COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
COMFORTABLE
ENERGY
LIVING
1
Saving electricity
from Sustainable Energy Management
Your electricity costs do not need to be high, there are
many residents with very low power bills and all it takes
is some changes to the way you use electricity.
There are many things you can do to reduce the amount
of power you use.
Air conditioning
Typically air-conditioning accounts for
1/3 of your summer power bill. Try some
of these ideas below to help lower your
electricity bill and this in turn will lower
greenhouse gas emissions at the power
station:
1. Prepare the air-conditioner by making
sure the filters are clean.
2. Prepare the house by closing windows
and doors and closing curtains to keep
the hot air out.
3. The harder you work your air
conditioner the more energy it uses.
Aim for a moderate temperature like
25° (every 1° cooler uses 10% more
energy).
4. If you’re not at home why cool the
house? You will save energy if you
choose to turn off the air-conditioner
when you leave the house and turn it
back on when you come home.
5. Try using a fan; they are cheap to run
and can be quite effective in cooling.
Only use when you are in the room.
Energy Detective
COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
Try walking around your home and find
out where the heat enters your home.
• Is it the western, eastern or northern
sun?
• Perhaps from draughts through
gaps?
• Are the doors and windows left
open?
• Does it come from vents and
exhaust fans?
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Ducted air conditioners
Room air conditioning
and spilt systems
Next let’s check out the air-conditioner
filters.
The air-conditioner cools the air by
moving it past the cooling fans of an
evaporator (this is the part inside
mounted on the wall) so if the filter is
dirty and blocked the cooling can’t
happen. However the air-conditioner
doesn’t know this and so keeps running,
wasting energy.
It’s a good idea to remove the filters
every few weeks and inspect if they are
dirty or blocked, take them out and
clean them. If you do this, do it safely.
Look at the condenser (it’s the part
outside that blows the hot air out) if the
cooling fans on the condenser are dirty
or blocked the condenser can’t get rid of
the heat.
Ways to reduce the air-conditioning
usage in your home.
When you decide to turn on the airconditioner it will run most efficiently if:
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Th e r e f r i g e ra t i o n s y s t e m i s
maintained and in good order.
Ducting is well insulated and kept
clean (check your ducting for
cleanliness and that there are no
air leaks).
Only the rooms that are used are
cooled.
The roof insulation is in good
order.
The doors and windows are
closed.
Exhaust fans seal when not
running.
Windows have curtains drawn
closed to help regulate
temperature.
Fans are used to circulate air.
Temperature is not set too cold.
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Filters are kept clean.
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COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
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3
Use the timer function on your
system so that the air-conditioner
is not left running (set the timer to
turn off at a suitable time in the
evening).
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Don’t run the air-conditioner all
the time during the cooler months,
instead open doors and windows.
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Natural ventilation is the
healthiest and cheapest way to
cool your home. It helps to
remove heat and cools your body
through evaporation.
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If your condenser is in the hot sun
look at ways to shade it, this will
help its cooling efficiency.
Hot water
If your home is fitted with a solar hot
water system that should meet all of
your hot water needs.
The energy in the sun is converted to
heat and this makes the water hot. Your
tank will then have up to 260L of hot
water ready for you when you come
home from work.
Using a solar hot water system is great
as long as you use it in the correct way.
In winter, people will often turn the
electric booster on for the solar hot
water system; unfortunately it's easy to
forget and leave the booster switch on
even when the sun is shining which
wastes energy and potentially hundreds
of dollars per year.
Solar energy is maximised between
10am and 3pm to make the most out of
this solar energy. Schedule your large
hot water demands (e.g. washing and
laundry) for as close as possible to the
middle of the day.
Most electric booster switches are found
in the switchboard labelled as "hot
water" so take a look and make sure
your booster is not on.
If you find you need to use the booster,
check:
• You don’t have any water leaks
wasting hot water.
• Has the time that the family is
showering increased?
• Is your system faulty?
Electric Hot Water System
The old electric hot water system can
be consuming up to 1/3 of your home’s
energy. Electric HWS are not efficeient
and waste up to 1/2 their energy by
radiating heat into the atmosphere.
Ways to reduce energy from hot water
• Check the hot water thermostat is
set to a min of 60°c (for storage
systems).
• Check the water
e f fi c i e n c y o f
new purchases
like a new
washing
machine.
•Insulation
on the hot
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water pipes.
Repair hot water leaks.
Choose the cold wash cycle on
your washing machine.
Rinse dishes with cold water.
Only turn the booster on in
periods of prolonged cloudy days
and only for short periods of time;
like one hour.
COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
Laundry
It’s not too hard to change the efficiency
of your laundry requirements; it could
start with putting up a clothes line
under the carport.
Ways to reduce energy and water in
the laundry
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Dry your washing on the clothes
line instead of in the dryer.
Try washing with cold water, most
times this is all you will need.
Are your washing machine and
dryer energy and water efficient?
The more stars the better.
Only wash full loads or choose
the correct water level setting.
Buy detergents from
biodegradable substances.
Clean your filter every time you
use the dryer.
Refrigeration
Aim for the stars, switch to an efficient
fridge.
If you are in the market for a new
refrigerator or freezer:
1. Firstly go for a lot of stars, every
star saves 20% more energy.
2. Choose a unit with a door alarm.
3. Look for easy to read thermostats.
4. Choose the right size.
5. Make sure your kitchen can fit the
refrigerator allowing for ventilation
behind and to the sides.
