Coal or no coal?
That’s a question that many government officials in Australia have to ask themselves in light of a recent report from UN climate change experts. The following excerpt from The Guardian summarizes what the Australian government plans to do about coal usage and green energy:
Environment minister Greg Hunt says Australia does not have to give up its coal habit completely despite dire warnings from UN climate change experts.
In its landmark review, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said emissions of three key greenhouse gases were at a more than 800,000-year high.
The report said switching to cleaner power sources, increasing energy efficiency and using other methods to reduce emissions would be much cheaper than the cost of climate damage.
But Hunt said the federal government’s Direct Action plan would help clean up coal energy use.
“The work the CSIRO is doing is looking at a 30% to potentially 50% reduction in the footprint of coal-fired power stations,” he told ABC Radio.
Although there are plans to help ease the environmental impact of coal usage, residents in Melbourne and other cities around the country can do their part by making their homes more energy-efficient. With summer right around the corner, people would be wise to start their efforts with their cooling systems. Some of the things you can do include:
Cleaning Filters Regularly
Dirty filters and compressors significantly increase the amount of energy cooling units must use to maintain the temperature you’ve set. Be sure to clean out your filters and compressor unit at least every three months. This summer, however, you may want to clean it every month as the high usage rate usually means the filters get dirty faster than normal.
Installing a Ducted Cooling System
A ducted cooling system is a type of central air conditioner that provides complete control over the cooling of a home. With multiple ducts and temperature control devices, homeowners can choose which rooms are cooled and assign a different temperature for each room. As you can imagine, the flexibility this system offers can easily help reduce the amount of energy your home uses.
Fortunately, energy-efficient systems aren’t as expensive as you may initially believe. Many services like Mode Heating and Cooling offer a wide range of efficient and cheap cooling options for all types of homes. In fact, some systems are so efficient that they eventually pay for themselves due to the amount you save on your energy bills.
(Source: Melbourne weather: Spring scorcher sizzles city; The Herald Sun; October 22, 2014)
