www.sustainableliving.org.nz
SH9_Energy4_SaverActions
1
SUSTAINABLE LIVING PROGRAMME
2009 EDITION
ENERGY ACTIONS –
GAIN HOME ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Here is a practical approach for householders who may share
our concern about energy costs and global warming and want
to take action locally, where it is possible to make a difference.
In this section, you will learn how to:
•
reduce energy demand by keeping winter heat inside,
where it’s wanted, avoiding leaks of heat and therefore
wasted money
• make good use of free heat from the sun, all year (with
shading at the west to control over-heating)
•
use any ‘fossil carbon’ fuels (coal, oil, or gas) required for
energy services within your house as efficiently as
possible, to minimise CO2 emissions and to get best
value
•
plan for any new purchased energy-using equipment to be
the most efficient affordable.
START WITH 10 ENERGY SAVERS
FOR FREE
Many actions that save heating fuels or reduce electricity use
need cost nothing but your time or some thought. Here are
some tried and tested ones, to help you make a start:
1.
Does your hot tap water run very hot? Over a third
of NZ homes surveyed for the Housing End-use Energy Project
(HEEP) had dangerously hot water at the tap: between 60 and
70 degrees Centigrade. This was due to tank thermostats set
too high or to faulty thermostats. If using electric or gas water
heating where the water storage cylinder has a thermostat
fitted to control heat input, adjust it down to the range 55 to
60oC, so that water from the hot taps flows at no more than
50oC when tested after a minute. It will still be stored hot
enough to control bacteria in the water (to protect your health)
but will be less likely to scald a child’s skin at the tap, and you
will need less energy to keep it hot.
2.
Do you leave the house ablaze with lights and
perhaps the television running in an empty room? Light bulbs
turn power into light and heat, so apart from their winter
contribution to warming, you ar