Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency is important to both New Zealand
households and businesses to ensure there is always enough
to meet our needs at affordable pricing. Most households and
businesses can easily save 5% - 10% on their electricity
costs with simple actions as described below.
The Issues
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New Zealand could gain 20% additional
energy supply from being more efficient with the energy
we currently use, this means less new power stations
could be required to meet future needs if we act today.
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Global warming and energy use are linked
because fossil fuels are our main source of energy. By
using less energy, including less energy for transport,
we reduce the amount of CO2 released.
Compact Fluorescent
Lighting
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The simplest step any household or business can take to
reduce energy usage is to begin replacing old style light
bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. A standard 100 W
light bulb can be replaced with a 20W compact fluorescent
light bulb, saving 80% in energy usage, while providing the
same level of light. The options for compact fluorescent
bulbs are widening, currently available are rectangle,
spiral and most recently globe shaped bulbs.
If all 60,000 households in Waitakere City replaced five
standard 100 watt light bulbs with five 20 watt compact
fluorescent lights, the electricity saved would be
equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 3,504
households.
If all 60,000 households in Waitakere City replaced three
standard 60 watt light bulbs for lamps with three 11 watt
compact fluorescent lights, the electricity saved would be
equivalent to the annual electricity usage of 129
households.
Imagine the savings that could be achieved if Waitakere City
businesses also replaced standard light bulbs with compact
fluorescent lights. Watch this webpage for more information
on a proposed energy efficiency project for Waitakere City's
small businesses.
Compact fluorescent lights are available from most
supermarkets and hardware stores.
Insulation
The most cost efficient method to warm a
house is to insulate it - fix the problem, stop throwing
money out the window.
Where heat goes
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Un-insulated or under-insulated
ceilings, floors and walls
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Single-glazed windows
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Unblocked chimneys and draughts around
doors and windows
Possible solutions
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Check for insulation on the roof and
replace if too old, or put new insulation on top to keep
any residual benefit from old insulation
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When re-jibbing outward facing walls
include insulation in those walls
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Insulate under the floor, especially if
there are timber floors
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Place draught stopper tape at the window
where it closes, and seal gaps around window frames
(outside and inside) and around doors
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Use a stuffed "snake" to stop draughts
coming under doors, especially where there are wooden
floors
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Block off open fireplaces when not in
use and remember to remove the block again before using
the fireplace - paper stuffed in a plastic rubbish bag
is one method
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Have thick curtains at windows,
especially sides of the house exposed to wind.
Hot Water
Cylinder Wraps and Lagging
The first priority is to keep your hot water
hot:
Remember to check your hot water temperature
and make sure it is no more than 50 - 55C coming out of the
tap to avoid burns.
There are a number of further methods to
reduce energy usage from hot water use:
Solar Hot Water
Heating water using the sun is now becoming
more and more cost effective and an option most houses can
consider when upgrading their hot water cylinder or building
a new house.
The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) are
offering a finance assistance programme to help with the
cost of purchasing and installing a solar water heating
unit. The programme is available now and runs until 30 June
2005. Conditions and credit criteria apply.
For a list of accredited suppliers for the solar hot water
heating grant view the Solar Industries website on
http://www.solarindustries.org.nz/suppler install.htm.
Appliances
Appliances are a major energy user that is
often forgotten about.
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Check the energy rating label before
buying a new appliance, especially the fridge, washing
machine, dryer and dishwasher.
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Select appliances that can be 'turned
off' as appliances on stand-by waste up to 10% of energy
when not in use.
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Turn off appliances at the wall when not
in use, eg stove, microwave.
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Watch out for those appliances that the
energy rating label does not yet cover, ask how many
Watts the appliance uses for your own comparison, the
lower, the better if the speed of the service is the
same.
Vehicles
A third of all personal car trips are less
than one kilometre. Your family or business can reduce the
amount of energy used in moving about through:
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Walking or cycling to school, work or to
attend meetings
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Use public transport (visit
www.maxx.co.nz
for timetables)
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Purchasing a more efficient vehicle
(reduce the litres/100 km of fuel required to run your
vehicle)
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View more information about
sustainable transport
options or information on
fuel efficiency
for vehicles
Energy
Projects in Waitakere City
Sustainable Living Centre
The Centre provides a showcase of retrofit
opportunities for energy and water efficiency, and other
sustainable household actions. This is a great place to
visit if you are planning to insulate your home to see some
of the options or just want to see what you can do to make
your home more sustainable.
The Sustainable Living Centre runs short workshops and
seminars on a variety of sustainable home topics each month.
In 2005 there will be a shop and library added to the
Centre.
Address:
4 Olympic Place, New Lynn, Waitakere City
Phone: (09)-826 0555
Open Monday to Friday 10 am - 2 pm
View more information on the
Sustainable Living Centre.
The NOW Home
The NOW HOME is an example house built to
strict criteria in price and in environmental and functional
performance, using technologies that are available off the
shelf NOW. This house is not aimed at being an award-winning
show-home, but as a learning tool in terms of how well we
can improve residential dwellings today, given the
best-practice knowledge of the collective organisations
involved.
Address:
Olympic Place, New Lynn, Waitakere City
View more information on the NOW Home on
www.nowhome.co.nz
EcoWise West
Council has partnered up with the EcoMatters
Environment Trust, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation
Authority, Work and Income New Zealand and the Waitemata
District Health Board to retrofit 150 low-income homes with
energy efficiency measures. The retrofits consist of under
floor insulation, underfloor damp proofing, hot water
cylinder and pipe insulation and low flow showerheads. The
result is dryer, healthier homes as well as lower power
bills for 150 families. The project also creates employment
by training people who were previously unemployed to do the
work.
Small Business Energy Retro-fit Project
This project is currently being designed for
implementation mid-2005 as a joint project between Waitakere
City Council and EcoMatters Trust based on the EcoWise West
energy retrofit project.
It will seek to develop a package to educate small
businesses on energy efficiency initiatives for their
business, provide a pre-paid energy efficiency retrofit
package, and access to discounted services to reduce their
energy usage and costs.
Potentially the pre-paid package may include:
Below are further energy reduction
opportunities being examined.
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occupancy sensors for toilets and store
rooms
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replacement of fridge and freezer seals
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installation of pre-rinse spray heads
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retrofitting of T12 lights with
inductive ballasts to T8 or T5 fluorescent lights with
electronic ballasts
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installation of Fluorescent Light
Efficient Energy Controller
For more information contact the
Cleaner
Production Team.
Further
Information
Building Sustainably
Sustainable Home Guidelines
EnergyWise Home
EnergyWise Business - Emprove
Sustainable Transport
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