I did some research the other day which turned up some surprising results.
I had thought that electricity was biggest single source of CO2 emissions for most households, meaning that working on ways to reduce your electricity consumption would have a big impact on your emissions.
While electricity is an important source of emissions, it would be a mistake to focus on this alone.
The following chart shows the main sources of CO2 emissions for a typical Western Australian household.
As can be seen, the "typical" household emits 38 tonnes of greenhouse gases, and interestingly, electricity only rates fourth highest in terms of sources of emissions.
What rates the highest? Food!!
Reducing Food-Related Emissions
The following chart shows the CO2 emissions associated with different types of foods.
Hopefully this chart is clear - eat less red meat!!
I must admit that when I first heard this message from the ACF more than 12 months ago I was resistant to the concept. However the more I look at the data, the more I realise that we all have to reduce our red meat intake if we are to be successful in fighting climate change.
If you're wondering why red meat is so bad in terms of CO2 emissions, check out the following link.
You can also reduce your food-related emissions by buying local produce and reducing the amount of processed foods that you eat. The act of processing food typically results in the generation of greenhouse gases.
Reducing Your Transport-Related Emissions
The first chart showed that road transport and air transport both contribute about 20% towards the overall emissions of the "typical" household.
The biggest thing you can do to reduce your emissions in travel is to not take plane trips, particularly for holidays. The "typical" household assumes one return airfare from Perth to Melbourne for a family of four. If the family were to instead travel to a local holiday destination, say a 300km return trip, the emissions for the household would be cut by 20%.
Catching public transport is another great way of reducing your emissions. I am amazed that so many people spend so much of their time on the freeway carparks when they could be relaxing in a chauffeur driven bus or train. And I'm sure most people have no idea how much it costs them to commute to work every day. I've calculated that the average commuter would save $7000 a year by selling their second car and taking public transport instead. This is equivalent to a pay rise of up to $12,500!!
You can also reduce your transportation emissions by car pooling, downsizing your car (when it comes time to replace your car) or choose a fuel efficient vehicle such as a Toyota Prius Hybrid or Honda Civic Hybrid.
Reducing Your Electricity Emissions
The above chart shows that water heater heating consumes almost one third of the electricity of a typical household in southwest Western Australia.
Switching to a gas-boosted solar hot water system will cut your electricity consumption by this amount.
Heating and Cooling consumes another quarter of the electricity of the typical household. The key to reducing electricity consumption in this area is the reduce the need for artificial heating or cooling. There are any number of ways of doing this including:
- Use
of heavy drapes and pelmets;
- Use
of solar window films;
- Use
of double glazing;
- Use
of secondary glazing films;
- Use
of shade sails;
- Use
of shade trees and green belts around houses;
- Use
of whirligigs;
- Removal
of heat sources from within home (eg halogen lights);
- Use
of ceiling fans rather than air conditioners;
- Use
of insulation;
- Use
of light coloured roofing (painting a dark roof white will reduce temperature
by 3C)
Refrigeration is the third largest consumer of electricity in the typical house. The solutions here are simple. Firstly get rid of the beer fridge!! Secondly, make sure the seals on your fridge are in good condition and replace them if deteriorated. Make sure that the fridge is well ventilated. If you are looking to buy a new fridge, consider a fridge that is cyclic defrost rather than frost free. You'd be amazed by how much electricity is consumed by frost free fridges.
Interestingly, lighting only represents 4% of the electricity consumption of the typical house, so don't expect a switch to compact flourescent lights to have a big impact on your emissions. Having said that, halogens can generate a significant heat load in the house that can drive up your air conditioning bill, so I believe that it is still worth doing - and you will save money too!!
The Wrap
For a typical household, if you just do one or two things to reduce your emissions, then you probably won't have a significant impact on your emissions. The key is to make sure you take action in a range of areas, including the food you eat, the way you travel, what you do with your waste and how you use electricity and gas.