Residents to reap rewards from energy efficient schemes

Victorians will be offered door to door installation of energy saving light bulbs, stand-by power boards and other energy efficient devices for lighting, heating and hot water for another five years reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

This scheme comes as State Energy Minister Lily D’ Ambrosio announced an update of the Victorian Energy Efficiency Target (VEET) earlier this week. The new target, which was described by Ambrosio as “bold” compared to other states, is to cut 30 million tonnes of greenhouse gases by 2020.

Ambrosio said that government analysis has revealed that an energy efficient Victorian household could reduce its power costs to almost 40% below the average home energy bill.   

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Victorian residents aren’t the only ones to reap the benefits of state based energy efficiency incentives. According to news.com.au, a number of state governments across Australia have schemes in place offering residents discounts or rebates for making their homes more energy efficient.

These schemes range from offering free or cheap LED lights to replace old halogen bulbs to cash back for installing energy efficient appliances -it’s just a matter of residents checking what is available in their state.

For instance, the NSW Government initiatives offer discounts on energy efficient equipment and Queensland residents can receive up to $2000 for installing energy efficient air conditioners or take advantage of a hot water rewards scheme with rebates of up to $200.

Households and small business owners in South Australia can cut their lighting energy consumption by up to 80% by replacing halogen bulbs with energy efficient downlights. Usually, the changeover would cost about $40 per standard bulb but state government initiatives have cut the cost to $5 for South Australian residents.

Check what energy efficient schemes and rebates are available in your state by visiting yourenergysavings.gov.au or if you want to a save a bundle on your energy bill head on over to our comparison tool to compare the cheapest energy plans available in your area.