Case Study 1 - 1960s brick semi-detached home, inner city

Our Green Home Assessment identified opportunities for the house to:

This household was very environmentally aware; the electricity consumption of the house was already relatively small and it achieved a 5 star 'Top Performer' NABERs energy rating.
We conducted a Green Home Assessment and found several affordable and practical solutions to further help the household reduce their greenhouse emissions.

Below is a quick summary of a few of the opportunities we identified to help green their home.

GreenPower
Not all GreenPower is as green. While the household did purchase 100% GreenPower, we discovered that the GreenPower product they were purchasing through their electricity retailer was only given a 1 star rating and was classified as 'poor' by Green Electricity Watch. By switching to another GreenPower product they can be sure that their home is powered by 100% new accredited GreenPower and their money goes to new renewable energy projects they want to invest in.

Reduce standby power
The audio visual equipment including a television, set top box, dvd player and stereo was frequently left in standby mode when it was not being used. Using a power meter we measured the total standby power demand of the equipment to be 15 Watts. We found that by simply switching off the devices when not in use could save 88kWh of electricty a year (4% of total electricity consumption).

Install controls on fish tank lighting
The household had two fish tanks, one tank was lit by a 36W flourescent tube and the other by a 18W fluorescent tube. Fish tanks only require around 8 to 12 hours of light a day. However the lights were frequently left on overnight and for extended periods during the day. We found that installing two simple 24 hour timers to turn on and off the fish tank lights could save 79kWh of electricity a year (4% of total electricity consumption).

Replace incandescent lamps with CFLs The household's lighting was mix of old inefficient incandescent lamps and new high efficiency CFL lamps. We calculated that replacing their incandescent lamps with new CFL lamps could reduce their annual electricity consumption by 15% and save $37 a year of electricity bills. CFL lights use 80% less energy than standard incandescent lights without any reduction in light output.

Install insulation
There was no ceiling insulation installed in the home. This meant that the gas heaters had to work a lot harder during winter to keep the home warm. Installing wool blend insulation batts could save the home 986MJ of natural gas a year and save $22 a year off gas bills. The insulation will also help to keep the home cooler in summer, providing a more comfortable living space all year round.

Install solar hot water We calculated that replacing their existing gas storage hot water system with a gas boosted solar hot water system could save 11,540MJ of natural gas a year and save up to $280 a year off gas bills.

Harvesting rainwater
With a usable roof area of 60m2 we calculated that installing a 10kW rainwater tank would provide up to 45kL of rainwater a year; more than enough to supply the toilet, washing machine and garden. With the current rebate of $1,500 offered by Sydney Water the installation cost of the rainwater tank was estimated to be $1,520.

Want more information?
Contact us for more information or to request a Green Home Assessment.