Have you just received your latest energy bill and been shocked?

Bills have typically gone up 20-25%, but many who were on good deals have found their discounts cut heavily and for these people the increase is often even more (up to 40%)!
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Well, what can you do about it?

If you google for example ‘reduce energy bills’ you will get pages and pages of energy saving ideas, but are they relevant to you? Some will be relevant, but most won’t be (or will have a miniscule impact).
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There is no silver bullet, and whatever you do it is going to have to be a combination of savings in different areas. But as an example, our total energy cost for this year was less than $135. Yes, that’s right, $135 for the year!

Now that took many years and there are reasons I could cost effectively reduce my energy use that low. However I can make a dramatic difference to your energy costs. see Energy Audits.

Whether an idea will work for you depends on:

• The size of your bill
• Your cost of energy
• Where you live
• House design
• How you operate your home
• The number of people in your home
• Whether you are at home on most days

​But how do these affect your energy costs?

The first thing is to understand what is using your electricity and gas.

The chart shows typical household energy use; however, you aren’t the average person and your use could vary dramatically (up or down) from the pie chart. Hence you really need tailored advice.

Anything requiring heating or cooling for an extended period is likely to contribute significantly to your energy costs.

For example, room heating and cooling are usually the biggest single energy users for most people. On average, 40% of home energy use but it could range from less than 20% to over 70%. Especially if you have whole of house heating or cooling this should be a big focus for your energy saving efforts. surprisingly, for most Southern Australians, Heating is a bigger energy demand than cooling. See also More on keeping warm 

Another big item is hot water, typically 25% of energy use.

Appliances are typically around 30% of energy use. However, if you have a spa or swimming pool it could be much larger.

If you have LED lights, lighting energy use is quite small. (If you don’t, it is worth only buying LED replacement globes where feasible.) If you have halogen downlights, that is a complicated problem, which will need to be the subject of a future post.​

Because heating and cooling energy use is so large, keeping the heat in in winter and out in summer are likely to give worthwhile savings.
See:
More on keeping warm
Winter comfort
Stop air leaks in your home
Get insulation right
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Another action worth doing is checking you are on the best tariff. Beware of comparison sites that are set up to make money, it is better to use a government site like Energy Made Easy or in Victoria https://compare.energy.vic.gov.au

 Hence you really need tailored advice.​Advice like ‘have your hot water system on a timer so it only heats at certain times’ could save on hot water heating costs, but this depends:

• If you have gas water heating it is irrelevant
• If you have a decent sized solar system and a heat pump hot water system, it could save heaps if you set it to come on at 10 am, provided the water is fully heated before the sun goes down.
  • If you are thinking of solar, find out how to ensure it is right for you, and where to get quotes from reliable installers here. As I said above my total annual energy cost was $135.)
  • Note, beware of dodgy marketing, there are some companies encouraging people to buy solar when it doesn't make financial sense for them. Get tailored advice.
• If you are on a time of use tariff scheduling it to come on when you have cheap electricity makes sense.

Although for many people solar energy has cost effectively reduced their bills, it depends on many factors and some aggressive marketing can lead people to believe they are going to save cash from day one, which could be true, or more likely be false. Again, you need tailored advice.

Well, you can guess which of the hundreds of ideas out there will work for you, or you can get an audit done by an experienced auditor who will sort through the options and give you a manageable number of options that will work. See Energy Audits.
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Keeping warm is usually the largest energy user (and cost), especially in Southern Australia. Accordingly, it is a good place to start for saving money, improving comfort and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

If you were outside and you wanted to keep warm on a cold day, you would wrap yourself up in warm clothes, stand out of the wind and try and catch the sun if there is any. As a last resort you would light a fire. Fundamentally, this is what you do to a house to keep warm. For a house the warm clothes are the insulation (ceiling insulation, curtains etc), standing out of the wind is weatherstripping the home so cold drafts don’t come in, catching the sun is having north facing windows to get warmth from the winter sun and lighting a fire is having some form of heater. As in my analogy, lighting the fire is the last resort because that produces greenhouse gases and is an ongoing expense.
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Note that the above figures differ from the MyHome figures as they are for South Australian homes. For example, in South Australian homes, window losses can be up to 41% or more of losses, whereas in Australia as a whole they are rarely more than 35%. This illustrates the importance of getting local advice, and not relying on generic advice, or worse still recommendations from a sponsored home improvement show.

Let’s look at these elements. The first is insulation. If you have an older existing home, it is unlikely that your home is well insulated. The order of importance of insulation is generally:

1. Appropriate clothing
2. Ceiling
3. Windows
4. Walls
5. Floors

Your options may be limited by renting or financial constraints. However, look at your insulation needs in the above order.

