25 September 2023

Winter wisdom shared by Directorate

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The Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate is encouraging Canberra’s householders to make some simple and cost-effective changes around the home to save energy and stay warm this winter.

Deputy Director-General of the Directorate, Geoffrey Rutledge said that despite ACT residents paying some of the cheapest electricity prices in Australia, there was no doubt many local households were feeling the pinch due to higher bills compared with a few years ago.

“Winter can also be a particularly tough time, where we see the highest energy use,” Mr Rutledge said.

“There’s a range of simple steps everyone can take to help reduce their energy costs, while also contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

He said space heating was one of the biggest users of electricity and could account for more than half an entire year’s energy use.

“You can keep costs down by setting the thermostat temperature to between 18 and 20 degrees, which is still comfortable, or use a small electric heater [1.2 kW] instead,” Mr Rutledge said.

“It’s also important to think about which type of heating suits your needs.”

He said rather than using a ducted system to heat the whole house, consider space heaters for occupied rooms.

Mr Rutledge said Actsmart ran free workshops, provided access to an energy-efficiency advice line, online self-help tools and guides to support residents to make their homes more energy efficient.

“Energy retailers are able to provide new, energy-efficient options to ACT households, including new heating options at a discounted rate,” he said.

Mr Rutledge said rebates of up to $2,000 are available for eligible households to upgrade gas heaters to an efficient reverse cycle heating and cooling system.

“If you’re keen to keep using your ducted system, rebates of up to $4,000 are being offered to upgrade old, inefficient ducted gas heaters to a better model,” he said.

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