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Home Occupant Report

The size of the area you are heating, the number of hours heaters are on, and the temperature setting all have a big impact on your bills.
In summer a comfortable and cost-effective range to set the thermostat is 25-27°C, and in winter it is 18-20°C

Dear Jaime,

Congratulations on completing your home energy assessment. This is an important step towards improving the energy efficiency of your home.

Taking action on some or all of the recommendations in this report will improve your comfort, save you money and help protect the environment.

This report focuses on actions your household can take. At the end is a link to a second report focused on actions the owner could take.

Your energy usage is likely to be similar to the graph on the right. You are likely to achieve the most savings by reducing heat loss during winter and using heaters efficiently.

When you’ve read your recommendations, check out the links and resources at the end of this report and at www.climatechoices.act.gov.au.

If you live in the ACT, you can get free expert advice on saving energy in your home including additional support implementing these recommendations or checking your bills, by calling the ACT Sustainable Home Advice line on 1300 141 777 or emailing SustainableHomeAdviceProgram@act.gov.au.

If you found your home energy assessment and report useful please let your friends, family and networks know.

Windows and draughts

Your recommendations

  • Draughts waste a lot of energy. Stopping them is the most cost-effective action you can take to make your home more comfortable and can reduce heat loss in winter by up to 25%.
  • By covering your windows effectively you can reduce your home's heat loss in winter and gain in summer by up to 20%. Hang blockout curtains and attach pelmets to stop cold air moving from your windows into your rooms in winter and to stop heat entering in summer. You can buy curtain rods that stay up with springs and don’t need to be attached to the wall, so you can take them with you. You can make your own temporary pelmets from cardboard - online videos can show you how.
  • On sunny days in winter, open blinds and curtains on northern, western and eastern windows. The sun shining through your windows will heat your home significantly.
  • A lot of heat is transferred through single glazed windows so it's very important to cover your windows effectively. Do-it-yourself secondary glazing – using bubble wrap or clear plastic films – is a temporary and cost-effective way to insulate any windows that don't have insulating blinds or blockout curtains and pelmets.
  • Use gap-filler rod, plastic film, or tape to block your wall vents, as a lot of energy is lost through vents.
  • In the months when the evaporative cooling is not in use, stop heat loss from your home by covering vents with vent covers, bubble wrap, corflute, cardboard or plastic film.
  • You can reduce heat loss or gain from ducting and vents by closing adjustable vents whenever the unit is off, for example at night and when you are out of the house. (Remember to open the vents when you turn the unit on.)
  • Since there are some draughts around your windows, it's important to block those draughts, for example with gap-filler rod or tape. If necessary, filler rod and tape can later be removed carefully without damaging surfaces.
  • Stopping the draughts beneath and around your draughty doors, for example with door snakes and tape, will save energy and is very easy to do.

You can find more detailed information about draught-proofing, window insulation and window coverings in the links at the end of this report.

Heating

Your heating recommendations

  • Try to only heat your space to between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius. This is a comfortable and cost-effective temperature range. Every degree higher can add 10% to your energy costs.
  • Personal heated throw blankets cost only about 3 cents per hour to run and can keep you very warm, even in a cold room
  • Separating your living space from hallways and other rooms with temporary rods and curtains can reduce costs and keep your living space warmer.
  • Air conditioning units should be serviced annually. If contacting the property owner or manager to request this, you could note that this extends the life of the unit, saving money in the long term.
  • Regularly check and clean the dust from your air conditioning vents and filters to ensure your system is running as efficiently and safely as possible. This can reduce running costs by 5-15%.

There is more information about heating your home in the links at the end of the report.

Fans are an extremely cost-effective way to keep cool in summer - they cost only 1 to 2 cents per hour to run.

