Reducing at home

By implementing even small changes to your energy-use patterns, you can reduce your greenhouse gas footprint significantly. We have compiled a range of energy-saving options for your home.

Household energy

Heating, in Australia's cooler climes, can account for up to 50% of household energy use during winter. Luckily there is much you can do to reduce your dependence on heating.

• Do without heating, by orienting your living spaces to incorporate passive solar design. Let the sun warm your home for free!
• Choose gas heating, as it produces only one-third the amount of greenhouse emissions of standard electric heaters.
• Set your thermostat for around 20 degrees or less. For every 1 degree you turn down your thermostat, you can save between 5 and 10% of the energy required to heat your home.
• Heat only those rooms you are using. Close off unused rooms, so you don't heat them unnecessarily. Turn off heating at night and when you are out.
• Draughts and air leaks in your home can increase your energy use by up to 25%, so it's worth sealing around windows and door jambs.
• Check your wall and ceiling insulation, and ensure it has a high "R" rating.
• Wear more clothes inside!
• Maintain your heaters as per manufacturer's instructions and keep them clean.

Cooling, in those homes which have air conditioners, can account for a quarter of the household energy use. The best thing you can do is keep your home cool without using any mechanical cooling at all.

• Keep the sun out. Use eaves, shutters and vegetation to shade windows and walls.
• Will a fan suffice? Fans are cheap and use hardly any energy to run.
• Ventilate your home at night to let warm air out. A home with cross-flow ventilation will also help keep your home cool in the day.
• If you must use an air conditioner, make sure it's the correct size for your needs. Set the thermostat to 25 degrees or higher. For every 1 degree warmer, you save up to 10% on running costs.

Diet - Changes to your diet could make a more significant dent in your climate change footprint than changes to your transport!

• Eat less red meat. Red meat has a high embodied energy, and large animals produce a lot of methane, which is a strong greenhouse gas.
• Eat locally produced food to reduce food miles. Check the ingredients of your food to ensure it is locally grown and produced - tomatoes grown in Italy, garlic from China and oranges from California have a large fossil fuel footprint associated with their transport.
• Eat fruit and vegetables in season. Fruit and vegetables that are eaten out of season are usually brought long distances (often from the opposite hemisphere to where you live) to your table, or have been refrigerated for many months, both of which produce significant amounts of greenhouse gas.
• Eat organic food.
• Reduce packaging in food. The process of packaging food produces greenhouse gas. Buy your shopping from fresh markets, take your own bags and avoid packaging.
• Join a community garden and grow your own food.
• Join or form a food cooperative that is actively minimising food miles for members.

Vehicle travel - Australian family cars travel about 15,000 km a year, creating six tonnes of greenhouse gases. You can cut greenhouse gas emissions now, by using your vehicle less.

• Drive less. Reduce the number of car journeys you make, by planning ahead. Can you do without your car? Live close to your workplace, use public transport, cycle, walk, car pool or use a taxi. They are all options for helping take vehicles off the road.
• Use alternative fuels. Diesel vehicles can run on biodiesel. Convert your petrol vehicle to gas. Currently the Australian federal government has grants for encouraging the uptake of alternative fuels. Click here to view the conditions.
• If you are buying a new vehicle, choose one which is fuel efficient.
• The Green Vehicle Guide will help you with your selection.
• Keep your car serviced and in good working order. Check your tyres. Keeping tyres at the correct pressure can save up to 3% on your fuel use.

Air travel - Aviation is the fastest growing sector of global warming emissions, do you really need to fly this time?

• Air travel is one of the most greenhouse gas intensive ways to get around.
• Holiday locally.
• Organise videoconferencing instead of flying to business meetings.
• Avoid long-distance relationships - they burn aviation fuel and are very frustrating...
• Air travel is a huge producer of greenhouse gas. Carefully consider each flight you take - is it unavoidable/totally necessary?

Hot water accounts for an average of 25% of household energy use, or 2 tonnes of greenhouse gases a year. In some states, like South Australia, hot water is as high as 35% of the home energy breakdown.

• Install a AAA rated shower rose and use 9 litres a minute, instead of up to 20 or 25 litres a minute. NB: Many state and local governments offer rebates for water-efficient products.
• Take shorter showers.
• Use cold, rather than hot or warm, water to wash your clothes.
• Installing a solar water heater is one of the single best things you can do to save energy. Solar water heaters are efficient and can contribute more than 50% of your hot water.
• You may be eligible for a solar water heater rebate. These states have SHW rebates: Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory. Check with your local and state governments for details of other rebates.
• If you don't choose a solar water heater, use a gas one, rather than electricity. Make sure any water heater you buy has a high star rating.

