Australian homes can be made climate-ready, reducing bills and emissions – a new report shows how
December 15, 2023
Gill Armstrong, Climateworks Centre and Michael Ambrose, CSIRO Millions of homes were built before Australia introduced housing energy efficiency standards in 2003. They’re leaky. Gaps around windows, doors and between building materials allow air to move in and out. So people tend to compensate, with more heating and cooling. It’s costly and damaging for the […]
5 tips for getting off gas at home – for a cleaner, cheaper, healthier all-electric future
August 21, 2023
Trivess Moore, RMIT University; Alan Pears, RMIT University, and Nicola Willand, RMIT University Burning gas in our homes to cook food or heat air and water has become a contentious issue. Gas is an expensive, polluting fossil fuel, and there’s mounting evidence to suggest it’s also bad for our health. Five million existing Australian households […]
Keen to get off gas in your home, but struggling to make the switch? Research shows you’re not alone
July 24, 2023
Sangeetha Chandrashekeran, The University of Melbourne and Julia de Bruyn, The University of Melbourne More than five million households in Australia are connected to the gas network. Tackling climate change requires homes and businesses to move away from gas, and instead embrace electric appliances as the power grid shifts to renewable energy. People can save […]
All-electric homes are better for your hip pocket and the planet. Here’s how governments can help us get off gas
June 19, 2023
Esther Suckling, Grattan Institute If every Australian household that uses gas went all-electric today, we would “save” more than 30 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over the next ten years. That’s because there are more than 5 million households on the gas network, and the avoided emissions per home ranges from 5-25 tonnes over […]
Budget’s energy bill relief and home retrofit funding is a good start, but dwarfed by the scale of the task
May 11, 2023
Trivess Moore, RMIT University and Ralph Horne, RMIT University The quality and performance of our housing have big impacts on the environment, cost of living and our health and wellbeing. The 2023-24 federal budget’s announcement of $1.6 billion for energy-saving upgrades to housing recognises the broad importance of retrofitting Australian homes. Until now, much of […]
Want an easy $400 a year? Ditch the gas heater in your home for an electric split system
March 24, 2023
Rachel Goldlust, La Trobe University Earlier this month, regulators flagged electricity price rises in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Like many people, you’re probably wondering how you can minimise the financial pain. Getting rid of gas and electrifying everything in your home can save you money. Modelling by not-for-profit organisation Renew showed […]
How to maximise savings from your home solar system and slash your power bills
January 23, 2023
Wasim Saman, University of South Australia Soaring electricity prices have made 15% of Aussies think about installing solar panels, a recent survey found. Another 6% were already weighing up the move, on top of the 28% who had panels. With costs falling, the average system size is growing rapidly. Households now typically install 8-10kW solar […]
In an energy crisis, every watt counts. So yes, turning off your dishwasher can make a difference
June 22, 2022
Anna Malos, Monash University and Emi Minghui Gui, Monash University Australia’s east coast energy market has been on a rocky road for the past few weeks. It begs the question: how could the market change to avoid the next crisis? To date, discussion has largely focused on the need to generate more energy. But there’s […]
Keen to retrofit your home to lower its carbon footprint and save energy? Consider these 3 things
June 17, 2022
Nimish Biloria, University of Technology Sydney If you’re anything like me, you’re increasingly working from home, one that was built before energy efficiency measures were introduced in Australia. With temperatures along the east coast plunging and power bills skyrocketing, heating (and cooling) our homes is an energy intensive, expensive affair. Almost 8 million homes across […]