Did you know that in 2015, on average, each person in Australia caused the emission of 22 tonnes of carbon pollution?
According to the World Wide Fund Australia (WWF), Australia ranks amongst the highest carbon polluting countries in the world. Though this might sound overwhelming, individually we can make changes in our day-to-day life that will have a significant impact on reducing our carbon pollution levels.
Today, World Energy Conservation Day, is the perfect time to start.
Tips for saving energy at home
- Switch off and unplug unused lights and appliances
- Use energy-efficient light globes
- Reduce your heating and cooling energy use (make use of insulation, ceiling fans and temperature control)
- Use energy-efficient whitegoods
- Check the seals on your whitegoods for leaks
- Ensure the dishwasher is full before you switch it on
- Use cold water in your washing machine and use the clothesline instead of the dryer
- Have shorter showers that are no more than four minutes
- Install solar panels and a solar hot water system.
For more information on these tips visit WWF and the Australian Government website, Energy Made Easy.
Reducing energy consumption through retrofitting buildings
World Energy Conservation Day, is a day to highlight the importance of energy consumption and its impact on the sustainability of global ecosystems. One major issue under discussion is how buildings, particularly government or public buildings, can be retrofitted to significantly reduce their energy and water consumption.
The following snapshot of open access research, held in Griffith Research Online, reflects some of the conversations being held around energy efficiency and building retrofits:
- Retrofitting public buildings for energy and water efficiency
- Guidelines, barriers and strategies for energy and water retrofits of public buildings
- Achieving energy efficiency in government buildings through mandatory policy and program enforcement
- State-of-the-art review revealing a roadmap for public building water and energy efficiency retrofit projects
- Green building for office interiors: Challenges and opportunities
- Campus green buildings: Policy implications for the implementing, monitoring and evaluation of campus green building initiatives
- Strengths and weaknesses of existing building green retrofits: Case study of a LEED EBOM Gold project
Read more Griffith research on energy conservation.
