Renewable energy at home
We live in Brunswick and we transferred to green power with Origin Energy for both gas & electricity. We have since installed both solar booster heater for hot water on an already "efficient" gas water heater and solar panels that are connected back into the electricity grid. We have changed our downlight globes to the more energy efficient versions and have swapped all regular bulbs (including those in the garage and attic) to energy efficient bulbs.

We downsized to one car (my husband is an avid supporter of public transport) and then traded in for a lower carbon emmission diesel rather than petrol. And we also have in our street window a sign - "I love clean energy and I vote" :-) FYI- I think these are available from Greenpeace.

Loving our new solar hot water system
We completed a major renovation/extension of our place in December 2006 and the focus was on creating a liveable, loveable home with a minimal environmental impact. The house was a time-capsule from the 1930's. The only heating was a gas unit in the fireplace. We didn't pay much in heating, but then we didn't get much heat! In winter the house was an icebox.

We installed a gas-boosted, solar hot water Greenheat hydronic-heating system which means that we heat the entire home (twice the size of the original place) to a comfortable 20 degrees for only 3 times the original gas bill. Friends with a smaller home than ours who rely on conventional gas hydronic heating had a bill for 2.5 times more than ours for the same time period. We hoped the system would be economical to run, but had no idea how significant the difference would be.

Eco Home
After three years, my family has finally moved into our luxurious, peaceful, energy efficient home. We have gone to lengths to make it as environmentally friendly as our budget would allow with features such as:

Solar panels;Energy efficient lighting;North facing windows and use of "thermal mass" architectural design;Double glazed windows ;Hydronic heating;Insulation;Recycled jarrah timber floors;Water efficient and energy efficient applicances;20,000 Litre water tanks;Recycled materials used where possible.

Now that we have moved into the home, we are getting even more serious about our commitment to sustainable living. I have recently made a vow to myself that I will not by myself anything that is "new", only second hand for me from now on (food excluded obviously!). I am using only recycled paper and am thinking long and hard as to how every present I purchase can affect the environment. I am opting to buy people massage and movie vouchers rather than a "thing". All of these new resolutions make me feel good and I am sorry I just didn't wise up sooner.

You don't have to go without to be sustainable. You just have to make a genuine commitment and some sensible changes. I am so pleased that I have made these changes in my life and I only hope others make the change too.

Australia’s first community-owned wind farm
It was when a large corporation tried to set up a wind farm in Daylesford Victoria that residents decided to take matters into their own hands. ‘People really didn’t like the idea of their countryside being taken over by big business, and there was huge opposition to the plan,’ says community member Jane Knight.

But one resident had seen how well the concept of community-owned wind farms was working in his native Denmark and he knew there was plenty of support for renewable energy. So Per Bernard arranged a meeting to talk about a small-scale wind farm, to be owned and controlled by locals, and ‘people just said yes,’ says Knight.

A cooperative has been formed and planning permission has been granted for two turbines, which will have a maximum capacity of four megawatts. ‘That’s enough to power 2500 households, which means that we will wipe out the entire footprint of the towns of Daylesford and Hepburn,’ says Knight.
Find out more about this project at www.hrea.org.au

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