afr article

A mention in today's AFR

http://afr.com/p/personal_finance/smart_money/change_your_habits_to_reduce_your_fD9k9sbrLbcBSAJ0KryeqN


Change your habits to reduce your bills

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Platt says complete isolation from the grid is possible for inner city dwellers, but is really only feasible for regional properties that are far from power lines.

Instead, the best idea is to brush up on your general energy efficiency. The next step would be to install a solar hot water system, which converts almost 100 per cent of the sun’s heat (solar panels convert about 12 per cent, while only 20 per cent of coal-fired energy is eventually used as electricity).

Only once these steps have been taken should you think about making your own electricity, and the most effective option for this is solar panels.

Another possibility is to install fuel cells, which use natural gas to super-charge a building’s electricity supply. But these cost up to $30,000.

Australian company Ceramic Fuel Cells makes BlueGen units for homes and offices, which they say provide up to 13,000 kilowatts of energy a year – more than double the average household requirement.

“A gas bottle for a barbecue would last about 10 days, so it makes a lot of power from just a little gas,” chief executive Brendan Dow says.

BlueGen units are efficient – apart from power, it also produces hot water as a by-product. The payback period will be less than 10 years, particularly in Victoria once the new subsidies there kick in. The advantage of these units over solar power is that they provide a reliable flow of energy, be it cloudy or dark.
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Nothing new but always good to see a mention

Regards
SynQuasi