Cooling

Your cooling recommendations

  • Keep your home cooler in summer by opening your windows, doors and curtains when it cools down at night, then closing them in the morning as soon as it starts to get warm outside.
  • If you use air conditioning, 25 to 27 degrees Celsius is a comfortable and cost-effective summertime temperature range. Every degree lower can add 10% to your running costs.
  • Regularly check and clean the dust from your air conditioning vents and filters to ensure your system is running as efficiently and safely as possible. This can reduce running costs by 5-15%.
  • Air conditioning units should be serviced annually. If contacting the property owner or manager to request this, you could note that this extends the life of the unit, saving money in the long term.
A plug-in power meter

Appliances

Your appliances recommendations

  • You can find out how much each of your appliances is costing you by getting a plug-in power meter (see photo). It will show how much power the appliance has used since it was plugged into the meter and will calculate the cost. You can buy power meters at hardware stores or online.
  • When the time comes to buy a new appliance, check the energy star rating labels (see https://www.energyrating.gov.au/). More stars mean greater energy efficiency. Choosing a more energy-efficient appliance will reduce energy consumption and help lower energy bills.
  • Use the eco setting if your machine has one.
  • Avoid pre-rinsing dishes, and use cold water if you have to pre-rinse.
  • Use the eco setting if your washing machine has one.
  • Use the free energy of the sun and wind to dry your clothes. Canberra is generally dry and sunny so washing dries quickly outdoors, even in winter.
  • On wet days, use a clothes rack indoors rather than a dryer as far as possible.
  • Try to use your drier only in emergencies.
  • Tumble dry on cool not hot as much as possible.
  • Check that your fridge and freezer are not unnecessarily cold. Fridges should be between 3°C and 5°C, and freezers between –15°C and –18°C.
  • Check and clean your fridge and freezer seals, and replace any damaged ones. To test the seal, open the fridge door, place a piece of paper between the fridge and the door, and shut the door. If the paper doesn’t move easily when you pull it, it's a good seal.
  • You have indicated you have more than one fridge and/or freezer. Try to use only one fridge/freezer whenever possible and turn spare fridge/freezers off when not in use. This can save more than a hundred dollars per year

Pipe insulation (often called lagging) is low cost and readily available from most hardware outlets. Insulate the first 2m of exposed pipes from your hot water unit, especially those carrying hot water.

Hot Water

Your recommendations

Up to 70% of your hot water is used in the shower.

  • Insulate all pipes going into and out of your hot water unit with foam tubing, known as lagging, to prevent heat loss, especially the two metres closest to your water heater.
  • The hot water storage tank thermostat should be set at 60 degrees by an electrician. Running costs will be higher if the temperature is set any higher. (To prevent the growth of Legionella bacteria in the tank, the thermostat should never be set lower than 60 degrees).
  • To check whether you have an efficient showerhead, put a standard (9 litre) bucket in the shower, turn all other taps in the house and garden off, turn the cold tap in the shower on full, and time how long it takes for the bucket to fill. If the bucket takes less than 1 minute to fill, your showerhead is not efficient.
  • Aim to keep showers to 4 minutes or less. Use a shower timer or listen to a favourite song, to time your shower. Every minute you cut from your shower time will save about 20 litres of hot water if you have a conventional showerhead, which will also reduce your energy bills.
  • A 3 star showerhead will halve the amount of hot water and energy used per minute. Note: in the ACT a licensed plumber is needed to install a new showerhead. This requires permission from the property owner.

Lighting

Your lighting recommendations

  • LED lights use 20% of the power of halogen lights and last five times as long.

Insulation

Your insulation recommendations

  • Most heat enters and exits through the ceiling. If your home does not have adequate ceiling insulation, consider providing the property owner report to your property manager or owner (see link below). It has more detailed recommendations about insulation.

Pumps

Your recommendations

  • Manage pumping schedules with timers to maximise efficiency.
  • For more information on minimising the energy costs of swimming pools see this PDF
The Energy Made Easy website compares all the plans available from all the energy retailers in your area. It can help you find the retailer and plan that best suits your electricity and/or gas use, which can save you a lot of money. https://www.energymadeeasy.gov.au/

Energy Bills

Your recommendations

  • Call your retailer and ask whether you are on the lowest cost plan for your energy use – some households are better off with a tariff based on the time of day, while others benefit more from a flat rate.
  • While all electricity in the ACT is from renewable sources, purchasing Green Power from your retailer is a way you can encourage more investment in renewable energy in Australia. https://www.greenpower.gov.au

Gas Usage

Property Owner Report

The owner's report focuses on fixed appliances, insulation and actions the owner can take. If you are renting, you may like to send it to the property manager or owner.

View the Property Owner Report

Links & Resources

For further information about your recommendations and how to implement them please contact:

For further information about ACT energy efficiency programs and technical advice, call the ACT Sustainable Home Advice line on 1300 141 777, email sustainablehomeadviceprogram@act.gov.au, or visit www.climatechoices.act.gov.au.

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