Current at: 02 March 2007
Reducing Demand
Using electricity in the home can be minimised by thinking about the fittings and fixtures of the home and following the HIA Greensmart principles of reduce, reuse, recycle.
Where possible, fittings should be supplied from
energy sources other than electricity, like solar or gas supply for hot water services. When solar or gas is not suitable, you can consider an efficient electric heat pump system. (Refer to Hot Water Services factsheet)
By limiting the use
of high power demand electrical appliances such as stoves, microwave ovens, water heaters, room heaters, clothes dryers, air conditioners, vacuum cleaners and hair dryers considerable savings and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can be achieved.
Using passive design
principles in the home, you can reduce the need for active heating and cooling. (Refer to Passive Design factsheets)
Designing the home to let natural light into rooms
and the installation of energy efficient fluorescent lighting can also reduce the demand on energy in the home.
Be aware
that many appliances use stand-by energy when not actually being used. Televisions, videos, clocks, computers, faxes, battery chargers, power packs, etc. still use power when they are "switched off". These small loads may be enough to switch on the inverter, and inverters are often very inefficient at low load.
For more information refer to www.yourhome.gov.au