Sustainability is about only using the resources that are available to us. Current estimates say that if everyone in the world comsumed resources at the save rate as Victorians we would need 5 planet Earths to keep up.

Here are our top ten hints & tips and facts to help you save Energy and Water;

1) Change the light globes in your house (and your security lights outside) to energy efficient compact fluorescents. These globes use cut greenhouse gas emissions & running costs by 75% and produce just as much light as traditional incandecent or halogen globes. If every house in Victoria replaced just 1 globe we could save 330 thouthand kg of greenhouse gas each year.

2) Heating & Cooling account for a massive 59% of energy used in an average home, for every degree you increase your thermostat your will will increase by 15% (and in summer every degree cooler will also increase your bill by 15%).

3) When buying a new appliance always look for the highest star rating (more stars = less power consumption). Paying a little more for an appliance can be worth it as it will make you savings on your electricity bill for it's entire life www.energyrating.gov.au has a comprehensive list of products and their star ratings to help you choose the product that best suits your needs.

4) An electric kettle produces about half as much greenhouse gas as a microwave, but make sure you only fill it with as much water as you're going to use, it will boil faster and use less energy.

5) Dry your laundry on the line, or if it's raining or you don't have space for a line you can y\use a clothes horse inside (works best if you keep it in the warmest room). Drying clothes in a dryer produces more than 3kg of greenhouse gas each time you use it.

6) If every house conected to mains water supply in Australia fitted a 1000 Litre rainwater tank we could save up to 5 billion litres of fresh water from our supplies being used.

7) Keep a bucket in the shower to collect the water while you wait for it to warm up - this water can be used to water plants.

8) Using rainwater or grey water (such as the water collected from the shower) to fill the cistern can reduce a households use of fresh water from our supplies by 20%.

9) If you are hand washing dishes start by washing the least dirty dishes first (usually glasses and cups), you can then re-use the water for more dishes rather than having to empty it out and re-fill the sink.

10)Using mulch on the garden can also help reduce evaporation by up to 75%.

 

Please see the sections on Energy Saving and Water Saving for more helpful hints & tips.

Facts taken from www.sustainabilityvictoria.com & www.greenhouseoffice.gov.au