Homebuyers want energy-efficient homes. The challenge is to present the relevant information in a way that taps into the typical house-hunter’s mindset.
A year after the demise of the carbon tax, we might expect both coal and greenhouse emissions to have bounced back, at the expense of renewables like hydroelectricity. Sure enough, that’s what happened.
In June this year, forecasts revealed residential and business demand has risen for the first time in five years. The trend could be here to stay, according to a report released today from the Australia Institute.
Some worry that efforts to reduce energy consumption by increasing fuel efficiency cause a so-called rebound effect that eats into the expected savings. We tested the theory.
Electricity forecasts just 4 years ago predicted strong, uninterrupted growth in electricity demand. In reality, demand has fallen for the past four years. Why?
Smoothing out variable wind and solar is a growing problem. Instead of storing energy with batteries, utilities can adjust the power of millions of devices in buildings and homes.
Being time-poor makes it harder to be green, says a study which shows that people who work long hours are more likely to fall short on taking real action to address their environmental concerns.
The unveiling of Tesla’s Powerwall home battery has been hailed as a huge moment in renewable energy. But don’t forget the other innovations that can help you use that stored power more efficiently.
Australia’s federal government wants to boost ‘energy productivity’ by 40% by 2030. A good idea, but the plan needs to cut energy use, not just deliver more economic bang for the energy buck.
Unlike many countries, Australia does not have mandatory greenhouse emissions standards for cars - meaning that manufacturers are free to sell their least efficient, most polluting vehicles here.
Incentives for cutting peak power demand are cheaper than building ever more infrastructure and sending power bills ever higher. The industry has a chance to embrace this new approach - but will it?