Michelle Slater
Locals with a passion for energy efficient buildings are being encouraged to become accredited assessors in a Victorian government scheme to help Gippslanders slash power bills.
The Victorian Residential Efficiency Scorecard program gives a star-rating for home energy use.
Householders can find out where they are using the most energy and how to make improvements.
Yarragon energy scorecard assessor Malcolm McKelvie said more Gippslanders are needed to become accredited assessors to look at homes across the region.
The program is being rolled out locally through the Baw Baw Sustainability Network and so far Dr McKelvie has looked at about 40 homes.
Scorecard assessors are accredited by the Victorian government and given access to the scorecard tool.
Prospective assessors supply their past experience and training, and if they are approved, undertake a day of training and sit an exam.
Accredited assessors determine how much they will charge for the service, based on the size of the home, its complexity and location.
Most assessments will cost between $200 and $400.
Dr McKelvie said he starts out by looking at how a home would stack-up in summer and winter, looking at its thermal envelope of ceilings, walls, windows and floors.
He also looks at how the home is oriented and how much winter or summer sun it gets, its insulation and fixed appliances.
“We only look at the homes, we don’t assess the behaviour or the number of the occupants,” Dr McKelvie said.
He said Gippsland houses were not generally designed for energy efficiency, and the average house only rated three stars out of 10.
“There is a lot of work to be done. In general, Australian homes are not built with an energy rating in mind. They are built to low standards and are not cheap to run, especially as homes get bigger,” Dr McKelvie said.
For more information, visit victorianenergysaver.vic.gov.au/scorecard.
