What can we do to save money spent on power while minimising our carbon footprint? Cooling measures such as ventilating, insulating, shading and switching off or turning the power down are a solution.

Electricity prices have climbed by 8 - 10% this year and are touted to jump by up to 18% next year and by similar figures in ensuing years. Which points to around a 40- 50% compounded hike in power prices over the next few years? Let’s face it our power prices are tied to global Fuel, Gas and Coal prices for the most part, which are in big demand and cost more to pull out of the ground every year. Thus prices are hardly about to fall.  So what can we do to save money that is currently spent on power in our own homes and at a work, while minimising our carbon footprint?

In many Australian areas, the first answer is use less power on cooling through using passive cooling measures such as ventilating, insulating, shading and switching off or turning the power down.

During summer we are all guilty of turning up the air conditioning system, however there are other ways we can help keep buildings cool, which don’t involve energy consumption.

Simple ways to cut down on your energy bills

A good way to keep buildings cool during summer is to ensure they are insulated properly; this alone can drop inside temperatures by up to 9 degrees and limit air con use by as much as 40%. Another option is to ensure the building is ventilated correctly. Proper ventilation is all too often overlooked and can be as easy as opening windows or doors at opposite ends of the room to create a breezeway and take advantage of prevailing winds.

Another good practice is to turn the air con setting down by 2-3 degrees as running costs can be cut by 30-40%. A comfortable air con setting should range between 22 and 24 degrees. I often see settings as low as 18-20 degrees and this costs infinitely more to run while producing twice as much Green house gas emissions.  Also when possible – turn the air con off. Too often you see air con units chugging away in offices for several hours without people in them! A handy trick is to turn the air con off when you leave then turn it back on when you arrive back, then go make a cup of coffee, have a glass of water or get the mail for 3 minutes while the office cools down.

What about an easy natural solution?

The use of shade can be another great cooling asset, planting trees outside buildings are a great way to create shade and cool temperatures inside.  I have seen so many buildings that could save a bundle on cooling costs annually if the owners just planted a tree, erected some lattice or hung a shade cloth, to shade the western windows or walls in the late afternoon from the sun.

I strongly encourage every home owner, landlord and business owner to look into the passive cooling options that could be employed sooner rather than later as the savings made on energy savings can swiftly pay back the investment.

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More information about this topic in our solar section.

Written by Sean Cochrane