Energy and emissions

Ensuring our energy supply is affordable and reduces the impacts of climate change is important to the City and wider community.

Traditional grid-electricity and gas are becoming more expensive and continue to rely on fossil fuels (coal and natural gas), which release greenhouse gas emissions. This means finding more efficient and renewable energy sources such as solar photo voltaic (PV) is becoming increasingly important.

The City has been working hard for many years to reduce our corporate carbon emissions and increase renewable energy use, helping to ensure we are doing our part to limit the impacts of climate change.

This includes setting ambitious but achievable targets, including:

Source 100% of total electricity demand from renewable energy by 2030
Reduce corporate carbon emissions by 70% by 2030.

Leading by example, the City also aims to empower its community to make informed energy choices.

Home Energy Toolkits available from Stirling Libraries

Our Home Energy Toolkits are available for loan from each of our six libraries. The toolkits will help you learn about energy use in your home to reduce your electricity use, and save money on your bills.

To hire a toolkit visit your local library.

Each Toolkit includes:

PowerMate Lite to measure the electricity use of plug-in appliances, their cost to run and greenhouse gas emissions
Infra-red Thermometer to measure the temperatures of hard to reach places so you can check heat gains and losses from your home
Thermometers to assess outside temperatures and how that impacts your comfort inside.

Translated instructions will also available in Mandarin, Farsi, Croatian and Italian. Please ask for a copy when you borrow your toolkit.

The City has created an online video to assist you with getting the most out of your toolkit. You can view the video by following this link.

Home energy checklist

To help you complete a self-check of your energy use at home and learn about actions to reduce your energy use, a Home Energy Checklist will also be available in English, Mandarin, Farsi, Croatian and Italian from your local Stirling Library.

The City has created an online video to help you complete your checklist at home. To view the video follow this link.

What is the City doing to reduce emissions?

Sustainable Energy Action Plan - Corporate

The City is committed to achieving 100 per cent renewable electricity supply by 2030 and a 70 per cent carbon emissions reduction target by 2030. This will ensure we are doing our bit to help Australia reach Paris Climate Agreement goals and limit the impacts of climate change.

Our priority is to reduce the consumption of grid-powered electricity on City infrastructure (I.e. City owned buildings) or replace it with renewable sources to decrease carbon emissions.

Read the Sustainable Energy Action Plan.

Climate Change Adaptation Plan

The City has shown a long-term commitment to climate change adaptation. The Climate Change Adaptation Plan, developed in 2013, identified key climate risks to the City’s services and operations and priority actions to reduce its exposure to those risks. Implementing the priority actions has helped the City to build climate resilience and be prepared for the more extreme climatic changes. Actions have included measuring and monitoring biodiversity, conserving water and energy, adjusting behaviour to avoid extreme temperatures and building infra-structure that will withstand more extreme storm and flooding events. The Plan is due for review in 2022 as part of the Sustainability Strategy development.

Learn more about the Climate Change Adaptation Plan here.

How can the City help you reduce energy at home?

The City’s Living Green Program offers a range of support and initiatives to empower the community to reduce energy use. These include free home sustainability audits, and a wide range of sustainable education opportunities. Please see our top tips below for links to resources about how to save energy at home.

To learn more about the City’s community energy initiatives, please visit the Living Green Program page here.

Top tips and resources to save energy at home

Did you know the average WA energy bill is around $300? That's around $1,800 per year. Here are some tips and useful information to help you save energy and reduce your bills.

Understand your bills and compare your energy use with Synergy's Energy Tool
Measure your impact using Carbon Positive Australia’s Carbon Footprint Calculator

Keeping comfortable at home

View the City's short on-demand energy videos here, covering topics:
- Energy basics – simple tips to save energy in your home
- Keeping it cool – prepare for summer by keeping the heat out
- Winter warmers – prepare for winter by keeping the heat in
- Hot water – tips on how to select the best hot water system for your needs
- Gardening to create a comfortable home – ideas on plant selection, design choices and seasonal changes
- Creating an all electric home – why go electric? What are the benefits?

Local energy resources

Learn about local community group Clean State Stirling here
Learn from local experts, Electrify Curtin Committee, how best to electrify your home

Building a new home

For design advice, check out the guide to Low Carbon Residential Buildings and practical information from Switch your Thinking

Understanding your appliances

Find out which appliances are costing you the most. Visit Synergy for energy saving tips and tricks
Would you like to learn more about efficient appliances? The Energy Rating website has lots of advice to help you choose the right appliance for you.
Water heating uses a big portion of household energy. As systems need to be replaced every 5-10 years, be prepared by learning about efficient water heaters
Would you consider switching your cooktop from gas to induction towards becoming ‘all electric’ in your home? Learn whether induction cooking is right for you.

Installing solar

Learn about key considerations when installing rooftop solar PV in your home
Not sure if solar power and/or battery storage is right for your home? Synergy has some helpful information to help you decide.
Finding the right supplier is important when investing in solar. Here’s a link to Western Power’s tips on finding the right supplier for your solar project.

Did you know?

Grid-powered electricity in Western Australia is expensive and carbon intensive. This is because it relies on burning fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal. Burning fossil fuels produces greenhouse gas emissions, which are widely accepted in the scientific community as a major cause of human-induced Climate Change.

You can help by reducing your use of grid powered electricity. Use energy during daylight hours even if you don’t have a solar system on your roof. This helps to make good use of the solar energy that is being made collectively here in Perth.