For your clothing in winter, ensure you have long sleeves and either long pants or tights to keep your legs warm. More on this in Winter Comfort

If the insulation in the ceiling doesn’t at least come up to the ceiling joists, I recommend that you add more. In cathedral ceilings or flat rooves, consider blown in insulation if lifting the roof to get batts in is too hard.

More on ceiling insulation including faults that may be reducing the performance of the insulation you have, can be found in Get Insulation Right 

Window insulation options are extensive, and should be considered with both summer and winter in mind and depend a lot on the direction the window faces. Basically, in winter you want to keep the heat in, but let sunlight in when it is available, but in summer you want to keep heat out, in particular direct sunlight and at night allow built up heat to escape. Window options can include blinds, curtains, add on glazing and even replacing windows with double glazing if the frames are deteriorated. More on this in Winter Comfort

Insulating walls is generally something that can only be done by a professional unless you are replacing either the external cladding or the internal lining. This means it can be expensive and it may be worth getting a professional energy efficiency report before committing any money to verify if that is the most cost-effective approach.

Floor insulation also tends to be expensive and whether it is worthwhile depends on the performance of the rest of the house, so again I recommend a professional energy efficiency report if you are contemplating it.

For information on weatherstripping, refer stop-air-leaks-in-your-home

Winter comfort is influenced by a variety of factors beyond just temperature. While obvious factors like temperature affect comfort, there are also subtler ones that play a role.

For instance, many Australian homes suffer from the "hot head/cold feet" syndrome, which can be exacerbated by several factors. One of the primary culprits is poor insulation in the walls and windows of homes. As cold air sinks, it accumulates on the floor, resulting in a pool of cold air at feet level.

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​This happens because the window loses heat to the outside air (1), causing the air next to the window to get cold and sink to the floor (2). This causes a pool of cold air to collect at your feet (3). If no heat is added and the air isn’t stirred up by a fan, the pool of cold air will gradually thicken (4).

From this we can see that we can reduce this problem by reducing the heat loss through the window with curtains, double glazing, roller shutters or preferably a combination of these. Drafts caused by air leaks under doors can also contribute to this issue. Flued gas room heaters can worsen the problem by dragging cold air across the floor as they take air from the room. (An unflued room gas heater is an even bigger problem, because you need to ensure your home is sufficiently leaky so that carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and other pollutants from the burning gas are kept to a safe level.)

Additionally, radiation from cold windows can make one side of the body cold while the other remains hot. Despite the size of the heater used, these issues can still prevent you from feeling comfortable.

There are some obvious actions you can take to reduce these issues, for example, install high performance curtains and/or change to double glazing, insulate your walls, install door and window seals etc. However, these can be expensive, and an energy audit can ensure you get the best value from your expenditures.

If you have an unflued room gas heater, changing it to a reverse cycle air conditioner is generally a priority.

These actions should be supplemented with wearing the right clothes for the season. Wear comfortable but warm clothes. Generally, the thicker the clothes, the warmer they will be. Wearing lots of layers also helps because they stop direct transmission of the heat and allow you to change your clothing level, by say putting on a jumper in the evening.

However, other than the door and window seals (which are unlikely to eliminate the problem by themselves) all these items are expensive. The most effective items may not be obvious. To make sure you are getting the best bang for your buck, it is worthwhile getting an energy assessment by an experienced energy assessor.
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Stopping air leaks in your home can help you save money on heating and cooling bills and increase your home's energy efficiency. Here are some ways to stop air leaks in your home:
1.     Identify the leaks: Check for air leaks around windows, doors, and vents.
2.     Caulk: Use caulk (no more gaps or similar) to seal any gaps or cracks around windows, doors, and other areas where air may be leaking in or out. Make sure the sealant is appropriate for the location (e.g. exterior, interior, wet area as appropriate)
3.     Weatherstripping: Install weatherstripping around doors and windows to prevent drafts. If using self-adhesive weatherstripping, choose one with a plastic backing (rather than paper) as they are much easier to apply. Raven weatherstripping has a plastic backing.
The problem with self-adhesive weatherstripping is that if the gap in the door or window frame is too small the weatherstripping gets over compressed, and the door or window won't close properly.
An alternative style is available from Ecomaster ecomasterstore.com.au/. They have a range of sealing options for different applications, which tend to work better than what is available at your local hardware store.
If you can't afford weatherstripping, at least get yourself a door snake for each outside door and for the room you spend most time in of an evening.
​4.     Seal air ducts: Make sure air ducts are sealed and insulated to prevent air from escaping. Assuming you have an attic roof, check your airconditioning ducts and if necessary use duct tape to seal them. Any leaks from the ducts are particularly significant as the air in the duct is either hot or cold and under pressure so you can lose a lot of heat. Furthermore this reduces the amount of air entering the room compromising your comfort. If there are problems that you can't rectify yourself it will probably be worth paying to rectifying them.

