Last winter, Declan Kelly set out to test whether a retail plan offering three hours of free electricity could heat his Central NSW Coast rental for nothing.
The experiment, which previews what millions of households may soon try under the Federal Government’s Solar Sharers scheme, revealed just how far tariff-shifting can get you in a leaky Australian home.
Kelly managed to lift the indoor temperature from 15 degrees to a tropical 32, only to watch the heat disappear almost as fast as it arrived.
That experience led to a larger realisation: if these offers are meant for renters and people who can’t put solar on their roofs, they will only go so far unless we confront the poor thermal performance of Australia’s housing stock.
Kelly — who writes the newsletter Currently Speaking and is the regulatory policy and corporate affairs manager at Flow Power — argues that no energy-market reform can compensate for walls, roofs and windows that can’t hold heat.
The public remains largely in the dark about the full cost of the giant Snowy…
Amandine Denis-Ryan from IEEFA on what can be done about Australia's unique and unhealthy dependence…
For maximum readings, September came in as Australia's third warmest. For minimums, last month narrowly…
Diesel fuel tax credits earned over 10 years nearly equate the price of a huge…
Updated: The biggest wind farm to reach financial close in Australia in the last two…
Australian battery maker whose customers include the federal energy minister has gone into voluntary administration,…