The average Australian household spends over $2,000 a year on gas and electricity bills. Now, not only can you reduce those bills, but you can even wipe them out, while making your home more comfortable.
Paying for energy is the largest running cost that most home-owners are burdened with. And that’s no surprise — we use energy to heat our water, refrigerate our food and drink, run our heaters and air conditioners, light our homes at night, cook our meals, run our TVs, and charge our computers.There are simple, practical ways to reduce our demand for energy and to change where we get it from. There is already a quiet revolution under way as renewable energy and energy efficiency transform the way we generate and use electricity and gas. Over 1.4 million households in Australia now have rooftop solar — and, as a result, the costs of solar energy have plummeted, making it more accessible for the average home-owner. Yet there is much more that can be done to reduce our reliance on the electricity grid, and some significant improvements that can be made with relatively little effort.
The Energy-Freedom Home explains nine steps that can be taken — in any order — to become more energy efficient:
- replace old lights with LEDs
- stop draughts
- improve insulation
- upgrade windows
- use energy-efficient appliances
- install reverse-cycle systems
- use solar or heat-pump systems to heat your water
- monitor and control your energy use
- switch to solar.
