An assessor shows a client a low flow shower head
More than 600 households in Western Sydney have been visited by trained energy assessors this year and received a free home energy assessment, a free power saving kit and advice on how to save power, money and carbon pollution.
The households participated in a pilot (May–October 2009) of the NSW Government's $63 million Low Income Household Refit Program which will be rolled out across NSW early next year. The three and a half year program, which forms part of the NSW Energy Efficiency Strategy, will help the most vulnerable households save power and money to ready them for rising electricity prices.
Under the program, 220,000 eligible households will receive, free:
- a visit by a trained assessor, who can recommend ways to save power in the home
- a power saver kit to help kick-start savings
- a personal Power Saver Action Plan to show ways to save power and money.
If every home involved in the Western Sydney pilot that wasn’t already doing so switched off appliances like TVs and DVDs at the power point when not in use, they would collectively save $15,111 on power bills and 1.8 million black balloons or carbon pollution each year.
The table below outlines further savings that could be made by the homes involved in the Western Sydney pilot that aren’t already taking these simple actions.
| Action |
Annual $ saving |
Annual black balloon saving |
| Switching off the lights when not needed |
$7,308 |
871,517 |
| Taking shorter showers |
$44,120 |
4.6 million |
| Washing clothes on a cold wash |
$8,553 |
937,289 |
To be eligible for the Low Income Household Program householders must:
- live in NSW
- contribute to the energy utility bills for the property
- be an energy utility hardship customer OR have one of the following:
- Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
- Centerlink Low Income Health Care Card
- Department of Veterans' Affairs Pensioner Concession Card
- Department of Veterans' Affairs Repatriation Health Care Card.
To register your interest in the program, email ccf@environment.nsw.gov.au or phone 1300 361 967. For further information visit Save Power