Let's get started

The toughest bit of this journey is getting started. We all probably pride ourselves on the bits and pieces we do to live a more sustainable life. Admit it, you're a little proud every time you pass your keep cup to your barista, and just a little abashed when you forget. Sometimes we're smugly strolling the Sunday markets for fruit & veg with a string bag and others we're wondering why little cucumber require so much packaging (food for another post). No judgement here folks.

Today let's tackle a big ticket item on the road to net zero - electricity production.

"Emissions from the combustion of fuels to generate electricity account for 34% of Australia's greenhouse gas emissions". You can find out more here.

Electricity generation is the biggest contributing sector to greenhouse gases in Australia. For households, use of electricity creates around 84% of our residential greenhouse gas emissions, according to Energy Consult (2022). Residential energy baseline study: Australia 2000-2040.

Its a great place to start reducing our family impact. Lets look at this from a few different angles -

Not using it

The best way to reduce emissions? Um, don't use as much electricity in the first place. Simples. OK, okay its not about being the light switch witch of the household or turning everything off at the point (though those are habits that can be developed). Let's think heating and cooling options, more modern appliances (you know those energy star ratings on your washers and fridges), swapping out your light globes for LEDs, etc etc. I'll come back to this another time.

Make your own

In sunny ol'Perth we already have 1 in 3 households with residential solar. Given I'm a homeowner in the metro area, solar panels are basically a no-brainer. I will see my money back on a standard 5kW inverter and 6.6kW system in less than 4 years. I found it super easy to plug in some details to Finn Peacock's Solar quotes site - its got good intel if you're a newbie and will step you through a short questionnaire then arrange for three Clean Energy Council (CEC) accredited professionals to call and quote for you. Within a week I had 3 quotes, and was ready to book in my installation. I waited about 5 weeks because I also asked for my Mum's house to be quoted and installed too - and got our consumption meters off the price as a result. I forked out just under $6k for my 6.6kW system with a consumption meter and a hybrid inverter (so I can attach a battery later if I want). Before you know it I'm generating electricity during sunlight hours and making sure to run the washing machine and dishwasher during this time too to save money and save on emission-based electricity generation.

Don't have cash? There are a lot of 'interest free' offers where you don't pay for the panels up front and these middle men will recover the cost of your installation over time. Of course they will take their slice of the pie which isn't worth it if you can find the finance another way (like adding it to your mortgage).

Buy GreenPower

In Australia we have the option of buying GreenPower from our retailers. This is a great option if you want to have renewable energy but rent or can't otherwise invest in other options like solar panels. You choose to pay more on your electricity bill which commits the retailer to buying the equivalent amount of renewable energy.

"By purchasing GreenPower, customers are helping to support the renewable energy sector in Australia over and above the support required through the Renewable Energy Target.​" according to the Clean Energy Regulator.

GreenPower purchases increase consumer demand for renewables, forcing more investment in electricity generated from wind, solar, water or bioenergy.

It's a great option if you rent, live in an apartment or solar just isn't feasible for you.

I can add $20 to each Synergy bill (less than $10/month), saving approximately 1.65 tonnes of CO2 a year. That's pretty cool and a cheap way to offset our carbon-based lifestyle.

Make it easy for me checklist: Solar Panels

1. Located most recent electricity bill (quick search for Synergy in my emails). Wrote down what I spend on average a bill ($ per ~2 months).

2. Quick internet read up to know the lingo and what to choose on solar from Solar quotes. Submitted a request for quotes.

3. Got three quotes in a week. Arranged for two to meet me at home, one was able to quote over the phone.

4. Picked one (I went with Positive Energy who are in my local area).

5. Emailed back installation form.

6. Few weeks later, solar panels installed and ready to save $$$ on electricity bills. Done!!