White goods, household appliances. Your refrigerator operates continuously, and is therefore the largest energy-using appliance in most homes - often contributing 9% of energy use.

• Keep your fridge clean and defrost regularly. Make sure it runs between 3 and 5 degrees Celsius. Don't leave the door open for long periods.
• Locate your fridge out of sunlight and in the coolest part of your house. Make sure it is away from heat sources, like ovens. It is also important the back of the fridge is well ventilated.
• Have only one fridge in your household. If you have a party fridge, turn it on the day before a party to cool drinks.
• Washing: use the clothes line to dry your clothing. Use cold water, and do full loads in your washing machine, to save on energy and water.
• If you need to replace or purchase a new appliance, make sure it's an efficient one - the more stars the more efficient it is. The Appliance energy rating website will help you choose wisely.

Lighting costs most households more than $100 a year to run and accounts for 1.2 tonnes of greenhouse-gas emissions. Compact fluorescents last at least 8 times longer, and use one-fifth of the electricity.

• Replace your 60 and 100 watt incandescent bulbs with compact fluoros, and save up to 75% on your energy consumption for lights.
• Reduce this further by maximising natural light in rooms, turning lights off, and making sure they're located where you need them so you don't have to turn on more than one light per task.

Standby Power, or phantom loads, account for 10% of your electricity bill, according to Australian Greenhouse Office research.

• Many common household appliances like televisions, stereos, computers, printers, clock radios, fax machines and microwaves have standby loads. This is where they use energy even when they are not operating.
• Turn these off at the wall as much as possible to reduce unnecessary energy consumption.

• NB: One way of making sure you locate all of your standby loads is to turn off all appliances in your home, and then check your electricity meter. If it is still showing energy use - keep looking for phantom loads!

Green Power - Australian households create 20% of Australia's GHG emissions because most of the electricity used in the home comes from fossil fuel generators: coal (77%) and gas (14%).

• You can support renewable energy by choosing Green Power from your electricity retailer. Many retailers will give you the option of 5 to 100% Green Power, which means you are supporting renewable energy, rather than fossil fuels. NB: Check your electricity bill to ensure you are receiving the percentage of Green Power you signed up for. 
• Make your own green electricity, by installing a solar photovoltaic power system. Depending on where you live, you could also investigate a small wind turbine or micro-hydro system.
• Green Electricity Watch can help you decide on a Green Power retailer in your state.

Windows and insulation. Well-positioned windows and good insulation are important foundations of an energy-efficient home. Around 30% of heat loss and gain is through uncovered windows.

• Use pelmets, curtains and shutters to reduce heat loss and gain through windows. In summer, prevent heat gain by shielding windows from the outside. Conversely, in winter, prevent heat loss by protecting windows on the inside.
• Consider installing double glazing.
• Check the efficiency of your windows by visiting the Windows Energy Rating Scheme website.
• Check you have ceiling, wall and floor insulation. If not, install insulation to the highest possible "R" rating. Without good insulation, your home will be more uncomfortably cold in winter and hotter in summer.

Cooking in the average Australian home will clock up 8% of your household's energy consumption, equivalent to 1.1 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

• Use appropriately sized, and smaller, appliances and pots where possible.
• If you are using the oven, cook several dishes at once.
• Microwaves are more than three times more energy efficient than conventional ovens.
• Choose kitchen appliances with high star ratings. See Appliance energy rating website for more.

Waste - household waste goes to three main locations - landfill, recycling and green waste

• Compost organic waste - either at home or at the local community garden or council facility.
• Take dinner leftovers for lunch - organic waste breaks down and can produce greenhouse gases - avoid throwing out food by eating leftovers, cooking food before it spoils.
• Avoid packed products. Many products are over-packaged - choose products which reduce packaging, avoid it all together (eg. buy loose fruit and vegetables), take your own bags to the shops, support businesses which avoid over-packaging products, buy products where the materials can be recycled.
• Try halving your weekly rubbish by: reducing packaged food purchases, recycling or reusing packaging instead of throwing it in the bin, take your own containers to take-away food outlets, reusing bags, composting organic or green waste.
• Buy high-quality products which last!
• Choose reusable products, instead of disposable ones. Eg. take your own reusable coffee cup, use a lid rather than glad-wrap.
• Choose pre-loved furniture, clothing, office equipment etc, to reduce demand on resources.

Summer saver:

Avoid long-distance relationships - they burn aviation fuel and are very frustrating!