Energy Use and Savings

For information about energy including smart meters, feed-in tariffs and renewable sources in Victoria visit the Department of Primary Industries.

Information on the Federal Government's Clean Energy Future 

Selecting a Green Electricity Supplier

Opting for GreenPower is a simple step most households can make to reduce their carbon footprint.  Since 1997, more than 980,000 residential and commercial customers Australia-wide have contributed to the increased uptake in renewable energy buying GreenPower.  This has resulted in an annual reduction of nearly 2 million tonnes in 2008 of greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity grid.

If you would like to purchase renewable energy as part of your electricity bill, we recommend that you contact your energy retailer or look GreenPower providers up on the GreenPower website.  This government initiative enables householders to buy accredited renewable energy from the electricity grid, and you don’t need to change your energy supplier.

You can get more information on GreenPower or phone Sustainability Victoria on (03) 8626 8700.

Which Energy Conscious Car Do I Buy?

If you need a new car, perhaps consider purchasing a hybrid (part electric, part petrol), or a high-efficiency diesel model. Hybrids can reduce emissions by around 40% (and improving all the time) and use much less fuel, so you save money on petrol.  These savings add up over the life of the car, especially with fuel prices on the rise. So make sure you take these fuel savings into consideration when calculating the up-front cost of the car.

Check the Green Vehicle Guide for more information. This site provides a quick way to compare the emissions and air quality performance of a variety of cars.  A rating is calculated using data provided by manufacturers from testing the vehicle against Australian standards.

Tips

• Slow down! At 110 km/h your car uses up to 25% more petrol than it would cruising at 90 km/h
• Where possible, use public transport or share car journeys where you can. For short trips, consider walking or riding a bicycle
• When you do need to use the car, plan to do a number of errands in one trip rather than several trips
• Offset your car's emissions.  If you want to reduce your emissions to effectively zero, consider carbon offsets.

Green Vehicle Links

Greenhouse Car Calculator 

Green Car Saleswebsite (uses the Green Vehicle Guide Rating Scheme developed and published by the Australian Federal Government) 

Car Emissions (UK). This website lists the fuel consumption, CO2, and other emissions performance figures of new cars, currently on the market in the United Kingdom

Around the Home

There are many ways to make your home more energy efficient, whether it is a new home, an older existing house or a rental.

Tips

• Switch off appliances at the wall to avoid standby electricity generation, which can be large.
• Buy energy efficient whitegoods. This will make a very big difference to the energy consumed over the life of the appliance. It is also likely to save you money.
• Sign up to buy GreenPower from your electricity company.
• Install insulation in your home. It will make your home a lot more comfortable in summer and winter.
• Install a solar hot water heater and take advantage of current government rebates, where applicable.
• Install energy efficient lighting.
• Consider switching to Natural Gas if it’s available in your area.
• Use transport thoughtfully. Walking a block or two is enjoyable and good for you.
• Ensure your hot-water system thermostat is not set too high. Adding cold water to cool down very hot water wastes both water and energy.
• Borrow a ‘Power Mate’ from your local library.  (Power Mates enable residents to measure electricity use and greenhouse emissions, and display the cost of running household appliances. These devices connect between an appliance and the power socket to measure energy consumption and enable residents to determine their hourly, quarterly and yearly running costs).
• Buy locally-grown produce to reduce the amount of energy used to deliver these products, or grow your own fruit and vegies.
• Pool and spa pumps are a significant contributor to CO2 emissions from residential homes, increasing an average home’s energy consumption by up to 30%.
• Choose water efficient appliances and fittings for the bathroom, laundry, kitchen and garden. Water efficient appliances are an easy way to reduce your water consumption - and your water bill - without lifting a finger.  And wash your car in the driveway or on the lawn to reduce runoff of pollutants into our waterways (via stormwater drains).

New Homes

If you are planning to build or buy a new home, it is best to design and build the house with sustainability in mind at the start.  The Your Home technical guide is a good place to start.

All new homes and apartments in Victoria must comply with the 6 Star standard.  However the 6 Star standard is just a minimum and it is possible to make your house even more energy efficient.  By incorporating design features that maximise energy efficiency (such as passive solar design), it is possible to significantly reduce energy use and your energy bills.  So the best way to save money in the long-term is to 'go green' from the beginning, and consider house orientation, building products, purchase energy saving appliances, insulation, lighting and solar products and install them during construction.  This may reduce the cost of labour as well.  Even your choice of windows can make a big difference to your overall energy efficiency and ongoing electricity bills, and think about the size of your house (smaller houses use less energy for heating and cooling).

If you are building or designing a home it is a great time to incorporate energy and water efficient aspects into the design stage.  For example by placing power points a meter above the floor it makes switching power points off at the wall an easy way to save standby electricity on appliances.

Existing Homes

Alternatively it is possible to retrofit an existing house to make it more energy efficient.  Again check out the rebates available to East Gippsland residents, and use the Green Home links as a start.

Green Home Links

Bairnsdale example of a sustainable house 

Australian Conservation Foundation's consumption Atlas 

Sustainability Victoria

Resource Smart Victoria (follow links to Households, then Building and Renovation)

Make Your Home Green

Living Greener

Renting

If you are renting there are many options to reduce your energy consumption.  While you might not be able to install solar power without your landlords permission, you can still choose GreenPower on your electricity account for example.

Green Renters Links

Green Renters website   

The Victorian Green Renters Guide (free)

In the Workplace

Many people in East Gippsland spend a lot of time at work.  Various steps can be taken to reduce your environmental footprint in the work place.  There are many opportunities for small and medium businesses to become more energy efficient.

