Did you know that improving Australia’s energy efficiency could save our country billions? Not only will it save us all money and improve our environment, it could also put billions back into our economy.
Recent research by the Climate Institute has found that more investment in energy efficiency will add billions to the Australian economy. An improvement as small as 1% would add $26 billion by 2030!
John Connor, CEO of Climate Institute, believes an improvement in energy efficiency is a must given the PM’s proposal to lift annual productivity growth by 2%. “This is an important contribution to improving Australia’s productivity as well as cutting our energy bills and carbon pollution,” Connor said.
To give you a better idea on the state of Australia’s energy resources, Australia’s energy waste not only costs the economy billions of dollars each year, it also reduces our overall economic growth.
Canada leads the way when it comes to energy efficiency – having improved its efficiencies more than twice ours. And the rest of our fellow developed nations, are only just behind Canada.
By comparison, Australia is failing to match the standards of improvement of energy efficiency. Sure we have some policies in place to help like the now infamous Carbon Tax, now likely to be renamed an emissions trading scheme.
But these efforts can be better – much more can be done and needs to be done.
Opportunities for improvement
ClimateWorks Australia has identified where some of Australia’s biggest energy opportunities lie.Industrial sector – This sector is currently only implementing less than half the energy savings it has identified, leaving roughly $2 billion a year on the table.Commercial buildings – It’s been identified that we could save a huge 37% of the energy we use in commercial buildings. Stay tuned for a blog on that!!Fuel – If Australia were to catch up with European fuel economy standards, we could collectively avoid spending $8 billion on petrol, that’s an extra $850 a year for the average driver. I’m sure everyone who drives would be happy with that result – that’s certainly a goodly portion of a holiday paid for right there.Although these are where the main opportunities lie, we can all do our bit to make our own Australian household as energy efficient as possible.Playing your part
Did you know that turning your TV off at the wall rather than leaving it in power standby will improve your home energy efficiency and can reduce carbon pollution by around 20 kilograms per year? And what about your DVR, stereo and all those kitchen appliances we tend to leave on.
Not only will the environment and economy benefit, you will too. Improving our national energy efficiency will effectively help you save money with lower fuel and electricity costs. It would also create a cleaner, more sustainable environment as more efficient energy use would decrease our environmental pollution.
You can also start off by implementing little changes around your home such as using a clothes line when it’s sunny, watching the temperature of your air-conditioning (in both Summer and Winter) and checking the energy efficiency of any appliances you’re thinking of purchasing.
For more information on how to use the energy within your home or office more efficiently, read our first blog.
Of course, if you’re considering your office or home energy efficiency, we’d be delighted to help.
You can give us a call on 1300 045 103.