#101 Making Our Home Sustainable
In 2007, my wife, Leeanne, and I undertook a study of the costs and benefits involved in 'greening' our home. This included looking at installing photo voltaic (PV) panels, solar hot water, grey water recycling and rainwater harvesting systems. This was a time before government grants and subsidies were available. Suffice it to say, the costs were prohibitive. We decided to wait until the federal election of that year as we expected a change of government and a new approach to Australia's response to global warming and climate change. One decision we did make was to switch to 100% Green Energy with Origin. It costs us 5.5c extra for each kilowatt-hour of electricity we use. However, we have the peace of mind knowing that it'll be sourced from green and renewable energy suppliers.
We have recently decided to install a 2 kW PV system and a solar hot water system. We are also looking at installing a rainwater-harvesting tank but the Council has managed to make that more difficult than it should be. I'll recount the story of our experiment in the form of comments as time permits. Thanx for having a look. :-)
Please visit my four other Live Local pages: The Compost Revolution Comes To Phillip Bay, Permaculture East Comes to Phillip Bay!!! and Sustainability Street Approach Comes to Phillip Bay!!
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Comments (13)
Am looking forward to hearing more. We started off with good intentions in 2000 when we moved from a terrace to a house with vegetable garden. Because of council regulations we could not install a tank bigger than 2000 lts without a DA, so we now have a 'boutique tank' that tops up the frog and native fish pond and little else! We had installed solar hot water in the 80s on the terrace roof so it was no brainer to do that one - but we didn't get any RECs. Spent a lot of time investigating grey water recycling but gave that idea away because of the expense. The organic herbs and vegetables are too important to compromise with a dodgy recycling system. Photovoltaics - still waiting for cheaper polymer technology. Did approach someone who was supposed to be a Sustainably-minded architect to provide advice but he was more interested in changing the look of the house at the front which meant getting rid of the trampoline that our 3 boys were using on a daily basis. Part of the problem in the sustainability business is there are too many people who don't have a handle on everyday living or they are busy running fairs, distributing fridge magnets and collecting sustainability awards rather than facilitating changes many of us want to make. In local council they should take their planning colleagues to task for the stupid regulations which put aesthetics above sustainable function, eg. solar panels, tanks, clothes lines are not meant to be seen from the street! A tank in the front yard, clothes flapping in the sun etc. should be badges of honour! Most householders have simple needs and will be prepared to make changes particularly when there are long-term savings. Governments at all levels just need to make it simple - cut the red tape, direct the money where it is most useful, and provide certainty to businesses and households alike. I think the Federal Government should be providing a long-term strategy on rebates. The more households that recycle grey water and produce their energy the more ambassadors to carry the messages around the neighbourhoods. The way it works now the people who have been pioneers in sustainable living have incurred exhorbitant costs and there has been no thanks for the work they have done in raising awareness and supporting innovative technologies. At the very least the government could give them some retrospective rebates!
Well done Gregory & Lynda, after your detailed & interesting comments, I just had to say that I admire your stickability & I will be sticking in there too & I am very excited about getting our PV panels & solar hot water! Maybe we should have a "solar" get together?
Leeanne.
Update #1: HOW WE GOT RESTARTED ...
You may be wondering what prompted us to reconsider retrofitting our house for sustainability. We received an email from Lynda informing us that the Randwick Council Sustainable Home makeover Rebates deadline was being extended from April 30 to June 30, 2009. These were quite substantial and, combined with the new Federal and State Government rebates, have made the cost far more affordable, albeit still largely the privilege of the more financially secure and environmentally philanthropic. The rebates applied to solar hot water, rainwater tanks, greywater systems, downlights and insulation.
At about the same time we received info of a great offer from NuEnergy, a Tasmanian solar panel installation company, of a 'free' 1 kW PV system. (It actually isn't 'free' as purchasers will have to pay about $750.) And so, we embarked on the quest of evaluating and costing the whole project.
Update #2: The Chronology Part 1.
I must start this story with a word of thanx to Lynda, local stalwart and community advocate, and her husband, Gary, with whom Leeanne and I lunched after Lynda's "Explorers of the Southern Skies in Botany Bay" tour which she led at La Perouse on Sunday April 12. Whilst munching on lunch I observed a magazine, ReNew, a publication by the Alternative Technology Association, a not-for-profit organisation, promoting sustainable technology and practice in Australia. Our discussion shifted to solar hot water which Lynda had installed in 2000 at considerable cost as there we no rebates then! I said that since we were buying 100% Green Energy from Origin, solar hot water was unnecessary and far too expensive. Lynda argued that at least she had control over that area of her energy consumption. This was the beginning of my conversion to it AND PVs. I was offered a loan of the two latest ReNews which I accepted.
When, on April 16, Lynda emailed me the announcement that Randwick City Council was extending the Sustainable Home Makeover Rebate Scheme to June 30 my mind started to tick over ...... $500 for solar hot water, $300 for thermal insulation, $1800 for greywater, up to $900 for rainwater tank, up to $800 for installation of energy saving downlights, how could I refuse? So, I decided to get an updated quote on rainwater harvesting and greywater treatment systems from Water Care, previously New Water. (I must say, it's very hard to get any quotes in this area for a rainwater harvesting system. There seems to be a deficit of 'green' plumbers. I eventually found some on the GreenPlumbers website). My great plans to use recycled water in the shower, hot water tank etc were dashed when I discovered that Sydney Water regulations allowed rainwater and treated greywater to be used ONLY for flushing toilets and in washing machines. Certainly NOT for drinking!
