaper tariff periods.

These steps can significantly improve your home’s energy efficiency.

SOS Energy efficiency studies

In 2021 and 2022, SOS conducted two energy efficiency projects with the support of COS grants. The activities resulted in a set of written and video reports .

These can be viewed here

FAQ

Here are some additional points to consider:

  • Local Experiences: Curious about what others in Apollo Bay think about their household efficiency? Check out our local stories available from the home page.

  • Additional Resources: For more information, visit yourenergysavings.gov.au for general advice on creating an energy-efficient home.