An ambitious energy efficiency program aiming to slash energy bills for more than one million Aussie homes has launched in Victoria.
The RACE for 2030 Energy Upgrades for Australian Homes (EUAH) project hopes to improve household energy efficiency by tackling the combined challenges of climate change and increased energy costs.
Starting in Geelong, the EUAH project will deliver six regional programs nationwide over three years, helping homeowners undertake energy-efficient renovations.
The project aims to aid home improvements that will reduce household energy bills and cut carbon emissions, saving households up to $1,000 annually.
It will specifically target “low efficiency” homes built before 2008, which have an average national energy efficiency star rating of 1.7 stars and can cost 600 per cent more to heat and cool than a modern 6-star home.
The project aims to end decades of unsuccessful programs that have failed to meaningfully impact Australia’s energy emissions through a series of collaborative, structured, community-focused renovation programs across the different climate zones of Australia.
The Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI) and Climate-KIC Australia will partner with communities, industry partners and sector leaders to co-develop tools enabling Australian households to upgrade their home’s comfort and energy efficiency.
MSDI Deputy Director of Research Professor Rob Ravern says improving home energy efficiency would benefit Australia’s cost of living, public health, and social equity.
“Energy efficiency will enable households to save significantly on energy costs and improve residents’ health and wellbeing, especially in marginalised communities,” Professor Raven said.
“We need to make sure home energy upgrades work in practice, for real people with real lives, no matter where in Australia they live or what kind of housing they’re living in.”
Geelong pilot site will identify energy solution barriers
Mr Raven says the program could be rolled out to Australia’s remaining 7 million low-efficiency homes once the pilot sites have allowed researchers to test and identify barriers and the effectiveness of energy solutions.
“A key focus is on working with people in their communities to co-design and pilot solutions that support the development of a scalable platform that enables households to run their own home energy upgrades.”
Australia’s residential housing accounts for 12 per cent of the nation’s carbon emissions. RACE for 2030 CEO Jon Justen states that decarbonising existing homes is essential preparation for the increased weather extremes brought by climate change.
“The EUAH project is designed to enable the upgrading of more than one million homes by 2030,” said Jon Jutsen, CEO of RACE for 2030.
The EUAH will develop an online platform that equips homeowners with the tools, guidelines, and research needed to implement residential upgrades specific to their region’s climate.
Low interest loan program to assist upgrades
The Federal government has also announced a $1 billion allocation of low-interest loans to improve property’s energy efficiency, with an additional $300 million to improve energy efficiency within rented social and community housing.
By bringing together all the elements of a household’s energy upgrade, project leaders aim to boost the average star rating of “low efficiency” homes from 1.7 to a minimum of 3 stars – reducing electricity needs by 6-8 kWh per day per household.
This could lead to a total saving of $500 million by 2030 with an emissions reduction equivalent to two metric tonnes of carbon dioxide.
The project will bring together a network of research and industry partners, including BehaviourWorks Australia, CSIRO, the Energy Efficiency Council, Knauf Insulation, NSW Office of Environment and Climate Change, SA Department of Energy and Mining and five Australian universities.
Steve Smith says the collaboration will bring expert knowledge from all sectors to help provide solutions.
“We’re excited to be collaborating with researchers and industry partners from all across Australia to tackle this challenge,” he said.
“(We) believe the program holds great opportunities to share knowledge and diverse expertise in order to meet our ambition.”
To find out how you could partner with the project, please visit RACE for 2030
