Energy efficiency at home

If you are building a new home, think about how your home’s design will impact on how much energy you use.

In the laundry

• Wash clothes in cold water
• Hang your washing on the clothes line instead of using a dryer

In the kitchen

• Use the microwave oven, as they use less energy than an oven
• Make sure your fridge and freezer door seals are in good shape
• Place fridges in well ventilated areas
• Keep lids on pots when cooking

In the bathroom

• Use low flow shower heads and take shorter showers

Heating and cooling

• Close curtains and shade windows during summer days to keep heat out
• Use window and door draft stoppers
• Gas heaters and reverse cycle air conditioners can be more efficient than electric heaters
• Use ceiling fans before air conditioners
• Set air-conditioning at 25oC in summer and 18oC in winter
• Shut doors and windows when using air conditioners

Swimming pools

• Use economy tariffs for pool pumps
• Reduce daily pumping time, where possible
• Install an energy efficient pool pump

Lighting

• When replacing light bulbs, consider LED bulbs. They last 10 times longer than fluoro bulbs and 25 times longer than standard bulbs
• Turn off lights when not in use

General

• Install a solar system to reduce power bills and increase the value of your home
• Replace old electric hot water systems with solar hot water
• Consider buying accredited Green Power
• Turn equipment off when not in use, preferably at the power outlet (or use a stand-by power controller). When appliances are not in use, they still use energy in ‘standby’ mode. Appliance in stand-by mode can make up 10 per cent of the average household’s energy use and cost $100 a year.