Energy efficiency

Analysis and Comment (25)

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Keeping the heat in the places you want it is the most important part of any heating plan. Wunkai/Flickr

How to heat your house efficiently

By Will J Grant

Winter is coming, and all across the southern states eyes turn to energy bills and minds towards how to make them smaller. What is the most efficient way to heat your house? As with anything to do with…
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Making power-hungry datacentres like these more energy efficient is vital. Schlüsselbein2007/Flickr

Your next computer can be any colour, so long as it’s green

By Neil Gordon, University of Hull

Do you have a computer on a desk somewhere? Fans whirring, screensaver flickering, left on for days. Would you leave your washing machine running for days? Because over time, a desktop computer draws on…
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Australia has so many energy sources to choose from: which way will we go? AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Energy revolution or bloody war – it’s our choice

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

Running a business in Australia’s energy sector is difficult. Proprietors have to contend with intense competition, rapid technological change, climate change, natural disasters…even complaints about rising…
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Campaigns to switch off won’t work until they fit in with the ways we already behave. Andrew Huff

Hard habit to break: getting out of our energy wasting ways

By Jennifer Boldero, University of Melbourne and Geoffrey Binder, RMIT University

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions requires behavioural change. But how do we get individuals into this habit or, for that matter, any habit that reduces energy consumption? Two academic disciplines concern…
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We are all now used to an international standard of cooling comfort: 22 degrees celsius. bondidwhat/Flickr

Air conditioning: we need to talk about indoor climate change

By Tim Winter, University of Western Sydney

For the past few weeks, billboard posters across Doha have promoted the International Climate talks with the < 2°C logo – a reference to the ambition of maintaining average global temperatures less…
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Buildings in New York are given an environmental energy rating. Less than 750 buildings in Australia have been similarly rated. L C Nottaasen/Flickr

Why we should be diagnosing the environmental health of buildings

By Dominique Hes, University of Melbourne and Sara Wilkinson, University of Technology, Sydney

Improving the health of our building operations is one of the most effective, current ways to reduce our impact on climate change. And just as in medicine, being able to diagnose and improve health requires…
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The internet of the future could consume 10% of the world’s electricity supply. rachel_titiriga

The internet is sapping the world’s energy, so let’s improve it

By Rod Tucker, University of Melbourne

Despite its new economy sheen, the internet represents a surprisingly large old economy drain on energy resources. Industry and academia must work together to ensure the internet is a positive contributor…
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Tony Abbott described the carbon tax as a python that would strangle the economy, but it’s more of a lolly snake. Flickr/anenomeprojectors

Why the carbon-tax ‘python’ won’t squeeze the economy

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

Some critics of carbon pricing have pointed out that, over time, the carbon price will increase to a much higher level and devastate the economy. Indeed, the image of a python squeezing the life out of…
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Switching off the beer fridge in the garage when you’re not using it could save you as much as you’ll spend on the carbon tax. Keenan Brown

The carbon tax needn’t cost you: easy ways to cut energy costs

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

If Treasury modelling is right, about half of household carbon cost will be included in energy bills, which are now about 3% of household expenditure. That means the carbon cost on energy adds about 0…
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Australian researchers are looking for ways to reduce the energy consumption of aluminium smelting. AAP

The trouble with aluminium

By Geoffrey Brooks, Swinburne University of Technology

The Australian aluminium industry is in the doldrums. A high dollar, low prices and Asian competition are threatening the industry, with older plants in New South Wales and Victoria under threat of closure…
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Research says Melbourne could benefit from less black. mugley/Flickr

Cooling the urban heat island with more reflective roofs

By Dominique Hes, University of Melbourne

Can a whiter roof make your home cooler? What about your whole city? The existing literature and theory suggests that increasing the albedo – or reflectiveness – of a building will reflect incoming sun…
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An “eco village” in the UK. With the right policies, energy-efficiency has a future in Australia. telex4

How to make home buyers see the value of energy efficiency

By Neville Hurst, Deakin University

Mandatory energy efficiency ratings for houses have been in force in parts of the United Kingdom and elsewhere in Europe for some time and appear to have gained general acceptance. New homes in particular…
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There’s no shortage of hype around thorium, but how justified is the excitement? AzureGrackel

Thoughts from a thorium ‘symposium’

By George Dracoulis

You have probably heard at least a little about thorium. There are certainly advocates out there who strongly believe it could help solve the world’s energy problems. The idea is that thorium-based nuclear…
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Energy production worldwide has become even more reliant on coal. Joost J Bakker IJmuiden

The emissions juggernaut rolls on, and everybody is on board

By Michael Raupach, CSIRO

DURBAN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE: A paper published yesterday shows global industrial emissions of carbon dioxide, overwhelmingly from fossil fuels, jumped by 5.9% from 2009 to 2010. This is a big increase…
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To meet the energy challenge we have to think big. AAP Image/Snowy Hydro Limited

Australia’s low carbon economy: do the heavy lifting here

By Barney Foran

Today’s carbon navel-gazing by politicians, business leaders and media scribes seems determined to constrain Australia to the stone age of industrial competence, workforce skills and international environmental…
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Solar is now a viable industry that should be taken seriously. AFP Photo/Sakis Mitrolidis

Solar will force coal and nuclear out of the energy business

By Andrew Blakers

A solar energy revolution is brewing that will put the coal and nuclear industries out of business. Solar is already reaching price parity with coal in many parts of Australia. In contrast to coal and…
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If businesses develop the skills to assess energy efficiency, they could be on a winner. Passivehaus via Wikimedia Commons

Businesses could benefit from efficiency under carbon tax

By Suzanne Benn, University of Technology, Sydney and Paul Brown, University of Technology, Sydney

Being energy efficient has always made financial sense for industry. The introduction of the Clean Energy Future package and a price on carbon makes it even more sensible. But many businesses will struggle…
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Australia struggles to keep up in the efficiency race. Flickr/adambowie

Australia ignores energy efficiency, burns money

By Alan Pears AM, RMIT University

Energy efficiency is globally seen as the biggest and best option for cheaply reducing greenhouse gas emissions and dealing with rising power bills. But in Australia it still struggles for recognition…

Research Briefs (7)

How green is your coffee?

RMIT University

A full life cycle assessment of a new brand of coffee with special packaging finds that it lives up to green credentials…

City shadows reveal its energy flow

FEYCT – Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology

By calculating the amount of solar radiation reaching streets and buildings, researchers could help optimise the way energy…

Participants (101)