Sustainability saves the globe and your pocket

A sustainable life-style has global environmental benefits and lightens the financial load at home.

Households make a significant contribution to Australia’s greenhouse emissions, at 20 per cent of Australia’s total output. Based on New South Wales Department of Environment and Climate Change figures, the average Australian households spend $1500 per year on energy bills. Sadly, 90% of this energy comes from non-renewable fossil fuels.

The 2006 State of the Environment Report to the NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change found most people surveyed engaged in environmentally pro-active behaviours but did not do enough to achieve sustainability. With the link between greenhouse gas emissions, global warming and the global financial crisis evident, it is no wonder people are penny pinching. This leaves sustainability as a viable option and provides a more positive and pro-active approach for the average Australian.

Change is apparent with many homeowners choosing to implement sustainable strategies in the design of new homes or by retro-fitting their existing home. The State Government is also providing impetus for home-builders to adhere to a certain level of sustainability in home design, with their ‘Basics’ regulations. This is based on a point-system, whereby newly built homes must comply with certain energy efficient and water-saving standards such as installing rainwater tanks and dual flush toilets.

Local Councils are also rewarding home-owners with rebate options as Tamworth Regional Council Water Sustainability Officer Ian Lobban states: “Council offers rebates for people who go over and above the Government’s Basics requirements with rebates for grey-water, rainwater tanks, washing machines and more”.

If the up-front costs of a sustainable home seem daunting, banks such as the New England Credit Union are specifically designing loans to make renewable energy options available for even struggling families. For those people who are receiving a rebate from the government for solar installments, they are offered a repayment-free loan for a period of three months. Marketing Manager Brett Staunton from the New England Credit Union states: “A standard loan for the installation of solar panels is $12,000 which is reduced to around $3000 once rebates and credits were factored in”.

Once installed, the cost of sustainable, or eco-homes is substantially less than standard homes. Sustainable housing expert and University lecturer Derek Wrigley compares the running costs of Eco-homes as being “up to 12.6 times smaller” and the environmental costs “11 times smaller”. These results were based on a study completed in Canberra which has temperature variations similar to those in the Namoi Catchment and hence similar heating and cooling issues. 

Residents in the Namoi Catchment are choosing to take local action with increasing numbers selecting home designs as a means to reduce both living and environmental costs. One such home will be on display at a Sustainable House Expo on 2^nd and 3^rd May. This event will feature a local Tamworth home which has been purpose-built to reduce energy output, encompass water-saving strategies, and importantly, save money. 

This eco-house house features the latest in sustainable infrastructure including solar panels with battery storage, solar hot water, reversible fans and air-vents for passive heating and cooling, underfloor heating using solar-heated water, and insulation. The house also incorporates many features that could be used to retro-fit an existing home to help reduce energy and financial costs.

Strategies that could be incorporated by the average resident, could be as straight-forward as fitting external blinds and installing efficient light-globes. External adjustable awnings on the Western side of a house can substantially reduce internal heating from the afternoon sun in summer yet allow warming of the house in winter. By shifting from standard light-globes to energy efficient ones, studies have found an average reduction of $80 in electricity and a 90% reduction of greenhouse gas output from lighting per year.

The Tamworth Sustainable House Expo is a joint project between Tamworth Manilla Landcare Association, Namoi Catchment Management Authority and the New England Institute of TAFE.

The expo is being run in conjunction with a series of events around the Catchment geared at encouraging sustainable lifestyles. On Friday 1^st May there will be a Town Tour of Gunnedah exhibiting sustainable works within the town and information sessions on Sustainability in the home. The F.E.A.S.T event on Thursday 14^th May will address sustainability through gardening and food choice. For more information on the Gunnedah expos contact Judy Lee on: 6764 2914 or for the Sustainable House Expo, Rachel Hill on 6741 8316 or the Tamworth Tourist Information Centre on 6767 5300.

By Rachel Hill
Landcare Coordinator
Ph. 6741 8316