Jenny was delighted to participate in this panel discussion at the Hyatt in November last year to launch a terrific new report.

The report commissioned by Energy Consumers Australia and Renew finds strong support for a major boost to the quality and energy efficiency of Australian houses and apartments. The research also makes clear that Australians are looking for help to understand what actions they can take to make their homes more comfortable and lower their energy bills.

“Homes that are closer to the energy efficiency of tents than more recent standards are less healthy to live in and much more expensive to heat and cool,” Energy Consumers Australia CEO Lynne Gallagher said.

“We need to help people identify what low-cost improvements they can make in the short-term, but also to overcome the barriers to future proofing their homes to adapt to a changing climate, where extreme heat and weather events will be more common.”

At the 43 min mark, Jenny gives the same hot tips she’s been sharing for nearly a decade; after testing and retrofitting many, many Canberra homes.

“We [the Light House science team] get all sorts of households contacting us. There is definitely demand. But they are overwhelmed, bamboozled, don’t know where to begin. They want someone they can trust to give them a scientific sort of approach.”

“Having said all that, I can tell you the three things we need to do, I don’t need to go and test every house in Canberra. We already know what to do.”

Moderator: “What are those three things?”

“One. Draught seal.”
“Two. Insulate. Start with the ceiling; hopefully do the walls as well.”
“And, three, get them off gas. Put in a reverse cycle system.”

“Bang! You’d have massive, massive health and economic impacts.”

Australians and Energy Efficient Housing