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Reducing Energy Consumption
With energy prices on the rise and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions becoming clearer to more Australians, reducing household energy consumption has become increasingly important. While the installation of solar technology to homes and purchasing of energy saving household goods are one way of significantly reducing a household’s energy consumption, many families don’t have the financial resources to do so. However there are still many ways households can reduce their energy bill without having to outlay large amounts of cash first.
Some simple ways of reducing your energy Bill are:
For Heating
- Keep the curtains closed on cold, cloudy days to block the outside air.
- Put draught stoppers on all your doors and windows.
- Rug up when it's cold. Wear warm layered clothing indoors or add an extra blanket to your bed.
- Open up curtains to north-facing windows on sunny winter days to let in the natural warmth.
For Cooling
- Shut your curtains, blinds and shades in the morning so they block the sun during the hottest part of the day.
- When it cools down outside, open your doors and windows to let in the cooler air and to encourage cross-ventilation.
- Turn on the fan instead of the air conditioner.
- Put draught stoppers on all your doors and windows.
- If you do need to turn on the air conditioner, set the thermostat to no less than 26°C in summer.
Keeping Clean
- Keep showers short.
- Wash clothes in cold water.
- Wait for full washing load.
- Hang clothes out.
- Fix dripping taps.
- Put plug in the sink when washing dishes.
Using Appliances
- Switch appliances off at the wall.
- Turn off extra fridge.
- Set the correct temperature on fridges and freezers.
Lighting
- Switch to energy saving light globes
- Turn off lights.
- Take advantage of natural light.
- Lower the wattage of globes.
For more information on how to reduce energy consumption and how to see how much energy such measures will save over a full year visit:
 http://www.saveenergy.vic.gov.au/savingenergy.aspx
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reducing household energy consumption has become increasingly important
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