Living Smart Household Program

The telephone based eco-coaching program is now complete.

Click here for info on group courses running in your area.

During 2010/11 10,000 residents living in Perth's eastern region were provided with an opportunity to participate in the Perth Solar City Living Smart Household Program. This 12 month intensive household intervention supported residents to increase their knowledge and skills to help them become more energy efficient, reduce water consumption, waste production and car travel

Letters were sent to local residents inviting them to join the program and to select a range of Living Smart resources that interested them. Unique to the program was the combination of regular telephone eco-coaching and personalised feedback letters which outlined how participants were tracking to reduce their household energy and water consumption.

This personalised approach, dealing with the specific needs of the resident, and ongoing monitoring was intrinsic to the delivery of the program and the resulting household actions.

Throughout the program, those interested in upgrading their hot water system to solar, installing new photo-voltaic cells, or an in-home eco-assessment were directed toward the Perth Solar city discount offers. As a result, more than half of Living Smart participants chose to take up one of these offers.

As part of the program, Living Smart Community courses were offered to all residents within the eastern region. All six Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council local governments hosted a course with an average of 25 people attending in each area. These courses have resulted in some groups continuing to meet and to advocate for sustainable behaviours in their community.

Early indicators show that the Living Smart Household Program has had a significant impact on the behaviours and resulting consumption levels of participating households. Many of the participants in the program have reported staggering energy consumption reductions, with one resident reducing from 110 units a day to 26 units a day.

"I have quartered our electricity use!! I'm sure we can do even better."

(When we asked what this household did to reduce consumption they mentioned upgrading to a solar hot water systems, reducing use of their reverse cycle air conditioner, line drying instead of using a clothes dryer, switching off power at the power points, replacing light globes, reducing cooking in the electric oven and a range of other changes.)

"Over the last 12 months we have converted the house to use the lowest water and the lowest energy we can. We have also converted the whole garden to be water wise.

Analysis of the 9,930 self reported changes made by Perth Solar City residents participating in the Living Smart Household program has seen changes equivalent of to the reduction of 14, 000units of energy (kWh) and a 200,000 litre saving in water use everyday. This is equivalent to installing 3000 1KW PV systems or saving 72,000 backyard rainwater tanks each year!

For more information on Living Smart, call us on 1300 993 268 or email us.