By ALANA MITCHELSON
RESULTS from the Energy Saver Study (ESS) involving Cardinia households have revealed improvements in energy use by up to 11 per cent.
Cardinia Shire Council partnered with the South East Councils Climate Change Alliance to take part in the study which trialled different approaches to improving household energy efficiency across 320 south-east households including 56 from Cardinia Shire.
It also identified the barriers to energy efficiency and tested ways to overcome these barriers.
Participating householders were selected as users of home and community care services. The study involved taking part in energy efficiency audits, draught testing, light upgrades and ceiling and floor insulation, as well as upgrades to inefficient heaters or coolers, hot water services, fridges and televisions.
Energy use was monitored to determine what changes had the best results. A combination of ‘home retrofits plus energy efficiency support’, and ‘retrofits only’ led to significant improvements including average reductions in total energy use by seven to 11 per cent, electricity use for lighting by 22 to 36 per cent, gas use and associated costs by 13 to 18 per cent, and increasing indoor temperatures during winter by one to two degrees.
