Want a free energy audit?

Our project partner, Enova Community, are offering free home energy audits for Repower Byron Shire participants from their Energy Coaches. If you would like to request an audit click here.

We're serious about reducing energy use

The greenest power is the power we don’t have to generate. We believe it’s an important step to a cleaner, greener more equitable world. To help you save on electricity bills and reduce our reliance on coal and gas, we’re asking households committed to Repower Byron Shire to invest some time to understand conscious energy consumption. This document is compiled by locals for locals to ensure it’s relevant for  you. The main use of electricity in Byron Shire in our homes is:
  • Appliances and equipment (including pools) 41%
  • Hot Water 25%
  • Home heating and cooling (space conditioning) 15%
  • Lighting 12%
  • Cooking 7%

The nuts and 'volts' of energy efficiency

One of the best and easy-to-use guides we’ve found is the Households Energy Action Guide. Our project partner, Enova Community, are offering free home energy audits for Repower Byron Shire participants from their Energy Coaches. If you would like to request an audit click here. Understanding the concepts of energy efficiency, however, is key to long-term empowerment and success. Here are three fundamental questions when assessing your priorities:
  1. Do I need to change the appliance that uses the power (one-off action) or do I change the way I use it (ongoing actions)?
  2. Is it energy intensive?
  3. Does my household do/use it often or even need it?
1. Do I need to change the appliance that uses the power (one-off action) or do I change the way I use it (ongoing actions)?
ONE-OFF ACTIONS is about attending to the structure of your home or purchasing efficient devices. There’s initial outlay but the benefits are ongoing. Here are a few examples:
  • Insulate your ceiling – about 40% of heat is lost through a poorly insulated ceiling and 30% heat is gained in summer.
  • Prevent heat loss by 20% and heat gain by 35 % with substantial close fitting curtains and pelmets – windows are major points of heat loss in winter and heat gain over summer.
  • Install low flow showerheads – this will pay itself off in 6 months.
  • All exposed hot water pipes should be covered in insulation lagging to help minimise heat loss.
  • Locate and fix all draughts – this action will also reduce heat gain in summer
  • Halogen lights have had their day – they can easily be replaced with LED’s – they will pay for themselves in a short period.
ONGOING ACTIONS is about everyday things you can do to minimise use of electricity. It is the preferred option and often saves you the most money. Here are a few examples:
  • Keeping appliances clean and free of dust (fridge coils and air conditioners) – it is not sexy but keeps the appliance well ventilated and working efficiently.
  • A fridge is more efficient when full. Thawing food in your fridge keeps it cooler and saves power.
  • It’s often hard to read the gauge on a kettle, so we just it fill up to be sure. A cup or measuring jug will eliminate the guesswork.
  • An oldy but goody – turn off lights and fans when not needed and appliances like a microwave with a clock at the wall etc.
2. Is it energy intensive?
ENERGY INTENSITY – WHAT’S WATT
A rough guide to know the energy intensity is to read the watts on the appliance label. Compare a kettle that will draw about 1800 watts to an electric citrus juicer of 35 watts. Playing a guessing game with family is a good way to encourage awareness. Here’s a link to a table that compares   appliance electricity use. You also can hire a testing kit from the local library to measure individual appliances’ usage.
The action of heating anything is energy intensive, whether it’s a room, water or food. Cooling is also intensive but to a lesser degree (fridge, freezer, air conditioning). It’s worth thinking about hot water use, oven, clothes dryer, space heater or even an electric kettle. One of the biggest energy users in any home is water heating. Here’s a link to Renew’s   Efficient hot water buyers guide.
  • In this sub-tropical climate our need for space heating is less but still worth considering. Heat the hub, not the whole house – Insulate yourself (jumpers, rugs etc.) before you heat the space around you – Keep the doors shut to rooms that don’t require heating or cooling.
  • Heat retention cooking is the ideal low cost slow cooking. Learn how to reduce your energy use in the kitchen by up to 80% for all liquid based cooking.   Heat retention cooking – wonder box pattern.
  • Use the fan-forced setting for even and efficient baking. Ensure your electric oven light is working and the glass panel is clean. This will reduce your need to open the oven to check on your food and prevent a great deal of heat loss
3. Does my household do/use it often?
  • Fridges and freezers  are 24/7 slaves. For efficient use set temperatures at 4–5 degrees Celsius for the fridge and between -15 to -18 degrees for your freezer.  Keep fridges and freezers away from any heat and check the door seals. Keep it well ventilated by having a five-centimeter gap so air can circulate freely.
  • Hot Water  is used everyday. Set thermostat at 60 degrees or less. Reduce heat loss from an electric hot water heater by wrapping the storage tank with an insulation blanket (ebay approx. $80).
  • Home office and Standby.  Organise and group electrical appliances on power boards for ease of use and to switch off to avoid stand-by power waste or use an energy saving power board for electronic office equipment.  Many people are unaware computer graphic cards eat power and you could save over $150 a year by switching off gaming consoles when not in use.Switching from a desktop computer to a notebook can save over 50% of your computing related electricity consumption. A computer with a monitor draws 300 watts, a laptop aprox. 50 watts.