By following these tips, you can significantly reduce air leaks in your home, which can help lower your energy bills and make your home more comfortable.
Stopping air leaks in your home can improve comfort in several ways:

• First, by sealing air leaks, you can reduce drafts and cold spots in your home, which can make your living spaces more comfortable. Under door leaks are among the worst for this as in winter they exacerbate the cold feet, hot face syndrome that many people experience in their homes.
• Second, air leaks can allow outdoor pollutants, such as dust, pollen, and other allergens, to enter your home. By sealing air leaks, you can help reduce the amount of these pollutants that enter your home, which can improve indoor air quality and reduce allergy symptoms.
• Third, by reducing air leaks, you can help your heating and cooling systems work more efficiently, which can help maintain a more consistent and comfortable indoor temperature.

Overall, sealing air leaks in your home can help improve your comfort and quality of life.

If you are planning on doing more to reduce energy use, I suggest you consider creating a plan to ensure you achieve an optimum insulation level and consider what options you should do when. See Energy Audits.

If 10% of the ceiling is bare due to insulation being tossed aside or being incomplete, the heat loss can double.

I have rarely gone into a roof space (even a new one) and found the insulation properly distributed. Since I have bought a thermal imager, I have not found a ceiling without an insulation fault of some sort.

The most common issue is ceiling batts tossed aside by a tradesman and not replaced. (Although there are many good tradies, there are too many electricians, air conditioning installers and plumbers who don’t make a habit of checking that the insulation has been returned to the correct place after they have finished their work). If you are employing someone who will be working in the roof space, let them know that any insulation that needs to be removed, needs to be replaced properly (for example trimmed around a fan)

Some of the worst examples of failure to replace insulation occur with down lights. If you have down lights you might have a dozen in the room and if a ceiling batt is tossed aside at each light, you would have 12 displaced ceiling batts, which may well more than double the heat loss or gain through the ceiling.

Often this can be readily improved if this is in an attic roof space. Do bear in mind that depending on the type of downlight you may need to give a gap, which depending on the light and insulation may need to be up to 100mm clear around the light. Check the make and model of the downlight to determine the clearance required.

Although I prefer surface or pendant lights to downlights, some of them, particularly the newer IC4 LED downlights can be safely covered with insulation, however check the manufacturer's instructions. (The light should be labelled as IC4 but it can be difficult to read so take a bright light if you are checking yourself in the ceiling. 

Another common issue is exhaust fans. they need a clearance around them to avoid jamming the blades, but often a whole batt is tossed aside. Ideally the exhaust fan should be a ducted fan and discharged above the roof. If the ceiling space is well vented, e.g. an un-sarked tile roof, depending on your climate you may get away with it discharging into the roof until you replace it. However, it is preferable to install a DraftStoppa  so that you can safely insulate to the DraftStoppa and also so that when the fan is not working you don't get air leakage and lose the heat or cool in your house.

When improving the insulation, gaps in the insulation, for example around framing timbers or at edges, should be filled with offcuts.
 
Insulation that has been wetted or compressed doesn’t perform as well as it should and should be replaced.

Ceiling access covers are often uninsulated. Sometimes the insulation contractor leaves a loose piece to be placed over the access cover, but I have often found that the next contractor doesn't replace it. If the insulation is thick fiberglass it won't glue to the access cover very well. Other options include using a construction adhesive (liquid nails) to glue one of the following:

• Foilboard 25 x 2400 x 1200mm Cathedral 25 Insulation - Bunnings Australia
• Bastion 1200 x 600 x 50mm XPS Multi Use Foam Board - Bunnings Australia
• A cheap alternative would be to glue some bubble wrap (using a liberally spread sealant) to the access panel

Another issue with insulation is often the extent is insufficient.  Ideally the insulation should extend over the top of the walls. 

If you intend doing the insulation yourself there are a number of considerations:

• Downlights may need clearance to avoid overheating (check the manufacturers recommendations for the model) (not required if they are IC4 LED downlights.
• Fans opening direct to the ceiling space need a DraftStoppa so you can insulate directly up to them.
• As with any DIY project, consider safety, e.g. safe access, don't work in the roof space in the heat of a summer afternoon etc.

Insulation can be installed deeper than the ceiling joists, however you need to:

• ensure you don't cover electrical cables unless an electrician has confirmed that the cable is safe (cables clipped to the structure can have the insulation butting up against it, if it is modern wiring.) If there is any doubt, get it checked by an electrician.
• consider whether it is safe to move about the ceiling space. If there are appliances in the ceiling (air conditioners, hot water services etc.), you need to ensure safe access for maintenance. This can be achieved by laying the insulation between ceiling joists so the gaps correspond to the location of the joists. Consider installing permanent crawl boards for safe access.) 

If you are planning on increasing the insulation thickness, I suggest you consider creating a plan to ensure you achieve an optimum insulation level and consider what options you should do when. See Energy Audits.