Time to grab the clipboard and run the environmental ruler over your home. Identify the low hanging fruit and big bang actions that will quickly and easily reduce your homes impact on the environment.

The journey to reduce your home's energy and water use is one of many small steps. Tips and actions from changing leaking taps to installing ceiling insulation can be easily done by anyone. More sophisticated actions like installing solar hot water will require a tradesperson. However, the key is to keep pushing through them all. This way you can massively reduce your contribution to climate change and water scarcity.

HOW TO DO IT NOW!

Take a wander through your home and identify what needs to change in your daily habits or installed in order to improve the energy and water efficiency of your home. And once you have the list, start doing it! 

Action

• Tip - Impact - Ease

Cultivate energy-saving habits

• Switch off all lights when you don't need them - Medium impact - Child's Play

• Switch off all electrical appliances (at the wall) when not in use - Medium impact - Child's Play

• Turn down your thermostat and put on a jumper - Medium impact - Child's Play

• Use pot lids when cooking - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Cold drink of water - Modest impact - Child's Play 

• Drying your clothes - Medium impact - Child's Play

• Avoid disposable batteries - Modest - Child's Play

 Cultivate water saving habits

• Brushing your teeth - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Washing your body - Medium impact - Child's Play

• Shaving - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Clearing dishes after the meal - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Packing the dishwasher - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Washing clothes - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Waiting for the warm water to arrive - Modest impact - Child's Play

• Fix dripping taps and toilets quickly - Modest impact - Child's Play

Use water efficiently

• Install a water efficient shower head - Medium impact - One off job

• Install low-flow faucets - Modest impact - One off job

• Dual flush toilets - Medium impact - One off job

• Use the water twice - Medium impact - One off job

• Invest in a front loading clothes washing machine with AAA water rating. - Medium impact - One off job

• Download the grey water fact sheet 

Embrace energy efficiency

• Install insulation in ceiling, floor and walls - Medium impact - One off job

• Install compact fluorescent globes - Medium impact - One off job

• Shift to double-pane windows - Medium impact - One off job

• Block the summer heat - Medium - One off job

• Circulate air - Medium impact - One off job

• Rug up in winter - Medium impact - One off job

• Let nature work for you - Medium impact - One off job

Insulate, shade & weatherproof your house

• Plant trees to shade the house in Summer - Medium impact - One off job

• Weatherproofing your house from draughts and air leaks - Medium impact - One off job

Buy Renewable Electricity

• Buy Renewable Electricity - Massive impact - One off job

Install Solar Hot Water

• Install Solar Hot Water - Massive impact - One off job

 Generate your own electricity

• Install photovoltaic panels on your roof - Massive impact - One off job

• Download  the solar energy fact sheet

Harvest and Use your Rainwater

• Harvest and Use your Rainwater - Medium impact - One off job

• Download the water harvesting fact sheet

Install efficient appliances and fixtures

• Replace your old fridge with an energy efficient (5 star) fridge. - Medium impact - One off job

• Replace your old washing Machine with an energy and water efficient (5 star) washing machine. - Medium impact - One off job

• Replace your old dishwasher with an energy and water efficient (5 star) dishwasher. - Medium impact - One off job

Legend

Impact on the environment = Massive | Medium | Modest

How easy is it to do this action = One off job | Child's play

Why is this action important?

The profound changes we need to make to our lifestyles in order to live sustainably will only come about if we address all the areas in our lives where we use energy, water and other resources. Taking a thorough and informed approach will ensure we don’t miss the elephants in the corner while chasing the mice around the floor…

Environmental benefit

By reducing our energy use we directly reduce our contribution to climate change and start to shift our thinking towards "how we can support nature" rather than blithely assuming the environment will provide all.

Wellbeing benefit

Climate change resulting from greenhouse gas emissions is projected to adversely affect the health of millions of people throughout the world with increases in malnutrition, increased deaths, disease and injury from heatwaves, floods, storms, fires and droughts, increases in diarrhoeal disease, increased frequency of cardio-respiratory disease due to worsening air quality and altered distribution of some disease vectors.