100% Renewable at home

Check your eligibility for a solar panel rebate of up to $1400, plus the option of an interest-free loan through the Victorian Government Solar Homes program.

If you’re a renter or a rental provider you may be eligible for a rebate of $1400 and an interest free loan of up to $1400 toward solar panels through the Solar for Rental Properties program.

The program involves entering into a Rental Provider - Renter Agreement, which could involve a limited co-contribution from renters, or no contribution from renters.

Renters can expect to save hundreds to thousands of dollars per year through reduced energy bills through the program, while rental providers will benefit from the improvement to their rental property.

Switch to an efficient electric or renewable heat pump hot water system or a solar hot water system through the Solar Hot Water Rebate program.

Eligible households can receive a 50% rebate up to $1000 on approved hot water systems through the program.

Hot water heat pumps are a great option for households with solar panels as they can be programed to heat water while the sun is shining, and operate as a battery for storing hot water.  Even for households without solar panels, heat pumps are a more affordable upfront cost compared to installing solar hot water, and cost approximately half the price to run compared to a natural gas water heater. Read the Solar Hot Water Buyers Guide for more information.

Up to 25% of heat can be lost from your home in winter from air leakage, known as draughts. You can improve energy efficiency heating your home in winter by drought proofing your home.

Taking some small, low cost measures can noticeably improve your home comfort and help save on heating bills.

See Sustainability Victoria’s Draught Proofing Your Home Guide to get started.

Warning! Homes with flueless gas heaters, open flued gas heaters or chimney gas heaters require fresh air to operate safely and fixed ventilation openings must not be blocked. If you intend to undertake draught proofing in your home and have one of these types of heating, you should get a licensed gas fitter to check the safe operation of these appliances.

Switch to an efficient electric or renewable heat pump hot water system or a solar hot water system through the Solar Hot Water Rebate program.

Eligible households can receive a 50% rebate up to $1000 on approved hot water systems through the program.

Hot water heat pumps are a great option for households with solar panels as they can be programed to heat water while the sun is shining, and operate as a battery for storing hot water.  Even for households without solar panels, heat pumps are a more affordable upfront cost compared to installing solar hot water, and cost approximately half the price to run compared to a natural gas water heater. Read the Solar Hot Water Buyers Guide for more information.

Up to 25% of heat can be lost from your home in winter from air leakage, known as draughts. You can improve energy efficiency heating your home in winter by drought proofing your home.

Taking some small, low cost measures can noticeably improve your home comfort and help save on heating bills.

See Sustainability Victoria’s Draught Proofing Your Home Guide to get started.

Rebates for purchase and installation of drought proofing products are also available through the Victorian Energy Upgrades program, when installed by an accredited provider.

Warning! Homes with flueless gas heaters, open flued gas heaters or chimney gas heaters require fresh air to operate safely and fixed ventilation openings must not be blocked. If you intend to undertake draught proofing in your home and have one of these types of heating, you should get a licensed gas fitter to check the safe operation of these appliances.

The Residential Efficiency Scorecard program managed by the Victorian Government is a great way to find out how energy efficient your home is and how to improve it.

A scorecard rating will show you how much energy is used throughout your home and help you:

• Find ways to use energy more efficiently to reduce costs.
• Understand how your home could be more comfortable and efficient during summer.
• Make sure your renovation or building plans will keep you comfortable and energy efficient long term.
• Provide you with an Energy Star Rating and certificate to help you sell your home, or assess a house you’re thinking of buying.
• Providing a report and one-on-one advice to help you plan your list of energy upgrade solutions

You can choose your own scorecard assessor from a government approved list.

During the assessment, the assessor visits your home and assesses fixed appliances, heating and cooling and building fabric. You could save hundreds or thousands of dollars per year by understanding which fixed appliances or features of your house are costing money and how these can be improved.

Assessments can cost around $250-$500 depending on the size of your home.

Want to cut down your energy bills and improve comfort in your home? Brimbank Libraries offer a range of equipment to help you measure and better understand energy use and efficiency in your home. Our kits can help you make small changes to save hundreds in bills and improve your home comfort in summer and winter. There are many options for improvement for both home owners and renters!

Hire an Energy Saver Kit for support to improve the energy efficiency of heating and cooling around your home, improve water efficiency, reduce hot water energy use and measure how much your household appliances cost to run. Books included in the kit can help guide you further on your sustainable home journey.

Hire the Thermal Camera Kit and use the FLIR Diagnostic Thermal Camera to view and measure surface temperatures around your home. The thermal camera can help determine if heat is being lost in winter or gained in summer, due to draughts and gaps in insulation.

The My Efficient Electric Home (MEEH) Facebook group is a great place to ask questions and read about the experiences of others making the switch to all-electric and renewable homes all around Australia.

Join the community of over 40,000 Australians making the switch today. 

Increase comfort in your home or office, reduce your bills and help the climate. Explore energytips.org.au to help find ways to save energy. Many of the tips are DIY tips that you can easily implement yourself, and lots of tips are not only applicable for home owners, but for renters as well. Bought to you by Geelong Sustainability.

The Green Electricity Guide has everything you need to know to switch your mains electricity to a greener provider.

Making the switch supports the move to renewable energy in the grid, helping electricity to become cleaner and cheaper for everyone in the long run.

Many green energy providers have competitive solar feed in tariff rates and a range of renewable energy purchasing options to help suit your budget.

Find the full range of State Government rebates and incentives to help you disconnect from gas appliances and upgrade to an all-electric and renewable energy powered home through the Solar Victoria website.

Solar Victoria Programs include:

• Solar Panel PV rebate
• Solar hot water rebates
• Solar rebates for rental properties program
• Heating and cooling appliance upgrades
• Zero emissions vehicle subsidy
• Solar battery rebates

Plus, see the Virtual power plant pilot program for a fixed rebate of $4,174 on a solar battery when you apply to take part in a local power sharing network to share excess stored energy and help stabilise local grids.

Energy Info Hub (the hub) is an online resource run by not-for-profit energy experts to teach you how to spend less on energy bills at home. Find well-known tips and some surprising suggestions.

The hub helps with four steps to taking control:

1. Applying the full range of concessions to your bill.
2. Ensuring you are on your company’s best offer.
3. Providing tips for keeping warm and staying cool, and saving money.
4. Helping with energy bill payment difficulties.

Victorian Energy Saver is a great resource to find all energy saver resources offered by the Victorian Government including:

• Energy bill comparison tool (Victorian Energy Compare)
• Prolonged power outage payments
• Victorian Government residential solar rebates
• Home Energy Scorecard Assessments
• Discount energy saving products

Find out everything you need to know about the ‘Electrify Everything’ revolution at Rewiring Australia.

‘Electrifying Everything’ is the key action everyone can take now to begin the transition to a renewable energy future and make the most of the savings. So get ready and start planning your transition off gas in your home and car.

Find out more about how much it costs to run your air conditioning, the heater or lights.

Powerpal is an Australian designed in-home device and phone app to help you track your energy usage.

Powerpal can help you reduce your energy use by up to 15 per cent and is backed by the Victorian Government Energy Upgrades Scheme.

Claim your free device and installation today.

For everything you need to know about how to design, renovate or retrofit your home for efficiency and sustainability, see Australia’s independent guide to creating sustainable homes for the future at www.yourhome.gov.au.

Find everything from expert informed information sheets and videos to architectural drawings for homes that achieve a minimum energy rating of 7 stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme. Topics include buying, building and renovating, passive design, sustainable materials and information on achieving energy and water efficiency.

You can also borrow the YourHome handbook from Brimbank Libraries!