Energy – solar, battery, wind, electric cars and energy saving tips…

As the climate changes, external energy supplies will become less reliable, especially on high fire risk days. As an example, if we were to suffer similar bushfires to those of Black Summer, power would be lost for a significant time – think about all of the things you use power for in a week to begin to appreciate how this would affect you.

There is a new ‘green electricity’ guide out which compares available suppliers: https://www.greenelectricityguide.org.au/

If you can become 100% self reliant in energy, you are adapting yourself for the future climate. Obviously all of these things cost money upfront, but they’ll actually save you money in the long term and also minimise the impact on your lifestyle and the planet as well. There is an Australian company worth considering called Brighte, who provide 0% interest loans for things like solar panels and batteries. https://brighte.com.au/

Some ways to prepare are:

• installing rooftop solar (see below for an upcoming rollout)
• installing a storage battery (you can buy them one at a time if you can’t afford them all at once)
• changing your windows to double glazed (aim to do one per year at least)
• adding insulation to your roof and walls (Earth Wool is a great brand)
• buy a solar hot water unit
• installing a high energy rating split system for heating and cooling using your solar and battery
• change your electricity provider to ‘green power’ (see below)
• saving up for an electric car, the battery storage in these is immense, yes they are a big investment for the average income but if you can manage it…it’ll totally be worth it. We’re currently looking at the Kia EV6 which will come out next year, we’ve never bought a new car before, but..this is a pretty good reason to think about it!

Batteries

Once you have solar panels, it’s time to consider installing batteries – the technology has improved amazingly in the last 10 years and the price continues to drop. Even being able to store a day’s worth of electricity means you are able to recharge important equipment, cook, heat/cool your house and have lights…and help out vulnerable people in the community during storms and bushfires etc.

We used Radiant Energy for our 12kw battery, but City to Surf and RACV Solar are also excellent providers of small and large scale batteries. If you have other suggestions, feel free to send them for me to add. Batteries make you hyper aware of your energy use as you are able to track your storage, generation and use via apps and websites.

If you’d like to check out our setup at home, just let me know via the contact page.

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Click here to take you do a page which has a bunch of simple tips for saving energy that you can start working on today, mostly for free!

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There is an excellent initiative driven by Southern Otway Sustainability (SOS) that has just been launched for our region. This group has done the work to find reliable suppliers of solar panels (plus batteries should you be able to afford these) and the positive is that your sign up will also help put panels onto public buildings as part of the process.

The aim of this group is to eventually create micro grids, complete with battery storage, throughout our community. This protects vulnerable and vital areas such as the hospital and water treatment plant. Check them out: https://www.southernotwayssustainable.com.au/

Here are the links to the companies mentioned above – Amber Electric and Diamond Energy.