With the deepening global energy crisis, energy conservation has become a must in every part of the world and Australia is no exception. But with the addition of new appliances to the existing pile almost every day, the energy needs of homes across Australia have exponentially increased, thereby posing a challenge to the energy conservation initiatives.

Since our daily lives revolve around these appliances, we cannot eliminate them in an effort to save energy. The best way to keep your energy bills in check is to adopt energy efficient practices in your home. There are several ways of cutting down on your monthly energy bills. If you want to make your home energy efficient, here are some tips that you may want to consider.

Use energy-efficient appliances

To address the rising energy consumption, the US government came up with an energy-efficient standard for various appliances – the “Energy Star” (www.energystar.gov). The standard became global after adoption by various countries across the world such as Australia, Taiwan, Japan, the European Union and New Zealand.

The Environment Protection Agency (www.epa.gov) and the Department of Energy (energy.gov) were the US government agencies behind the creation of the “Energy Star” label.

“Energy Star” rated appliances helps consumers to cut down on their energy bills and minimize air pollution. They include dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, kettles and energy saving lights. The energy consumption of an energy efficient appliance is below the energy limit set by the EPA.

Keep your home insulated

If you are looking for the most practical and cost effective way to keep your energy bills in check, then you should consider insulating your entire home. Insulation not only keeps your home cool during the hot summer season, but also gives the necessary warmth during the cold winter season, thereby saving about 40% in the costs of heating and cooling. Without proper insulation, more than half of the heating and cooling energy used in a home may leak out.

Lack of proper insulation in the ceiling or roof can lead to the loss of up to 40% of heating and cooling energy. On the other hand, wall insulation can reduce the energy used to heat and cool a home by up to 20%.

If your floor is properly insulated, then it can reduce your energy bills during the winter season by up to 5%. Hot water systems usually lose heat through exposed water pipes running from the heating system to the house. To avoid this, insulate any externally exposed pipes.

For more information about home insulation, you can check this official resource:

energy.gov/energysaver/articles/adding-insulation-existing-home

Install properly designed skylights, windows and doors

The design of skylights, windows and doors play an important role in determining the comfort level of a house as they can make the house too hot or cold when poorly designed. When properly designed, they will not only reduce your heating and cooling energy, but would also keep your house comfortable.

Windows and doors are known for providing fresh light and air, but they can also make the house too cold during winter and too warm during summer. To prevent this, it is advisable to buy windows and doors with proper insulation and glazing to reduce your energy costs.

Skylights provide natural light that brighten ups a house, thereby reducing the need for many bigger windows. In fact, the amount of light let in by a skylight is triple than that of a window. Properly designed skylights will help reduce heat gain or loss, which reduces the need for heating and cooling using energy-consuming systems. As a result, your monthly energy bills will significantly reduce.

For more information about window insulation, you can check this official resource:

www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Insulation/Windows

Carry out energy-efficient home remodeling projects

Having an energy efficient home will help you save money and make your house more comfortable. Therefore, you should consider incorporating energy efficient features in your home, whether you are constructing a new home or remodeling an existing one.

The first step when remodeling an existing home to be energy efficient is to assess its energy needs and find out how to reduce energy consumption.

The approach should be whole-house systems where the homeowner and building professionals undertake a comprehensive analysis of all the details, variables and factors that determine the energy consumption in a home.

After that, they will come with measures on how to make the most out of energy efficient capacity of each component. These components include home appliances, insulation, air sealing, lighting and day lighting, heating and cooling, water heating, and skylights, windows and doors.

When designing energy efficient homes, the local climate and site conditions of the home are also considered. Designers can capitalize on these factors to ensure heating and cooling is energy efficient.

For more information about energy efficient home remodeling, you can check this official resource: energy.gov/public-services/homes/home-design-remodeling

Proper conditioning systems

When it comes to heating and cooling systems, there are a wide variety of options with different efficiency levels and energy sources. The local climatic conditions, type of system used, how it’s installed and where it’s installed in the house will determine if it can improve the comfort levels in your home without consuming too much energy.

Before buying a heating and cooling system, it is advisable to take measurements of the room where you plan to install it to determine the right type of system that corresponds to the size of that room.

Although air conditioners are essential appliances that play an integral role in making the home more comfortable, they are the biggest energy leaks in the home. So if you want to reduce energy consumption in your home, focus more on managing these systems. Thanks to the AirConWA technicians (www.airconwa.com.au/faq/energy-efficiency/) who installed my new inverter, I was able to learn that the Australian government has come up with some measures (link:goo.gl/3BclZg) to help consumers keep the energy use of their AC in check.

These measures include introducing AC and home energy efficiency requirements, creating energy efficiency schemes, carrying out electricity demand management trials and so on.