Make a Building Green

A Green Building has a minimum harmful impact on the built and natural environment.  Many business tenants are moving into or asking for green buildings.  Improved comfort conditions (from increased levels of natural light and ventilation, greater thermal control and reduction in unwanted noise) leads to improved occupant productivity. You can always decide to have an energy audit done to fine quick ways to make energy savings.

The following are some hints to help your business reduce the amount of energy consumed every day:

Office Equipment

• Save up to $35 per year per computer by selecting equipment that is more energy-efficient. Look for the Energy Star logo. Energy Star office equipment automatically switches to sleep mode with low stand-by power consumption.
• Save up to $120 a year by switching off office equipment at the end of the day. Leaving office equipment switched on out of hours can increase your bills by this around amount every year.
• Save up to $20 per year on every computer monitor in your business by turning them off whenever possible. Screen savers don’t save energy and the monitor sometimes uses more energy than the computer itself. Even if you are not expecting to use your computer for half an hour, you’ll save by turning off your monitor.
• Achieve up to 80% of energy savings by installing compact fluorescent bulbs instead of standard light bulbs. Compact fluorescent bulbs have up to 15,000 hours of life compared to only 800 for standard light bulbs. So get more light for your money by replacing standard bulbs with compact fluorescents in your office.
• Save up to $40 per year on the cost of operating your photocopier by using double sided photocopying and photo reduction whenever practical.

Heating and Cooling

• Potential savings of around $180 to $400 a year can be made by keeping external doors closed, where possible. Leaving doors open can waste as much heat as leaving your heating running overnight. Aim to use the heat you have, without losing it.
• Save up to $60 per year by resetting your thermostats for cooling. The most comfortable and economical setting for cooling is 24-25C. For each degree lower, cooling costs rise by up to 20%. And remember to switch off all cooling at night.
• Save up to $700 per year by turning off heating when it's not required, including at night and weekends. A programmed thermostat that sets your heating systems to be operations approximately 30 minutes prior to commencement of work is far more energy efficient that operating heating all night. Most controls can be overridden during holiday periods and weekends.

Source: TruEnergy 

Energy Audit

East Gippsland Shire Council has taken the first step and has had an energy audit done on the eight highest energy consuming buildings it operates.  We have contracted the organisation Planetfootprint to assist, and they are accessing all of Council's electricity and gas accounts and are benchmarking these with other participating Councils. We will then look at where the biggest energy and greenhouse gas reductions can be made across the organisation and will seek funding to implement these actions.

If your organisation is planning on updating its fleet vehicles, we suggest you use the Green Vehicle Guide to compare new Australian vehicles based on greenhouse and air pollution emissions. The Australian transport sector accounts for around 76 million tonnes of Australia's total net greenhouse gas emissions (13.5 per cent of Australia's total emissions), so we all need to make improvements. 

GreenPower

Opt for GreenPower on your businesses electricity account to help drive demand and grow the renewable energy sector. Combine this with an energy-saving plan and your business can easily recoup the cost of GreenPower.

GreenPower is the ability to purchase renewable energy as part of your electricity bill, usually without the need to change your energy supplier.  You can get more information on GreenPower or phone Sustainability Victoria on (03) 8626 8700.

$5 million Green Tick Business

This program was announced in the Victorian State budget (2011/12) to provide Victorian consumers and businesses with the option of purchasing goods and services from businesses that are recognised as implementing sustainable practices.

Businesses that improve their environmental credentials and gain independent accreditation will have a significant competitive advantage.

“The Coalition Government will provide funding and support to establish a voluntary green tick accreditation program for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in Victoria,” Environment and Climate Change Minister Ryan Smith said.

Sustainability Covenants

Sustainability covenants are voluntary agreements through which the EPA and an organisation or a group of organisations can explore new creative ways of reducing the environmental impact and increasing the resource efficiency of their products and services.  Visit the EPA website or follow this link to find out how your organisation can become involved.

Business Links

Federal Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency

Resource Smart Victoria Business

Sustainability Victoria    

Business Victoria follow links to ‘Grants and Opportunities’ and then ‘Environment and Sustainability Programs’.

Environmental Protection Authority (Victoria) 

Good Environmental Choice Australia 

Ecobuy

Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA) Launched in 2002, it is a national, not-for-profit organisation that is committed to developing a sustainable property industry for Australia by encouraging the adoption of green building practices. It is uniquely supported by both industry and government.

Sustainable living facts sheets from Clean Up Australia Day

Funding and Rebates Living Victoria Water Rebate Program

The Victorian Coalition Government has boosted rebates on water-efficient products, making them available to all Victorian households from 1 July 2011.

Minister for Water Peter Walsh said the Coalition Government was delivering on a key election commitment by doubling funding for rebates on water-efficient products to $40 million over the next four years.

Up to $1000 is available for rainwater tanks that are designed and manufactured to Australian standards and are connected to a house's toilet and laundry.  Rainwater tanks help us use our water efficiently and deliver year-round savings. They also assist in minimising stormwater runoff and pollution associated with the runoff. Rebates are also available on a new range of appliances including washing machines and pool covers.

Rebates are available under the Living Victoria Water Rebate Program or you can contact your local water authority.

Solar in Schools

Victorian schools, kindergartens and eligible community organisations can apply for Victorian Solar in Schools Initiative (VSiS) funding. Eligible community organisations are either government-owned organisations, or incorporated not-forprofit organisations.

The Victorian Solar in Schools Initiative supports these groups to:

• install grid connected solar photovoltaic (PV) power systems;
• install interactive energy monitoring systems, and;
• provide educational materials on renewable energy and energy demand.

This program is aimed at encouraging change to community behaviour through the provision of educational activities and communication tools about the benefits of renewable energy, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions through an increased intake of photovoltaic (PV) systems.

This is an open funding round and there will be a competitive application process. Eligible schools and community organisations are encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible.