Moreland Energy Foundation

Local vet Caz Cook has always been environmentally minded – however when she bought her unit in Brunswick she found the building wasn’t the greatest for the planet.  It was really hot in summer and really cold in winter and was therefore costing a lot to heat and cool.  Loving a challenge, Caz set about looking at what she could do and found that the answer was plenty!

The basics

First Caz purchased 100% accredited GreenPower (ZCM action rank #1), renewable electricity that is derived from wind turbines, instead of coal.  At a little extra cost "about 3 bucks a week, about the cost of a coffee" going with GreenPower is by far the easiest way to reduce emissions in your home, whilst supporting the renewable sector.  Also, Caz tries to reduce her meat intake to only one meal a week (ZCM action rank #5), to reduce emissions associated with meat production.  “I also try to choose ethical meats - free range organic or roo where possible”.

Insulation and renovation

The next thing was putting insulation in the ceiling as it was a cheap way of getting immediate energy savings (ZCM action rank #9).  Polyester bulk batts helped to keep the heat in or out all year round, while foil reflective insulation reflected summer heat to cool the place down. “I hardly even need to use a fan over summer now, and my heating bills have also dropped.”

The unit had a pokey dark kitchen, so with a basic renovation she put in a double glazed window and full glass double glazed back door which lets in heaps of light – while at the same time keeping the heat out.  “The double glazing is so thin that you really have to look to tell it’s there!  Because of the extra light, I don’t need to turn on the kitchen lights at all in the morning”  Another energy saving advantage.

The old kitchen floor had ugly lino which Caz was relieved to remove, revealing old floorboards.  The lino had previously leaked water, leading to some minor staining in the nailed areas of the floorboards.  Both the builder and floor polisher advised her to rip these up and replace them with new boards, assuring her that no amount of polishing would make these ugly boards look any good. However Caz was not convinced and decided to keep them and take her chances with the final look. "I'm SO happy with how they have turned out, they are really unique with a richer colour than the rest of the floorboards, and with this really rustic dark spotting around the nails.  And what's more, by keeping my original floorboards I saved money, didn’t create new demand for timber, and minimised waste!”.

Solar and body corporate

The next stage was to look at how to harness the sun’s power.  Caz wanted to get solar hot water (ZCM action rank #8) and photovoltaic panels (ZCM action rank #7) for electricity.  But being in a unit she needed to get body corporate approval, which involved getting a majority of the six unit owners in the complex to agree to her solar additions.  She came up against some initial resistance, with concern being raised over the location and appearance of the panels and solar hot water tank and how visible it would be from the street.  She found that thinking about it from her neighbours perspective, and keeping an open mind and allowing discussions to occur over a period of time helped allay their concerns.

"I ended up writing a simple submission to my fellow body corporate members, detailing  the nature of the proposed changes including pictures of what it could be expected to look like, and assuring them that the panels would be on my unit's roof only and that they would not be an eye-sore, and hardly visible from most street angles". They received this submission by mail together with a postal vote (organised at a cost through the real estate agent that manages the body corporate).  Getting 5 out of 6 votes, she acted swiftly –getting the 18m2 of amorphous solar panels through MEFL solar bulk buy, and a compact solar hot water unit.  “It’s been fantastic – my power bills have dropped by over one-third, from about $175 to $100 a quarter in summer.  The hot water has also been great – I’ve only had to turn on the electric boost twice since I got it”.

Next steps

Caz had done a lot but was interested to see what other actions she could take.  She already uses her bike to get around (ZCM action rank #14), and has plans for a communal bike shed to encourage other residents to ride, but says that “ this may take some more convincing!”.  For the meantime she has a compact bike rack in her apartment, so her beloved bike can be kept safe and dry.  Even though her yard is pretty tiny, she has been able to squeeze a composting worm farm in which takes all her food scraps – “else I would be chucking out so much into landfill that is biodegradable”.  Her next steps are setting up a raised veggie garden bed next to it -  " to give me some use for my valuable worm juice and get me eating some home grown pesticide-free produce".

Any advice?

“Regarding body corporate approval, don’t give up if people are resistant at first– it’s best to just be a good neighbour, listen to their concerns and chat to them about your plans.  And who knows the 'Joneses' effect might kick in and everyone will be doing it! For the time being I've got so much machinery on my little roof, I'm feeling pretty grounded!!”

If you’re contemplating making your home greener like Caz – in either a big or a little way, then give MEFL a call on 9385 8585– we have a free advice service for Moreland residents.  Alternatively if you’d like your house featured as an example like Caz’s please contact Michael Chew at ZCM.