Energy Detective
• Count the stars (they now go up to
10 stars).
• Do the kids leave the door open?
• Is it the right size?
• Are the door seals in good order?
Try closing a $5 dollar note in the
door if it falls out you need to look
at the seals.
• Is the refrigerator in a hot sunny
location?
• Is there enough gaps behind for
the condenser to get rid of the
heat?
• Are the coils at the back of the
refrigerator dirty and dusty (keep
these clean to improve efficiency)?
You may find that you could use a chest
freezer to store food in. If so, only get
the size you need and don’t put it in a
hot location.
Ways to reduce energy from refrigeration
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Consider whether you could reduce the
number of refrigerators in your home.
Turn off secondary refrigerators or
freezers when they are not needed.
Set the refrigerator at around 4°.
Set the freezer between -15°
and -18°.
Don’t leave the refrigerator door open
too long.
Don’t put hot items in the refrigerator.
Keep the refrigerator well ventilated.
Make sure your fridge is not iced up,
defrost it regularly and keep the door
closed properly.
Keeping the refrigerator clean and tidy
allows the air to circulate and cool the
contents.
COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
Stand-by Power
5
Would you believe that your house is
wasting up to 75 watts each hour in
standby power to achieve nothing?
Many of our electrical devices have a
feature called stand-by; this is so we
don’t have to get out of the chair to turn
things on we can just click the remote.
If you get into the habit of turning
appliances off at the wall, you will save
this energy and help protect the devices
in the event of a thunder storm.
The home office
Do you have a desktop or a lap top?
Find the energy star option in the power
management options and choose the
most suitable energy option.
Laptops use about ½ the energy so next
time you need to upgrade look at this
option.
Ways to reduce energy from
entertainment appliances and
computers
• Switch appliances off at the wall
and try using timers.
• By selecting home office appliances
with an Energy Star label.
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Activate the efficiency mode on the
computer when not in use.
Try isolating power board to turn
off multiple devices such as the TV
and entertainment, or computer,
modem and printer.
Kitchen
Are your white goods and appliances
energy efficient (remember the stars)?
Cooking
Small appliances are more efficient to
use than the stove or oven, so use the
toaster not the grill, use a kettle not the
hotplate.
Cook with lids this keeps the heat in the
pot and out of your house.
Ways to reduce energy in the kitchen
• Use the microwave instead of the
oven or cook top.
• Try not to use hot water
for rinsing dishes.
• Use lids when cooking.
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Consider composting your food
scraps.
Choose a cool location for
refrigerators and freezers.
Repair leaking taps.
Only boil the water you need.
Don’t leave the refrigerator door
open too long.
Choose energy efficient appliances.
Use small appliances where suited.
COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
Lighting
6
Remember your house can’t read, so it
doesn’t need the lights to be on.
Energy Detective
Are all of your lights energy efficient?
Are lights left on when the room is
vacant?
The old bulbs are called incandescent
lamps and waste 90% of their energy in
heat not light. If you change to compact
fluorescent or squiggly lamps you will
use 1/6 of the energy for the same light.
This is because the compact fluorescent
lamp uses a chemical reaction to
enhance the light given off. Have you
heard of LED’s? These use even less
energy than a compact fluorescent and
can fit most lights.
Did you hear the myth about turning
the lights off? The story goes that if you
turn the light off and then back on it
will use more energy than leaving it on.
It’s a MYTH. Most new lights use very
little energy to start up.
Ways to reduce energy from lighting
• Change your light bulbs to
compact fluorescent or LED.
• Open the curtains to let in natural
light before switching on the light.
• Turn off the lights when leaving
the room.
• Only turn on the lights you need.
• If you are leaving the room, turn
off the light.
Bathroom
There are many options to be efficient
in the bathroom.
Energy Detective
Do you shower for too long?
Do your taps leak?
Mould
It seems many people think that to stop
mould in their homes, you have to leave
the air-conditioner on all the time.
But there are plenty of residents that
don’t use the air-conditioner all the time
and don’t have mould problems, so try
these tips:
• Keep the house clean to remove
surface dust.
• Keep the home well ventilated.
• Use a fan to circulate air when it
is raining.
Ways to reduce water and energy in
the bathroom
• Shower for 4 minutes or less.
• Don’t leave the tap running when
shaving or brushing your teeth.
• Fix leaking taps.
• Did you know a bath will use
more hot water than a shower.
• Check the solar booster is turned
off.
Bedroom
Ways to reduce energy in the bedroom
• Keep the windows shut through
the heat of the day, and close the
curtains and blinds to block out
the heat of the sun, open them
once the sun has gone to catch the
cooling breeze.
• Use fans not air-conditioners.
• Use compact fluorescent lamps.
• Turn appliance off at the wall.
• Keep the air-conditioner filters
clean.
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Water
COMFORTABLE ENERGY LIVING
By adapting to water efficient methods
you can maintain your lifestyle and
have your garden by using less of the
Earth’s precious water.
• It’s best to water your garden at
dusk and dawn, this eliminates
water lost due to evaporation.
• Set timers to water your garden for
20 minutes in winter at dusk or
dawn.
• Grass clippings can be used in
your garden to help maintain the
moisture.
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Try setting up a watering drip
system to water your plants.
Turn your irrigation system off
during summer.
Don’t mow your grass too short,
long grass shades the roots and
prevents evaporation.
Cement driveways and asphalt
don’t need watering.
Use a bucket to water your car
instead of the hose.