Update #3: The Chronology Part 2.
On the 18th, Lynda emailed me the NuEnergy 1 kW PV offer and I nearly fell over! These were offers to good to ignore. I then remembered we had an Energy Audit done well over a year ago but had not as yet received a report. On the 21st I got onto Council and discovered that the company doing them had changed and my report was lost in the confusion. So I rang StepLight and spoke with Ryan who interviewed me on the spot and gave me a lot of good sustainable ideas including the fact that 100% Green Energy, although good, is still largely offsetting greenhouse gases emitted by coal fired power stations because they can't source enuff clean energy to meet the current demand. In addition he said that, although off peak hot water systems are cheaper to run they are still using coal fired energy. It finally dawned on me that we really needed to get rid of our off peak hot water storage tank and get a solar system. 30% of our energy was used to heat our water. Soon, that would be reduced to almost nil. (Great news, when we finally received the Energy Audit report on May 7, we were rated 3.5 stars for water and 5 stars for energy!! The average Sydney household is 2.5 in both).
I phoned NuEnergy on April 22 and signed up for the 1 kW PV system, paid the $2,500 deposit and awaited the arrival of the documents to sign to get the ball rolling. The deal is that NuEnergy will accept the $8k Federal grant as full payment for the panels, take possession of the RECs generated to pay for installation. We only pay for the frames and the smart meter, about $700 all up.
Update #4: The Chronology Part 3
Well, we decided to become members of the ATA on April 24, as I became enthused with the possibility of finally being get our house as sustainable as it can be! ATA members are entitled to get help from their support people and post questions on their forum. Through them I researched PV panels and started research on solar hot water systems.
I discovered that there were basically two types of solar hot water panels. Flat and evacuated tubes. It was clear that evacuated tubes were much more efficient albeit more expensive. So I got quotes from Apricus, Endless Solar and the Energy Superstore. After lots of questions and comparisons we finally decided, on May 15, to go with Apricus who will be installing a 30 tube, 250 litre stainless steel tank with off peak electricity back up which will cost us $1,490 after all the relevant rebates.
On May 18 I enquired with NuEnergy about increasing our PV system to 2 kW. This would cost an additional $7,080. A 1.5 kW system would cost an extra $3,285. I set up a spreadsheet which costed out the three different systems over 30 years and I discovered that all three cost about the same, $21k, after 22 years if we get a feed in tariff of 20c per kWh. This is currently what Origin are offering If, however, we were to see a feed in rate of 50c per kWh, we'd be making a profit from the 2 kW system after 18 years! Obviously, the savings would be more if the cost of grid electricity increased as was indeed announced by the NSW government today, a 20% increase at that!
Update #5: The Chronology Part 4
So what's happening with the rainwater harvesting system I hear you ask? Well, nothing just now. The council requires a DA approval because we have to locate our tank in the front yard. We won't have enuff time to get it approved and have the tank installed before the Council rebate ceases on June 30.
This is a great pity as we really need the $900 that would provide to make it affordable. State and Federal grants for a water tank which services cisterns and washing machines get rebates totalling $2k. With a bill of around $6k for a 5,000 litre tank and all the plumbing required to get it connected up, that extra $900 amounts to 15% of the cost. I have emailed the council to ask for them to consider extending their rebates indefinitely so that more people can get their homes made sustainable as well as waiving the DA for front yard installations.
Our Council is working hard to promote itself as a green one. Let's ensure that their actions will continue to be strong by lobbying them to continue with their Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates indefinitely.
Future updates will concentrate on developments as they happen and hopefully, the installation process of the solar hot water system in a few weeks.
Well done Gregory, keep up the good work! :-)
Update #6: PV Blues
We haven't received confirmation from the Federal Government as yet regarding our application for pre-approval for our PV system. I contacted NuEnergy on May 18 and Jenny said that, since we were one of the first to accept and return the signed documents in late April, we should be one of the first to get the nod. She said there may be an eight weeks wait. Mmm, our government seems understaffed in this area! I wait impatiently. No word from Apricus as yet either.
Update #7: Solar Hot Water Update
At last some positive news! I phoned from HotH2O on Thursday, June 4, and Lee replied to my message saying that the tank has arrived. However we are still waiting for the tubes and manifold. Shane, who’s away on a short holiday, also replied saying that he'll speak to me on Tuesday about the latest developments.
I know it’s not much but it’s better than nothing! ☺
Update #8: Request For Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates Extension Development …
At our Local Precinct meeting on Monday, June 1, I put to the group that we ask Council to extend Sustainable Home Makeover Rebates indefinitely. We agreed to move for a initial six month extension. Councillor Robert Belleli offered to act as intermediatory and I have emailed our request to him and he has forwarded it onto the relevant Council folks.
I eagerly await their reply.
Update #8: Solar Hot Water System To Be Installed On June 23!!
Hip, hip hooray!!! Shane form Hot H2O will be installing our 30 tube Apricus solar hot water system on Tuesday, June 23!! (if the rains holds off that is). I’ll post some photos when I can. ☺
Update #10: PV System Pre-Approved!!
Hip, hip, hooray (again)!!! On Tuesday I got a letter from the Federal Government pre-approving our PV system. It’s now over to NuEnergy to get their act together and pop over of a site inspection so we can install the maximum sized array, hopefully 2kW!!! ☺
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