Improving the energy performance of our homes takes on new meaning in winter. Many Victorian homes are considered to be little more than ‘glorified tents’ in terms of thermal performance, with the average energy star rating for existing houses in Victoria at 2-3 stars well below the requirement for new houses of 6 stars. We read an article listing 22 actions we can take to improve our home’s energy performance even if we haven’t taken the step of installing solar panels on our roofs, then heard about BSFG’s upcoming Sustainable Building Forum titled ‘Retrofitting existing homes for energy efficiency and thermal comfort’. It’s being held at BPACC on Saturday 13th August from 1.00 to 4.30 pm.
We also considered visions for the future, listening to a thought provoking Ockham's Razor program, 'Citizen Utilities - the future of Solar', which built upon our ongoing interest in the potential of shared precincts for solar generation for Benalla, then discussing the 'Sustainable Energy' component of Benalla's draft Community Plan. There was agreement that the plan would benefit from more specific statements relating to environmentally sustainable buildings/building development, perhaps something like
'Benalla will be a model city in locally produced renewable energy; shared precinct renewable energy production and distribution; sustainable building design and development; electrically powered bus and fast train transport and in renewable energy based electricity charging facilities for motor vehicles'.
We welcomed new member Gabija Arnold in July. It was interesting to read a report by Investment group convenor Margaret Jenkins titled ‘Clean Energy and the Share Market’ on their web page. On a final note, did you make any changes—however small-- in your use of single use plastics during Plastic Free July?
We also considered visions for the future, listening to a thought provoking Ockham's Razor program, 'Citizen Utilities - the future of Solar', which built upon our ongoing interest in the potential of shared precincts for solar generation for Benalla, then discussing the 'Sustainable Energy' component of Benalla's draft Community Plan. There was agreement that the plan would benefit from more specific statements relating to environmentally sustainable buildings/building development, perhaps something like
'Benalla will be a model city in locally produced renewable energy; shared precinct renewable energy production and distribution; sustainable building design and development; electrically powered bus and fast train transport and in renewable energy based electricity charging facilities for motor vehicles'.
We welcomed new member Gabija Arnold in July. It was interesting to read a report by Investment group convenor Margaret Jenkins titled ‘Clean Energy and the Share Market’ on their web page. On a final note, did you make any changes—however small-- in your use of single use plastics during Plastic Free July?
