Why save energy? (1) Use less energy; this will save us money (2) Use the same amount of energy more efficiently; this will make us feel more comfortable and let us use bigger and/or better electrical gadgets. (3) We will be part of an Australia wide campaign to use less energy and therefore produce less greenhouse gases (and lots of other pollutants) and therefore help improve Australia and the world’s environment

Where does our energy come from? Energy we buy for our houses Mains Electricity Natural Gas Heating oil Wood LPG

Where does some of our other energy come from? Don’t forget we get/use energy from Food (each human produces watts just sitting down) Exercise (this will keep us warm in winter and is VERY good for us) Petrol /diesel (walk, ride a bike, take the bus/train)

Where else does our energy come from? ‘Free’ Energy Electricity from solar panels Heat delivered via solar hot water systems Heat gained through windows (and walls and roofs to a much lesser extent). Any heat gained can of course be lost almost as quickly.

Where does the energy go? Here’s a typical house

Electrical energy to keep us cool 1. Free Air movement energy (via open windows, open doors, ceiling vents, whirlies 2 Local, via bought electricity Ceiling fans, pedestal fans, extractor motors 3. Central, via evaporative cooling 4. Central, via reverse cycle system

To keep ourselves warm we can Heat the whole house Or Heat the room we’re in all or most of the time Or Heat ourselves

To keep oursleves warm we can Put extra clothes on Use heated rugs, blankets to keep warm while sitting Have a radiant or blow heater heater close to us

To make the room we’re in warm we can Have one or more convection heaters in room Can have window reverse cycle units Use a central heating/cooling system which can be targeted to individual rooms Collect as much warmth from the sun as possible

‘Free’ energy

Personal heaters Fan heaters can supply heat almost instantaneously, but can usually only chase the chill from a relatively small area — the air around you or maybe a small room. Radiant heaters are personal heaters. As the name suggests, they radiate heat from a red-hot heating element to people or objects in front of it. They’re very inefficient in heating the air in a room.

Convective (or convection) heaters warm and circulate the air in a room

What’s best? Different forms of heating are best in different circumstances: > In larger rooms with high ceilings, a combination of radiant and convective heating is best. > In small rooms, space convective heating is effective. > In larger draughty rooms or bathrooms, radiant heating works best.

Keeping your cool! How to keep cool in summer? There are cheap ways There are less cheap ways There are expensive ways

Having it both ways! Ceiling Fans can be used in BOTH Summer and Winter They don’t actually cool the room down, in the summer they create a cool breeze by spinning in a forward direction (counter clockwise) and will make your feel considerably more comfortable indoors and outdoors

All year round Only heat or cool the room or part of the house you are using Don’t set thermostats too high (in winter) Don’t set thermostats too low (in summer) Shut the doors between heated/nonheated and cooled /noncooled areas When it’s cooler outside than in, open doors and windows; create a breeze Install ceiling fans immediately above where you normally sit or work Move small fans around with you

More ‘free’ energy Shade the house from summer sun with deciduous trees, vines etc

Small scale Geothermal Geothermal systems are very efficient; They produce up t0 four units of heat output for each unit of electricity input; They can also be used to heat water; Can be expensive to install but have low running costs; Most suitable for multi-housing developments with large heating/cooling loads;

More nearly free energy Geothermal winter

More nearly free energy Geothermal summer

Handy persons can help Build a pergola and add removable shadecloth or grow a vine

A bit more expensive Install a retractable awning

Even more ‘free’ energy

Use natural ventilation

Where does the energy go? Here’s a typical house

Giving energy away

Saving energy is not rocket science

Small users can be big losers! All our gadgets on standby use energy TV – LCD, Plasma 0.4 – 3.1 DVD Player / Recorder 1.2 – 2.6 Set top box 6.4 Home entertainment other 1 Gas water heaters 4.9 Heater – electric portable 0.9 Heater – gas 3.1 Microwave 2.4 Wireless modems 7 – 10 All day and every day Turn off TVs and computers and every other accessible energy appliance at the wall when you’re not using them.

We’re here to help Borrow this from your library

And you can help yourself

For the future Add PV cells the minimum Retail FiT for 2016 is 6.8 cents per kWh (They can add more; eg Diamond Energy offer 8 cents per kWh) If you have already got PV cells add batteries Lots of different options Zen Energy (CARE! If you are eligible for the 45c State FiT you will lose it.)