Energy Efficiency for Low Income Renters « Alternative Technology Assn Forums

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Energy Efficiency for Low Income Renters

(16 posts) (9 voices)

Started 5 years ago by MJ
Latest reply from moz

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MJ
Member

Hi there

This is quite a big question, but I hope some of you may have answers.

I recently moved into cooperative housing. About 15 people in the coop. Old (40+) year old houses desperately in need of maintenance and retrofitting. Most occupants low income and many have kids/dependents with special needs.

http://www.cuac.org.au/research/external-research/181-just-change-evaluation-report-energy-efficiency-for-low-income-renters-in-victoria/file I found this report. Contacted them but it was just a research project and has now finished.

I have never owned a home so don't know about rebates and have struggled to find this info online. Does anyone know how I might achieve similar to the energy efficiency changes achieved in the Just Change Project? Even if it is just insulation to start with.

Many thanks
Jo

Posted Saturday 13 Feb 2016 @ 11:12:03 pm from IP #
Annette
Member

Are you renting or do you own the property?

At a quick glance it looks like energy consumption went up in all but one household in the study. Hard to know if this was because there was a colder month when the comparison was done.

Posted Saturday 13 Feb 2016 @ 11:58:31 pm from IP #
Annette
Member

Things you can do if either a renter or owner:

Thick curtains - thermal coating ( Harris Scarfe often has good specials - I got my thermal curtains from them for 60 and 40 dollars. For 3 metre wide windows! But $80 is quite common there, reduced from $300.

Seal gaps with door seals from Bunnings, stick on foam for gaps in windows/doors. You can light an incense stick and hold it front of closed windows or doors to spot a draft - the smoke will show you if there is a draft.

Close off rooms by shutting the door to keep the heat in or out. Use gap filler to seal off old wall vents - will need permission if a renter. Put extra batts in the ceiling - buy it from Bunnings if finances allow. Might be difficult to install for some residents - is there a handy person service?

I don't know much about subsidies - though you can get your lights changed to LEDs for free in a scheme that is running in Victoria.

Some local governments provide a home visit advice service - not sure about subsidies though. If it is social housing, I suggest talking to the department or similar that manages it.

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 12:05:06 am from IP #
axess
Member

MJ,

As Annette suggested, you could try the Sustainability dept at your local council. Or, if you have a Sustainable/Open house group or similar in your neighbourhood (such as the St Kilda eco house for example)then they might be able to point you towards a free assessment service. Or train you up cheaply to do the work yourself if practicable.

I remember back in the late 80's quite a few "shared care housing programs" were set up but no funding was planned or made available for ongoing maintenance. This has become a problem now unfortunately for many people.

Other coops must have had to deal with this problem so is it possible to contact them to find out how they went about finding solutions? Is there an "Coop Association" of some kind you could approach perhaps?

Good luck with it.

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 2:14:20 am from IP #
Catopsilia
Member

MJ
With 15 people in the co-op, you may find you need skills as an evangelist!
Annette has given useful hints about what should be done, but will your people do them? Needy people may not be motivated to help themselves in ways that seem obvious to those who see how much it costs to waste energy.
How can you get people to close doors?

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 2:14:21 am from IP #
axess
Member

MJ,

Another thought-

What about approaching any of the Tafe/training institutions who do sustainability courses and seeing if they would like a "test bed" as part of their program?

Some religious organisations like the Brotherhood of St Lawrence etc also have contacts that might be useful. They run the Phoenix fridge program for example and were involved in home energy assessment programs as well I think.

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 2:21:16 am from IP #
Annette
Member

Oh, and bubble glazing (google it)

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 11:56:25 am from IP #
Morbo
Member

no gap filler at the vents, just take them out, some foil behind and back in.
silicone all gaps
um, use less energy?

Posted Sunday 14 Feb 2016 @ 11:15:23 pm from IP #
IAEA
Member

http://www.ata.org.au/forums/topic/1639

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=older+brick+veneer+homes+withe+high+mounted+plaster+wall+vents&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr
ei=fw7BVpG9CoKu0gSFuJewCg#q=older+brick+veneer+homes+with+high+mounted+plaster+wall+vents

Supporting what Annette submitted. This was done some 30yrs. ago in the fam. home, and is well worth to arrest the stripping of introduced heat during winter. There should be NO flush mounted ceiling light fittings eg: 12V (Halogen/LED) either fixed or gimballed that have a ventilation gap. All ceiling fittings must be surfaced mounted with as little punch outs as possible.

This WILL act as a natural chimney.

Tips/tricks on assumption that dwelling is owned and no permission has to be granted.

IAEA

Posted Monday 15 Feb 2016 @ 12:42:35 am from IP #
Annette
Member

Morbo said:
no gap filler at the vents, just take them out, some foil behind and back in.
silicone all gaps
um, use less energy?

