Energy Efficiency

Save money on your power and water bill.

Why energy efficiency is important for a healthy home

There are a number of reasons why we should think about cutting back on energy consumption. It reduces the impact on the environment, reduces carbon emissions and it saves you money. A product's Energy Rating Label gives you information on how much energy a product uses so that you can compare the energy efficiency of similar appliances. Mitre 10 suggest that a healthy home should have appliances with energy ratings of 3 stars and above.

How energy efficiency can make your home healthier

Lighting can have a significant impact on your energy consumption, replacing conventional light bulbs with LED's, they use up to two thirds less power and can save you around $20 per light bulb a year. If going away for more than a week, turn off your hot water cylinder (but remember, it will take a while to reheat) and switch appliances off at the wall.

Installing low-flow showerheads improves your home’s water efficiency. Low-flow showerheads have a flow rate of less than 9litres per minute. You can also reduce shower time - a 15 minute shower costs around $1, a five minute shower around 33c. A family of 4 could be saving around $18 a week just by taking shorter showers. That’s $900 a year.

What you need to know

Landlords

While energy efficiency isn't legislative, it's a great way to attract tenants.

Homeowners

There are so many quick and easy things you can do to make your home more energy efficient, saving you money, improving the resale value of your home, reducing the environmental impact and making your home more comfortable. EECA has a number of great resources. Clothes dryers can be very expensive to run so try not to use them unless you really have to. Heated towel rails are also expensive and cost around $120 a year to run.

Renters

Like a home owner, there are many things you can do to maintain a healthy home. EECA has a number of great resources through Genless, check out their website for more information. Appliances that have a standby function (such as TVs, stereos, mobile chargers, computers and microwaves) should be turned off at the wall. This can save you up to $75 a year.