Even if additional energy production capacity was added to the national grid through renewables, questions remain about whether access will be equitable and affordable.
Lou Bopp/ GettyImages
Last month’s dire report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change may have left you feeling overwhelmed. But small changes at the household level really can make a world of difference.
Corn yields can suffer in high heat.
AP Photo/Seth Perlman
While most areas experienced a reduction in air pollution in response to lockdown measures, other areas saw only small improvements or even an air quality deterioration.
Howard and Nena Mamu eat dinner at their home in Hutto, Texas during blackouts on Feb 16, 2021.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman via USA TODAY NETWORK/Sipa
Spreading electricity demand throughout the day is much better for the environment.
Lochiel Park in South Australia has demonstrated the benefits of building homes to a higher standard – a minimum 7.5-star rating in this case.
Stephen Berry/UniSA
There has never been a better time for public money to go into improving the performance of Australian housing. We could have cut household bills and emissions, as well as saving construction jobs.
A long-term housing stimulus package that focuses on retrofitting to cut energy demand would also help households repay the debts being accumulated during this crisis.
Artist rendition of the National Western Center, a net-zero campus under construction in Denver to house multiple activities.
City and County of Denver | Mayor’s Office of the National Western Center
Net zero energy buildings produce at least as much energy as they use. Designing whole net zero campuses and communities takes the energy and climate benefits to a higher level.
Builders compete for customers by touting the features of their homes. Some builders promote ‘six-star’ home energy ratings in ways that could mislead consumers and breach Australian Consumer Law.
After the ‘world’s biggest work-from-home experiment’, many people (and their employers) might decide they needn’t commute every day. If even a fraction do that, infrastructure needs will change.
Those endless cups of tea while working from home are unlikely to add much to your electricity bill. But coronavirus poses other problems for the electricity sector.
A visitor sanitises hands before entering a state hospital at Yaba, Lagos. Hospitals like this are likely to suffer power cuts as lock down force Nigerians to stay at home and consume more power.
Photo by Pius Utomi Ekpei/AFP via Getty Images
Effective public health response to a pandemic, depends on the availability of a stable power supply system.
The University of Wollongong Illawarra Flame House demonstrates how a typical Aussie fibro home can be transformed into a net-zero-energy sustainable home.
Dee Kramer
Buyers pay more for a home they know has a good energy rating. That’s worth an extra 2.4-9.4% in the only part of Australia where energy ratings must be disclosed at the time of sale.
Australia requires a minimum six-star energy rating for new housing. New homes average just 6.2 stars, so builders are doing the bare minimum to comply, even as the costs of this approach are rising.
Tiny houses on display in Portland, Oregon in 2017.
Dan David Cook/Wikimedia