Make your Home More Energy Efficient – 7 Easy Things you can do

With rising energy costs, we are all looking for ways to make our homes a little more energy efficient. While we can’t switch off everything at home, we can take some simple steps to improve the energy consumption of our homes, and improve the impact on our back pocket!

Ways to make home more energy efficient

1. Lighting

One very simple way to realise energy benefits is to change your light globes from traditional incandescent or fluorescent to LED. LED globes are up to 75% more energy efficient than their traditional counterparts, and with advances in LED technology, they are becoming a more affordable option too.

To read more on how you can benefit from making the switch to LED, see our blog post Everything you Should Know about LED Lighting.

Another way you can save energy with your lighting is to consider implementing some smart lighting technology in your home. With options like timers, dimming, and control when you are away from home, you can realise energy savings by only using the light you need, where and when you need it. And, it’s all at your fingertips. You can create a fully integrated smart home system, or use some of these products to dip your toe into the world of smart lighting.

Add layered lighting options to your spaces. A great example of this is the addition of lamps, and even better, dimmable lamps that allow you to determine the amount of light emitted. Rather than switching on your overhead lighting, switch on a lamp that will provide you with directed light where you need it.

2. Upgrade Your Electronics

New technology being used in your electronics utilises energy more efficiently. Be on the lookout for an appliance’s star rating. Old is synonymous with higher energy use when it comes to electronics. Here are some of the appliances you can upgrade:

• Star-rated fridges can save you upwards of $80 per year over older fridges.
• High efficiency heating appliances to replace older installation done in the 1990s or earlier.
• LED Screens over LCD/Plasma or other screen types for computer monitors and TVs.

While it isn’t necessarily practical to go out and replace all your older appliances, consider energy star ratings when your older appliances are due to be replaced.

3. Switch Off

Do you really need to have everything in your home switched on and plugged in at all times? You stand to gain by consciously choosing to power down or switch off devices and appliances that you are not currently using. Lamps, computer screens, microwaves and a host of other devices passively consume power even when on standby. While technology has certainly improved, if it’s not being used right now, it’s better to switch it off.

4. Heating and Cooling

Our home’s heating and cooling systems use significant amounts of energy. Some smart and easy energy savings tips to reduce your overall heating demands include:

• Lower the temperature settings on thermostats. Keep within reasonable temperature values. When not needed, switch them off.
• Draw curtains at night to keep the heat in during winter, and heat out during summer.
• Consider adding energy efficient ceiling fans to your home. Ceiling fans, particularly DC model fans, are extremely energy efficient compared to running other forms of heating and cooling, such as air conditioners. Used in conjunction with these other forms, however, will help to circulate cool and warm air, and allow you to turn down the settings of your high energy consuming products.

Some of our best selling DC ceiling fans include:

5. Laundry

There are some very simple things you can do to minimise energy use in the laundry.

• Consider air drying over dryer use wherever practical.
• Washing machine technology has come a long way in terms of energy consumption, so instead of using hot water from your hot water tank, set your machine to heat and allow it to heat the water for you.
• Try to run full loads where you can. A small thing, but it does add up over a period of time.

6. Install Solar Panels

Yes, this is a big one, and not everyone is in a position to do this, but if you can, solar panels provide an easy way to produce your own energy. The government is encouraging this type of renewable energy by providing tax incentives to home owners who install solar panels. 

For more information on solar panels, see the Australian government Clean Energy Regulator and find out What you Need to Know if you are Installing Solar Panels.

7. Make use of natural daylight

Make the most of natural lighting to illuminate your home wherever possible, and cut down your use of artificial lighting. It also has health and wellbeing benefits.

• Open your curtains and blinds during the day.
• Place furniture to enhance flow of light.
• Look at installing skylights in rooms that don’t get a lot of natural light.

It makes excellent investment sense to make your home as energy efficient as possible. To get expert advice on lighting or cooling options for your home speak to one of the experts at Rovert Lighting & Electrical.