Michael Grosvenor - Energy-Saving Tips for Dummies

Energy-Saving Tips For Dummies

by Michael Grosvenor

Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

Energy-Saving Tips For Dummies

Published 2008 by Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd 42 McDougall Street Milton, Qld 4064 www.dummies.com

Copyright 2008 Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd

The moral rights of the author have been asserted.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication data

Grosvenor, Michael, 1966 . Energy-saving tips for dummies.

Includes index. ISBN 978 0 7314 0776 7 (pbk.).

1. Dwellings Energy conservation. 2. Transportation Energy conservation. 3. Office buildings Energy conservation. 4. Energy conservation. 5. Energy efficiency. I. Title. II. Title: Energy saving tips for dummies. (Series: For dummies).

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About the Author

Michael Grosvenor is a leading urban planning professional and freelance writer on sustainability. Through his work and writing, Michael promotes the benefits of making sustainable lifestyle choices. Michael has particular expertise in transport and advises the private sector and government on policies that promote increased public transport, walking and cycling facilities. Michael is a strong advocate for the important role that public transport plays in our cities and towns. He is the author of Sustainable Living For Dummies and Water-Saving Tips For Dummies .

Michael is the director of his own consultancy and holds Masters degrees in Urban Affairs and Applied Social Research and a Degree in Town Planning. He is also a member of the Planning Institute of Australia and provides advice to the Institute on integrated land use and transport planning issues.

Michael has lived and studied in New York City, but currently enjoys an inner-city lifestyle in Sydney, Australia.

Dedication

To my best friend and partner, Justine thank you for your encouragement and support.

Authors Acknowledgments

My desire to talk to the general public about sustainable living motivated me to write this book. Im often preaching to the converted in my consulting work. The environmentalists, planners, architects, social scientists, engineers and geographers I work with and I find ourselves saying the same things to each other, and were often scribbling messages and ideas on whiteboards that no-one else gets to see.

Writing a book for an audience interested in adopting energy-saving tips in the home has been very rewarding. This book covers a lot of useful information about energy efficiency perhaps too much ground for one person to have the required expertise on every topic. I have been able to carry out the necessary research for this book thanks to the thousands of committed professionals out there who have tested, researched and published their findings about the problems facing the planet. This book could not have been written without their passion.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with editors Robi van Nooten and Maryanne Phillips and thank them both for excellent editorial contributions and ideas.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Were proud of this book; please register your comments through our Online Registration Form located at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Development and Editorial

Project Editors: Robi van Nooten, On-Track Editorial Services; Maryanne Phillips

Acquisitions Editor: Charlotte Duff

Editorial Manager: Gabrielle Packman

Image Credits:

NAEEEP: pages 15 and 17, reproduced by permission of NAEEEP, www.energyrating.gov.au

Hush Energy: page 25, OConnor Wind Energy Pty Ltd

Solahart Industries Pty Ltd: page 28

Production

Layout and Graphics: Wiley Composition Services, Wiley Art Studio

Cartoon: Glenn Lumsden

Proofreader: Jem Bates

Indexer: Max McMaster, Master Indexing

Introduction

P eoples insatiable demand for traditional forms of energy such as coal and oil now outweigh the planets ability to supply them. As well, burning and refining these fossil fuels for electrical energy and transport emits so many damaging greenhouse-forming gases that it is considered a major contributor to global warming. The warmer planet you live on now faces some serious environmental problems rising sea levels, unnatural weather patterns and changing ecosystems. By adopting some simple lifestyle choices and habits that include using energy more efficiently, you can help to get the planets balance back on an even keel.

More than likely you picked up this book because you know the planet is in trouble and that alternative energy sources that produce little or no greenhouse emissions are now available. Energy-Saving Tips For Dummies provides you with practical tips that you need to change your current energy-consumption patterns. This book isnt about changing your whole life by denying a certain lifestyle; instead, it offers practical advice about how to live in a more energy-efficient fashion.

Im not expecting you to adopt every single one of the actions contained in this book. Far from it. I know from personal experience that doing so is a life-long task. Starting small by adopting any one of the tips in this book is a positive beginning.