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Pilot energy savings project helps tackle Greenhouse

Pilot energy savings project helps tackle Greenhouse

By Latrobe Shire Council - 30th July 2003 - Back to News

The first stage of a pilot Greenhouse Energy Savings project has been undertaken by Latrobe City Council as part of Latrobe City’s Greenhouse Action Plan.

Latrobe City’s Sustainability and Environment Officer, Catheryn Thompson, said the pilot project involved conducting an energy savings audit on ten homes across Latrobe City.

"Together with Environmental Consultant, Paul Jesse, we have gauged the existing energy consumption level in each house and then targeted ways of improving the energy efficiency and comfort level by modifying aspects of the structure in each home," Ms Thompson explained.

"A maximum of $400 worth of materials was available for each home following the audit, and these have been invested in energy saving materials such as roof insulation, pelmet covers, fans and ducting for heat transfer, low-flow shower heads, perspex skylight covers, low energy globes, pipe lagging and draught stoppers. Six of the ten homes have now been audited and the resulting modifications made.

"The residents will also receive recommendations for further improvements they can make to save energy in their homes and in a year’s time, we will return to measure their new energy consumption and no doubt see the improvement. We are already receiving very positive feedback from a number of people taking part in the pilot project who are noticing a reduction in their energy use," Ms Thompson said.

"While we are working with the Australian Greenhouse Office and the International Council for Local Environment Initiatives to attract funding for further projects, the data recovered from this pilot project will create some useful guidelines for the local community as to what energy savings can be achieved in our region," Ms Thompson said.

Latrobe City Mayor, Cr Graeme Middlemiss, said Council was playing its part in the effort to combat global warming by introducing measures to reduce consumption of energy in the home. "By utilising an Energy Audit checklist from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Victoria and being prepared to invest in our community, we are providing leadership," Cr Middlemiss said.

The pilot project is part of Latrobe City’s endeavours to reduce Greenhouse emissions through the municipality’s Greenhouse Action Plan, formulated in response to concern over increased greenhouse emissions causing climatic change across the planet.

"Evidence is continuing to mount that Greenhouse emissions have already altered the atmosphere, resulting in climatic changes such as increases in temperature and rises in sea levels," Cr Middlemiss explained.

"The 1990s was the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year since instrumental records began to be kept in 1861. Increases in temperature are predicted to continue to rise, causing environmental concerns such as a likelihood of reduced water availability, changes in agricultural productivity and adverse impacts on a range of ecosystems," Cr Middlemiss said.

"While the key Greenhouse responsibility lies in the Federal arena, the Victorian State government and local government have already recognised their responsibilities and are considering Greenhouse strategies to help make a difference," Cr Middlemiss said.

"Latrobe City is committed to helping the community achieve a 20% reduction in its greenhouse emissions by 2010 on 1998 levels, a challenging target which will be achieved by implementing a series of actions in the residential, commercial/industrial and transport sectors. This pilot project is a step towards that goal.

"I call upon the whole Latrobe community to look at its energy efficiency and take some simple but positive steps to reduce energy consumption. Often the simplest measures are the most cost-effective and lead to the largest savings in Greenhouse emissions," Cr Middlemiss concluded.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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