10 simple ways to make your home energy efficient

Curious as to how you can really amp up your energy efficiency in your home? Here are simple ways to help lower your power bills and harness the sun.

Let’s get started. Just take a moment to picture your household appliances as a boat and your solar and grid import energy as the engine.

Now you can put a really great, top brand solar installation on your roof, just like you can buy a top of the line boat motor, but if your appliances and lighting are all heavy energy users then you will waste a lot of valuable energy to power them (kind of like running a boat full of holes from a really good boat motor)

So the secret key to maximising your solar installation and minimising your power bills is to have low energy usage from your lighting and appliances. This will maximise the amount of solar energy you can export to the grid, and as an added bonus you earn an income too!

Combining your Coast Wide Energy solar installation these simple energy efficiency upgrades is a great way to get the most out of your solar installation. Your Coast Wide Energy solution will include many hacks to ensure you see the benefits and return on your investment as quickly as possible. Still researching how to save money on your power bill? This is a great place to start and our team are happy to chat through simple solar and electrical solutions with you just reach out here

Here are 10 simple ways to make your home energy efficient and most of them won’t cost an extra cent and apply to homes across the country, from Sydney to the Central Coast all the way to Newcastle.

1. Harness the sunshine

With Australia’s abundant sunshine installing solar panels on your roof is simple and makes the most sense. Coast Wide Energy can design a custom solar energy solution for your home and requirements to ensure you can lower or even eliminate your power bills and even make money back.

2. Set up a household schedule

Set time of use patterns for your dishwasher, clothes washer, air conditioning and battery charging to maximise your daytime use of your solar generation. Ensure everyone in the household is part of the planning session and understands the benefits of these simple habits.

3. Remember to switch it off

Now you’ve got everyone in the house onboard keep each other accountable. Leaving a room? Switch off the light. Finished working on your laptop? Power it totally down. Need to charge your phone? Make sure it’s during the day. Making a coffee? Fill up the kettle with only as much water as you need. It’s the simple things that really add up.

4. Automate, automate, automate

Look into installing lighting which can be dimmed or even movement monitors so that the light turns on when someone enters a room or walks through an outdoor area. LED lighting is also key and a cheap investment for the long term return.

5. Upgrade (where and when possible)

Check in on your appliances and if they don’t meet the standards it’s time to upgrade. These include your stove top, dishwasher, washing machine and dryer, refrigerator/freezer and air conditioner

Bonus tip: Use efficiency data when available (e.g. www.energyrating.gov.au) to select the most efficient products.

6. Keep the hot water flowing

Look into installing solar hot water systems or automate your hot water tank to heat during the day to make the most of your excess solar

7. Insulation is key

Set your home up for success by ensuring the ceilings and walls are insulated. This investment means your house keeps the heat in during winter and out in summer making a huge difference to your power bills

8. Cover it up

Draught proofing your home is an easy fix. To start with ensure all gaps where the wind can get in or the heating/cooling can get out are covered up. Next, ensure your windows are covered with shutters or heavy curtains and double glazed where possible as a starting point.  This will ensure your home is warmer in winter and cooler in summer without the extra heating/cooling power needed.

Bonus tip: on a windy day go around the house and cover up any spots, with silicone or rubber, where the wind is getting in around each window and door to keep your home insulated

9. Design mindset

Renovating or building your new home? Ensure the house is designed to make the most of the natural daylight (and save switching on the lights constantly) and your roof is structured in the best way for solar panels to harness the sun all day long. Want to find out more? Our Coast Wide Energy team is ready to put a recommendation together for you just give us a call 0415292097

10. Observe your energy usage

As part of your Coast Wide Energy solar installation you’ll be equipped to easily monitor your energy usage and be empowered to make better decisions throughout the day.

Here’s an example of the breakdown of energy usage in Australia households by category of consumption.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy

And by further looking at the typical proportion of energy used by each household appliance we can see the where the greatest potential for energy savings lie or where upgrades need to be made.

https://www.yourhome.gov.au/energy

Share with our community below your top tips for energy efficiency in your home!

About Coast Wide Energy

• Our expert team is based in Tuggerah on the Central Coast NSW and lead by CEC design and licensed installer electrician Anthony Mifsud who has over 8 years experience in solar energy projects and is committed to providing exceptional energy solutions for all our customers. We are passionate about renewable energy and designing exceptional systems that meet our customers requirements and save them money.

• All design, installation, education and maintenance is in-house (no sub-contractors), ensuring quality and consistency in design and installation methods. In-house customer support offering customised reports and retailer recommendation for your particular system.

• Supporting your renewable energy education: Advice and consultation available on ways to reduce energy consumption, maximise return on investment and manage your energy usage, use of solar analytics monitoring.

• World leading brands: Trina, SMA, Fronius, Solis, Huewai. We only use products that we know will last, so you have the assurance that they you are the owner of a top quality solar system. With 5-20 year warranty available for the Inverter systems.

• We are Redback and Sungrow batteries and hybrid inverters experts, guaranteed for 10 years.

• Finance payment plans available for all clients, creating an opportunity for positive cashflow.

• Highly competitive price and top value investment. Customers with 5kW say that we are up to $2500 cheaper than the quotes offered by other companies.
  

  Contact us for a free quote or to find out more
  +61 415 292 097 or email us here