Rewiring Australia has the goal of electrifying all our homes and cars, commencing with a pilot of three suburbs. SHASA has been undertaking energy audits on the South Coast for the last 5 years. These energy audits have identified key actions that can be taken to save money and in some cases improve health outcomes for households.
Kathryn Maxwell, SHASA President said “in our visits to houses across the South Coast we have identified key actions people can take to achieve energy savings, including:
Upgrading older fridge/freezers (as they run 24/7) with a modern, modestly sized (up to 400 litre), energy efficient fridge/freezer that employs the less environmentally damaging R600 refrigerant.
Upgrading gas* and electric cooktops to induction.
Upgrading wood heaters, gas heaters and inefficient electric heaters to reverse cycle air conditioning.
Upgrading gas and electric hot water systems to hot water heat pumps.
Where there is limited or no shading, installing rooftop solar PV.
Upgrading to an electric vehicle
*Not only is gas getting more expensive but gas stoves can have significant adverse impacts on people's health. Gas cooking appliances directly expose people to their emissions, which can include formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and nitric oxides that can trigger asthma, coughing, wheezing and difficulty breathing, occasionally resulting in hospitalisation. They can also leak methane when not in use. (Washington Post 27 January 2022)
“The main barrier to taking up these measures is the upfront cost. This is why SHASA is very excited about Saul Griffith’s Rewiring proposal for governments to run a trial of funding this transition to all electric” said Kathryn Maxwell.
“SHASA, like Rewiring Australia, are strong advocates of electrifying everything to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and make huge energy savings. Just imagine the benefits of the average household making savings of $4,380 per year on energy and vehicle costs by 2030 and 2.370 direct and indirect jobs created from these savings and installation work,'' said Kathryn Maxwell.
Southcoast Health and Sustainability Alliance (SHASA) is a member of South East Climate Alliance - SECA represents 13 local community groups in South East NSW.
