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LATEST ARTICLES
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Lightbulb Efficiency!
At Energy Rating Perth, our energy assessors give our clients simple tips on improving the energy efficiency of their home. Lighting generates 12% of your home electricity bills and up to 25% in the workplace. Since lighting accounts for a major portion of a home’s energy usage, one of the most obvious steps is to switch to energy efficient lighting systems. Some of these systems are as follows: Incandescent: these are the inexpensive, age-old bulbs that may have a bright light but are very bleak when it comes to energy efficiency. They may be found in older homes and due to their high energy use are slowly becoming obsolete. Halogen: is a modern option of incandescent bulbs, they have a softer glow with a brighter lighting ability and are about 30% more efficient than the older style incandescent bulbs. They may be longer lasting but are not necessary as durable as they generally use a lower voltage and need to be replaced if there is ever a surge. However, since they use the same mechanism low voltage doesn’t mean low energy consumption. Compact Fluorescent
The great debate of hand wash or dishwasher
The universal argument over using the automatic dishwasher versus hand washing dishes has been going on since the production of dishwashers. The energy assessors at Energy Rating Perth can provide a few answers: Studies over the years have shown that when used effectively and efficiently dishwashers can actually use almost a third less water than handwashing. But when you also take into account personal dishwashing habits, amount of dishes, age and energy rating of the appliances and even the home energy source, as these can influence the outcome. But no matter how hard everyone debates, it seems that hand washing can’t beat the newest models of dishwashers available on the market today. Not only are they more efficient in terms of energy, water usage and detergent usage but it’s proved that they also do a better job! Cleanliness and hygiene is why we do this chore in the first place. Our energy assessors recommend these tips to wash greener: Always ensure you purchase an eco-friendly rated appliance, Always ensure you have a full dish load before starting a cycle and run on a light
Can the type of flooring you choose improve the energy efficiency of your home?
When we complete a 6 Star energy rating assessment for our clients at Energy Rating Perth, our energy assessors go further and give recommendations on the building envelope and what materials will help improve thermal performance to our energy consumption conscious client. The floor is a part of the building envelope and different floor types and renderings have an impact on the building’s thermal performance. If the floor is laid on the earth like a concrete slab, it acts as a thermal mass. A crucial factor is the covering on the concrete floor. If you glue a carpet onto the floor, it will insulate it and eventually no heat will be lost or gained by the thermal envelope. On the other hand, tiles or a polished render will allow the heat exchange to occur. A layer of insulation may be added between the slab and the earth so the heat is not lost back to the ground when the interior is of a cooler temperature (at night time in winters). Insulation might even be incorporated into the floor in a special concrete floor
Cool down your house this summer!
What’s the first thing you think of when you are hit with a hot summer day? Air-conditioning. Although it provides so much pleasure to your home environment, it’s not so nice on the electricity bills. Follow these tips from our energy assessors at Energy Rating Perth to provide a more cost effective way to be comfortable this summer: Cover your windows! It’s a simple option and there’s not much outlay to provide a sufficient cover. This will help to dull the heat of summer and keep that sun from shining through. The windows form a thin barrier against the scorching temperatures from outside so get them covered up and save. Insulation! This is one of the more vital factors when being serious about reducing energy costs. If you don’t insulate your home, you could be losing valuable air that you’re paying expensive money to keep cool. Insulation can be fast and affordable to install, so take a look into this as an option for keeping your home cool. Update your appliances! Older model air conditioners can use a lot of extra energy these days
The future of Renewable Solar Energy for homes in Australia
While many of our clients today at Energy Rating Perth wish to reduce their carbon footprint and their energy bills, they are moving towards renewable energy sources like solar panels. It may be an expensive initial investment but our clients at Energy Rating Perth are usually placated by the fact that the government provides them with a hefty subsidy on solar panels. Our energy assessors are saddened to announce that the initial gold rush of solar panels seems to be over. Government subsidies are becoming something of the past and residences are starting to stop receiving payments for the power they export into the electricity grid. In households in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales power exported into the grid will receive no payment from the end of the year. However, this scheme of paying solar households for their exported electricity was used to kick-start the Australian solar photovoltaic (PV) industry. By offering high payments on electricity fed back into the system from roof-mounted photovoltaic systems the state governments boosted the industry. And even though the wind back may hurt some households, it
Do you suspect your home has poor solar access?
At Energy Rating Perth we urge our clients to incorporate solar passive design into their homes so that full advantage can be taken of the sun in the winters to avoid costs from heating your home. The following steps can be taken prior to the building design or to renovate a new home that may be subject to poor solar access: Reduce thermal mass by using lightweight construction such a timber framing. If the preference is using brickwork or block walls, a plasterboard layer should be included towards the internal side to ensure the bricks don’t absorb the heat back from the interior at night. Since the building is overshadowed, it may not be able to take advantage of solar gains during the day, which is why the glazing area should be minimised to reduce heat exchange through the glass. Reduce overhangs and eaves width to allow maximum sunlight/heat penetration Use double glazed or low-e glass for the windows Ensure the window frames are either thermally broken/insulated or use timber/UPVC frames instead. Ensure that all walls, roof and ceiling are well insulated and that
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At Energy Rating Perth, we aim to provide clients with every probable solution to help improve the thermal performance of their homes. A large number of clients at Energy Rating Perth might not recognise the importance of landscaping and the ability of your home to achieve thermal comfort. Trees can provide shading on the walls and windows, which can greatly improve the interior thermal comfort. However, just like the concept of eaves, we may not require shading on all sides all around the year. For this reason, deciduous trees can be planted towards the northern side so in the winters, they can allow full sunlight penetration while evergreen trees are preferable for the eastern and western facades. This can help in keeping your home cool in the hot summers by providing shade and avoid unnecessary solar heat gain. In colder climates, trees can also limit the harsh cold air from penetrating into the building by acting as a barrier. In hot/humid or even moderate climates, this may be a limiting factor therefore, when choosing trees, they should be ones that allow air movement through the foliage.
Other than trees, there are smaller shrubs that are strategically placed can also cool the breeze before it enters into the building through evapotranspiration. Other landscape features water bodies also help in creating a cooling effect due to evaporation. The process can be speeded up by using a water spray in a fountain particularly into a summer breeze path. This is not recommended for climates with high humidity throughout the air as it may actually increase the humidity thus affecting the overall thermal comfort of the home.
Our energy assessors take into account a range of information when they are completing a 6 star energy rating assessment and may at times give recommendations that seem trivial but can add greatly to the energy efficiency of your home. Strategic selection as well as plantation of vegetation should be considered as a solution and site featured trees should be preserved rather than removed.
Call our team at Energy Rating Perth for more information today!
OFFICE LINE
1.800.555.6789
EMERGENCY
1.800.555.0000
WORKING HOURS
9:00am – 6:00pm
OFFICE LINE
1.800.555.6789
EMERGENCY
1.800.555.0000
WORKING HOURS