Very difficult to remove plaster vents without destroying the plasterboard. And for beginners doing a good job at plastering is tricky and costs money to buy the compounds and tools. Much better to use gap filler. I guess you could cover the external grill too. As renter, maybe best not to do anything that changes the building without permission.

Not sure why anyone would silicone up gaps unless waterproofing is required. That's what gap filler is for.

Posted Monday 15 Feb 2016 @ 7:11:45 am from IP #
Lance
Key Master

My personal opinion is that silicone sealant should be banned. It may be flexible, but it is weaker than most other sealants, it lets go after a year or two in the weather if there is any sort of movement and once on a surface it is very hard to remove to put on something better. I tend to use acrylic caulk (acrylic gap filler) inside, acrylic co-polymer or polyurethane outside, both of those latter two are better than silicone outside, they are stronger, you can paint them, and if you have to remove them you can seal over them easily. The main drawback, of course, is that they are not cheap, but if you are going to do the job, you should do it properly.

Posted Monday 15 Feb 2016 @ 10:58:33 am from IP #
Morbo
Member

well, if you want to do things properly, how about ceiling insulation and sisalation retrofit? Materials are pretty cheap.
Is the subfloor accessible?

Posted Monday 15 Feb 2016 @ 11:04:42 pm from IP #
Bushwalker
Member

I'm not a renter, but if I were, I'd be adding insulation and air sealing as stealthily and as effectively as I could without damaging the property.

The best way is to choose your rental using these ideas in the first place.

Posted Tuesday 16 Feb 2016 @ 1:44:51 am from IP #
axess
Member

All potential technical solutions aside, the OP raises a number of issues about the landlord's responsibility to maintain aspects of the property.

I assume the first priorities of a Coop or Housing Association are to provide a safe, and affordable, form of shelter often to those on a low income.

The wish of the tenant to improve the property to reduce the occupational expenses for energy and water use should be supported by the (often cash-strapped) coop or housing body. The coop or housing association should have some sort of continuous improvement or maintenance program in place, but is often swamped by the urgent acute repair demands of the aging housing stock. Broken windows trump draught control. Damaged electrical insulation trumps insulation in the ceiling. The safe removal of asbestos roofing beats the installation of solar panels on that roof.

A middle ground perhaps is for the coop or association to support or facilitate tenants who wish to improve the performance of their properties, so long as it doesn't add to the financial burdens the coop or association already faces.

I remember taking part in an exercise organised by the ATA to replace the inefficient fluros and other items at a refugee centre. This was an exercise in providing something the organisation (refugee org) needed to have done but could not afford. The materials required were donated and the labour was volunteered. But someone needed to organise and facilitate the process before it took place. Maybe this could be part of the solution to the OP problem.

Posted Tuesday 16 Feb 2016 @ 2:34:28 am from IP #
MJ
Member

Awesome ideas thanks everyone. The co op is statewide and quite large. I contacted the "Environment Officer". I've also joined the Policy Advisory Committee - first meeting coming up soon. Lots of things starting to happen.

My particular group just had 3 directors stood down. So I've walked into absolute chaos. Time will be the only thing to change culture in our little group.

I will cover vents with foil as they are not on plaster board but timber. Should be ok I think. Big learning curve for me - I'm a graphic designer, live on a computer generally

Have spent loads of money on this place already but I will be buying some of the Harris Scarf drapes. Definitely. When I can afford it.

I can't really afford insulation right now, but I am looking into false ceilings that offer insulation. We've got exposed beams throughout. If anyone has great ideas in this area I would love to hear.

Thanks so much for taking the time to reply.

Posted Saturday 12 Mar 2016 @ 11:44:49 pm from IP #
moz
Member

I found a roll of thermal drape material at Spotlight quite cheap, and it already had the string stuff at the top ready to hang (so no sewing required, it's rubber backed so doesn't need hems). It was about $10/m from memory, but I got ~20m at a discount because the end of the roll turned out to have been cut - it was 8m and 12m. I didn't care, and since I was sewing it onto the back of the curtains I was making the hanging hem at the top wasn't necessary. But if you lack a sewing machine it would be essential.

The other part of the deal is pelmets. Without those the curtains are purely decorative (hot air behind the curtain cools down via the window, falls down the bottom of the curtain, drawing more hot air in from under the ceiling).

We bought some timber and shelf brackets from Bunnings and drilled those into the brick walls. That needs tools, which hopefully you can borrow. Pelmet timber was about 180mm wide, 19mm thick and we used it as a shelf (the brackets go "upside down" on top of the pelmet so the shelf sits on top of the window frame). Rather than put a wooden front face on the pelmet we staple gunned a strip of lining along, putting the staples down into the top. It works well and is light, cheap and easy. The lining is white so it looks pretty good.

Quick sketch here: http://s7.postimg.org/rq7sedguj/curtain_pelmet_etc.png

Posted Tuesday 22 Mar 2016 @ 9:20:39 am from IP #

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