For many years now, improving energy efficiency in homes has remained a subject of great interest, especially with ongoing concerns on climate change. On a practical note, escalating power bills have also made energy-efficient homes more attractive in general.
But what does energy-efficient mean for a home? What energy-efficient home ideas can you apply?
If you’re looking to reduce your power bills, here are some ideas on how to make your house more energy efficient in Australia. But before diving into all that, let’s talk about the basics of energy efficiency first.
What does energy-efficient mean?
Simply put, to be energy-efficient means being able to create the same or a similar outcome while using relatively less energy in the process.
For example, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs use highly efficient lighting technology. Compared to incandescent lighting, LED light bulbs use 75% less energy, and yet, they last 25 times longer.
In Australia, where it can get really hot, air conditioning is essential — especially during scorching-hot summer days. This is why it’s crucial to find energy-efficient air conditioning systems that can cool a home efficiently without resulting in excessively high power bills.
Why is it important to be energy-efficient?
Aside from helping you save on energy consumption and power bills, energy efficient home ideas have some significant benefits.
- They protect the environment and wildlife habitats by decreasing power plant emissions.
- They help reduce pollution and the production of greenhouse gases.
- They lessen people’s and industries’ dependence on fossil fuels.
Especially now that climate change remains an urgent global issue, the appeal of energy-efficient homes continues to grow. People are always on the lookout for energy-efficient house features they can integrate into their homes.
What are the qualities of energy-efficient homes?
Want to know how to make a house energy-efficient? If you’re planning to make changes in your home with the goal of making it energy-efficient, you may opt to use energy-efficient appliances. Doing so doesn’t require any structural changes to your home. Replacing appliances is one of the most simple energy efficient home ideas you can do.
Another approach would be to integrate as many energy-efficient house features as possible into your home. This could mean adding new features, installing new fixtures or making some structural changes to your residence.
Use energy-efficient appliances
There’s a wide range of household appliances in Australia that are energy rated for their efficiency. This applies to air conditioners, water heaters, refrigerators, clothes washers and dryers, swimming pool pumps, televisions, computers and computer monitors and many others.
When shopping for appliances, you can look for the Zoned Energy Rating Label, which includes a seasonal efficiency rating for the product. The cooling and heating ratings cover three distinct climate zones across Australia and New Zealand. You can use the information on the label as a basis for choosing a product that would perform optimally in your geographical climate zone and help you save energy.
Integrate energy-efficient house features
When it comes to making your house more energy efficient, there are several things you can implement depending on the level of energy efficiency you are trying to achieve.
Insulate your roof and walls
Wherever you may live, you could consider insulating your roof and walls to help you stay cool during summer and warm during winter while indoors. Roof and wall insulation is an energy efficient home idea that helps to regulate not only seasonal temperature changes but also how noise or sound is carried from room to room.
Upgrade or replace your windows and doors
Old, draughty and leaky windows and doors also require replacement and proper insulation. If you have a budget, invest in energy-efficient double glazing for your windows that will result not only in lower energy bills but also better noise control.
Install an energy-efficient water heater
An old or outdated electric water heater system can be a major energy drain as it uses up a lot of electricity. Again, if you have a budget set aside for your home energy efficiency project, be on the lookout for newer energy-saving systems. One good example is on-demand hot water systems that are activated when you turn on a tap and automatically turn off once the hot water reaches the fixture.
Energy-efficient lighting
When looking for solutions on how to make your house more energy efficient, lighting is one of the most simple changes you can make. When choosing energy-efficient lighting, LED’s are the way to go. In Australia, they’re the most energy-efficient lights you can install in your home. They use around 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs. Not only does LED lighting help you save money, LED’s last much longer which greatly reduces the number of old bulbs that end up in landfills.
Use solar panels
Australian homeowners are among the top adopters of solar panels. With a solar panel system, you can harness free solar energy and don’t need to be dependent on the grid, so you can reduce your electricity bills significantly.
Adopt good habits
Using energy-efficient appliances and making use of energy-efficient house features aren’t all that make energy-efficient homes. You also need to consider your habits as a homeowner.
To help make your home energy-efficient, try to adopt the following good habits:
- Turn off appliances and lights that are not in use.
- Whenever possible, wash your clothes using water at room temperature.
- Let as much natural light in during the daytime to avoid having to use artificial lights.
- Avoid keeping your mobile devices plugged in overnight.
- Wear clothes appropriate for the weather to avoid the need to turn up the air conditioning during summer or the heater in the cold of winter.
There are many more things you can do to make your home energy-efficient. But the above tips and energy-efficient ideas for the home should be enough to get you started and help you save on electricity significantly.
Get in contact with Busselton Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
Want to find out more about air conditioner energy efficiency? Our team is here to help! Enquire online or visit our showroom in Busselton today!