Renters

Sustainability is for renters as much as it is for homeowners. There are plenty of things that renters can do to make their homes and lives more sustainable.

  • Draught proofing and summer shading are simple and cheap ways of reducing your heating and cooling bills
  • Sustainable consumption and efficient waste management help reduce your ecological footprint
  • Shortening your showers and exchanging your existing showerhead for a low-flow option will mean substantial savings in water heating bills.

Energy efficient rental properties

Not sure about what to look out for when traipsing through another home open? You might like the property, but how do you know how environmentally sound it will be once you move in?

To help you out, here's a series of energy efficiency information brochures for property owners, tenants and body corporate or strata management groups.

Read more...

Sustainable resources for renters

Living in a rental property means there are substantial limitations to how sustainable we can be. But there is no point having a guilty conscience over our lack of rainwater tank or solar hot water system.

Thankfully there are some really simple changes we can implement at home that will lower our energy bills, and hopefully ease our guilty conscience.

Follow these links to find out more:

  • The Power-Mate: A useful tool that measures how much energy an appliance uses. Consider using one of these to find out how much greenhouse pollution your new TV creates and how much energy is wasted from that old dishwasher.
  • Insulation and draught sealing: For a modest cost this is an effective way to lower your airconditioning usage and keep your home at the desired temperature all year round.
  • Passive cooling: A technique involving external shading which keeps the heat out and traps the cool air in during summer. A quick call to your landlord and receiving permission might be all it takes.
  • Which lightglobe to use: Some lights are more energy efficient than others. Even if the current ones are still working, long-term it is worth the trouble of changing them over.Your council might even trade them for free! Knowing the difference between a compact fluorescent and an LED is a quick way to save energy in your home.
  • Natural lighting: It sounds simple, but sometimes not switching the lights on to begin with is an even better approach to lighting your home!
  • GreenPower: A surcharge on your electricity bill so even if you can't install solar panels, you are investing in renewable energy. And it costs just a few dollars per week!
  •  Sustainable consumption: cutting down on how much we contribute to landfill is important for all of us to consider, regardless of where we live.