All-electric
Gas days over: Money-saving results in Melbourne
This family of four saved around $250 last winter by heating their home with a reverse-cycle unit instead of their older gas ducted system. They went on to swap out the remaining gas appliances, disconnect gas from their property and save even more.
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All-electric
Capital improvements: The path to all-electric
Switching to electric appliances wasn’t really thought of as economically or environmentally beneficial 10 years ago when Ben Elliston’s household started their efficiency improvements, so theirs has been a gradual path to all-electric.
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All-electric
Sealed with a SIP
The energy costs for this four-person household were $560 for the year (basically just the daily charge), due to an airtight house design, a PV system well-matched to usage and a switch to all-electric. Kyle O'Farrell describes how they got there.
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Reuse & recycling
Recycling analysis – Options for lithium batteries
In a research study at ANU, Matthew Doolan and Anna Boyden considered the full life cycle of lithium ion batteries and their recycling options to assess environmental pluses and minuses. They present a summary here.
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Efficient homes
The Greeny Flat experiment – Small-scale, sustainable, affordable
Andy Lemann shares the principles, materials, results and lessons learnt in building a low-cost, high-efficiency home. Seven months into a one-year trial, the outcomes are promising.
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Buyers guides
Get the right energy storage: A battery buyers guide
The battery bank in a stand-alone or backup power system can make or break the system. Lance Turner examines what to look for in a battery bank and how to get the right battery for your needs.
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Buyers guides
Ditching the inverter: A DC appliances buyers guide
You don’t need an inverter to run appliances off a battery-based renewable energy system—many AC appliances have DC-powered counterparts. Lance Turner looks at what’s available and why you might want to use them over AC versions.
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