Tips on how to reduce your carbon emissions and help save the environment

Worried about your carbon footprint and need some practical advice on how to save more energy around the home? It’s amazing how much our little everyday habits can add up to cost us in the end. Saving power is easy with these simple tips.

Heating and Cooling – 50% of average household power consumption
Insulation is your cheapest and most effective method to prevent heating/cooling loss. Light blocking curtains can prevent up to 80% of heat transfer on a hot summers day. Close windows and doors to only heat the areas needed. If you live in an older style house then consider investing in window seals and door seals to prevent heat loss and block the chimney – hot air rises and heat will escape straight out the chimney!

When running heating and cooling, ensure the windows are shut in all rooms, and close the door off rooms that don’t need heating. If you are running a central system, close the vents in the unoccupied rooms. Don’t run your heater overnight – instead put it on a timer to switch on 15 minutes before you get out of bed.

If you are looking at buying a new heater it is worthwhile to get some expert advice. In the long run, the cost of running a heating/cooling system can add up to more that the upfront cost! Work out the size of your room and take this to the shop when purchasing your system. Also be prepared to discuss the layout of the room to assess the impact of direct light, insulation, heat loss through windows and doors. Best not to overload with a system bigger than what you really need.

Hot Water – 25% of average household power consumption
Around 60% of gas used in a gas hot water system is wasted in heat loss. Gas systems keep boiling the water all day long, so if you are at work for 8 hours and sleeping for 8 hours, that is 16 hour a day you are keeping water warm and don’t really need it. Consider putting your system on a timer so it is off for certain times of the day. If you’re in the market for a new gas system buy one which heats up the water instantaneously as you turn the tap. You could reduce your total household power consumption by 15% if you switch from an older style hot water system to an energy efficient instant system.

Electric systems fare much worse than gas. 15 litres of hot water heated in an electric system creates a kilo of greenhouse gas omissions. Combine that with an old shower head that wastes up to 25 litres a minute, every minute in the shower means you are contributing 1.6kg of greenhouse gasses! Swap over to a water efficient shower head at 9 litres per minute. Many water authorities and some city councils give new AAA rated shower heads free to households in exchange for your old shower head.

Cooking – 9% of average household power consumption

Oddly enough, energy ratings have not yet been developed for cooking appliances which can make a purchasing difficult if you are in the market for a new appliance. Common sense should prevail here – the larger the appliance and the bigger the burner, then the more energy it will consume. Natural gas tends to be around half the cost of running versus electric.
When using a cooktop – match the size of the pan to the size of the burner. A burner that is larger than the pan will boil over and waste power.
Although gas is cheaper for cooktops, gas can be inefficient in an oven due to venting. Fan forced electric ovens are the most efficient as they cook via convection (air mass transfer), not conduction.

Small appliances are much more efficient to run. Use a toaster or sandwich press instead of the grill. Use a bench top toaster oven or George Foreman roaster instead of the whole oven if you are only cooking for 2. Watch out for these appliances when not in use though! They can sap a lot of power if left on standby. Switch these off at the power point.

Fridges and Freezers – 7% of average household power consumption
Because fridges and freezers are switched on 24/7 they can sap a lot of energy. If your fridge is more that 15 years old, chances are it uses twice as much power as a new fridge. Think about upgrading your fridge. Pay a little extra for a fridge with a better power rating as it will save you more money in the long run. If you have an old fridge, check the seals are intact, it is not in direct sunlight and the freezer is regularly defrosted. If you have a second fridge in the garage or under the bar does it need to be on all the time? A second fridge would cost you around $200 a year in power!

Lighting – 5% of average household power consumption
Switch of lights when you are not in the room! Install energy saving light bulbs in every room. Also install dimmer switches in your house and only have lights as bright as you need them. Lighting accounts for around 5% of your annual power consumption.

Other appliances – 5% of average household power consumption
The rule here is to switch it off when not in use! The red standby light on your kettle, shaver, monitor, TV, DVD, mobile phone and every other small gizmo in your house adds up to a massive waste of power.