Little Things you can do
The energy we use in our homes and cars, the food we eat and the things we buy can all affect how much greenhouse gas we produce.
The good news is we can save energy, reduce our bills and remain comfortable, we can look at our diet and be healthier, and we can look at how much we purchase and save money. Here are some top tips from The CSIRO Home Energy Saving Handbook.
Power
Appliances and electronic equipment
There are two main ways to save energy when it comes to appliances and electronic equipment. The first is buying low energy consumption equipment and the second is managing your standby power.
Televisions with the lowest energy consumption tend to be LCD flat screens. Plasma TVs use more energy than LCD TVs of the same size and capability.
Up to 10% of your household energy use can be wasted on standby power — make sure you switch off appliances at the wall to minimise this.
Lighting
Saving energy when lighting your home has become easier with the availability of compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). CFLs provide the same amount of light for about one-quarter of the power compared with incandescent lighting. Although more expensive, a good quality CFL should last four to ten times longer than their incandescent equivalents.
Heating and cooling
Depending on your climate, up to 40% of the energy used to heat or cool a home can be lost through windows. You can reduce these losses substantially with tinted windows, double glazing and laminated windowpanes.
Cooking
When it comes to cooking in your home, ovens and cooktops are responsible for most of the energy used in the kitchen. Remember when buying and using a low greenhouse gas oven to keep the oven and door seals clean and in good condition and avoid opening the oven door unnecessarily when cooking.
Solar power
A solar electric power system uses solar photovoltaic panels to convert sunlight into electricity for your whole house. There are government funded schemes for domestic solar power and more information can be found about this in The CSIROs Home Energy Saving Handbook.
Green Power
Buying carbon offsets or GreenPower can be a cost-effective way of reducing your carbon footprint. Instead of paying the standard rate for electricity generated from coal or gas, you can choose to pay a bit more for electricity from renewable sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and wave and tidal power.
Source: CSIRO Home Energy Saving Handbook, 2009
