Among the many interesting points made in the Australian Energy Regulator’s (AER) comprehensive State of the Energy Market 2024 report, was this matter-of-fact statement:
“The energy efficiency of homes plays a vital role in reducing emissions and the cost of energy bills.”
While the report goes into much more detail, it’s fair to say that this wasn’t seen as one of the most prominent sections and, for whatever reason, hasn’t really been picked up by the media or become much of a talking point.
Nevertheless, we think it’s worth putting some focus on, which is why it’s a topic we have touched on many times over the past eight years, particularly with tips about how to save energy around the house to reduce the cost of heating in winter and cooling in summer.
So, with the many advances in technology we’ve seen over the past decade or so, why is the focus still more on how that impacts energy generation (and distribution) efficiency and not as much as it could be on the end user’s capacity to make improvements to reduce energy consumption?
The IEA says we’re not doing enough
The International Energy Agency (IEA) suggests that the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency is not fast enough:
“While efficiency investment has recently been increasing to reach new record levels, the pace of global energy intensity improvements had noticeably slowed in the second half of the last decade and virtually stalled during the first two years of Covid-19.
The energy crisis saw energy intensity progress in 2022 accelerate to 2%. Doubling the global pace of energy efficiency progress from this level to 4% per year on average this decade is a key step in efforts to reach net zero emissions. However, since 2022 progress has halved to around 1% per year.”
Of course, it’s a lot easier to implement energy-efficiency measures and incorporate advanced technology in new builds, but making improvements to existing dwellings and business premises are just as easily overlooked (or put in the too-hard basket).
To some degree, it’s also easier to see the potential benefit when doing something on a large scale rather than making what seem to be much smaller and less significant changes, house by house.
What can we do to improve energy efficiency?
The IEA has six recommendations for those setting the agenda at the government, policy-setting, and regulatory level:
o Adopt comprehensive policy packages on energy efficiency
o Expand the coverage of efficiency regulations and strengthen energy performance standards
o Provide information campaigns to influence consumer choice and behaviour in purchasing and using efficient equipment
o Use incentive programmes to drive energy efficiency markets while protecting the most vulnerable from high energy prices
o Conduct an energy savings audit to identify areas for energy efficiency improvement
o Replace old inefficient equipment and prioritise retrofitting outdated building stock
You can see more details on the IEA website.
There are lots federal and state grants available in Australia
The Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) website currently lists 121 different programs being offered by the Australian government or those of the states and territories aimed at supporting consumers or businesses with the transition to greater energy efficiency.
For example, the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme provides discounts (claimed by the installers to reduce the initial quote) for households and small businesses that install a small-scale renewable energy system or hot water system.
The Victorian Energy Upgrades for homes scheme works in a similar way, with the rebate for replacing outdated appliances with energy-efficient ones being provided to the accredited supplier so that the consumer buying the appliance gets an up-front discount.
While it was completed last year, the Energy Efficiency Grants for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises program is another good example. It provided grants of between $10,000 and $25,000 to support businesses to upgrade or replace inefficient equipment and implement other energy efficiency activities. It distributed more than $56 million to nearly 2,400 businesses. We’d love to see more of that.
There are also several programs offering either rebates or interest-free loans for households and businesses installing solar panels or battery storage systems.
Many initiatives will help households and small businesses alike
The DCCEEW outlines some of the many opportunities to reduce energy use that almost everyone can look into, from lighting through heating and cooling to appliances and equipment.
In our next article, we’ll take a closer look at things like:
o Maximising natural lighting
o Using existing lights more efficiently
o Switching to energy-efficient lighting
o Improving window efficiency and wall insulation
o Automating temperatures
o Optimising existing HVAC systems
o Upgrading to more efficient HVAC systems
o Using timers on equipment and appliances
o Keeping fridges and freezers working efficiently
o Switching to smart power strips
o Servicing appliances and equipment regularly
Using power at times of peak supply and not during peak demand
Another angle on using energy more efficiently is when we use it.
It’s been a couple of years since GloBird Energy launched our Free Lunch Plan, which incentivises our customers to shift their energy usage to use more energy during off-peak times, where possible.
The idea is that if you help out the “system” by taking a bit of the load off at peak times, you should be rewarded. It’s become a popular concept that has helped change the energy consumption habits of many households.
More recently, we added another product to incentivise and reward energy use that provides a more positive outcome for our energy system, ZEROHERO.
ZEROHERO is designed to reward customers with rooftop solar arrays and battery storage who can provide energy to the grid when it’s most needed.
Because the proportion of our energy mix coming from renewable sources has reshaped the supply side of the equation, we’ve created ZEROHERO as one way to realign supply with demand. You can read more about it in our post How GloBird has created the best deal for solar battery owners.
We believe that everyone wants to be able to do their part to help reduce our collective demand for energy but, of course, the bottom line for most consumers and businesses is that if you can reduce your energy use, your bills will also be reduced. We get it and we’ll keep trying to help.