In some parts of Australia, removing a gas connection is complicated. Thankfully for me it was a smooth process.
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Disconnecting the gas
Category: Home life
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Kitchen renovation
I finally renovated my kitchen, and now my house is gas-free
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The news from 1st April 1938
An old newspaper from 1938 found while renovating my kitchen
My keys aren’t bulky, but my car key is.
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Electric cooking
Trying out cooking with electricity instead of gas
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Tracking your electricity usage
I’ve written previously about moves to reduce my carbon footprint. I was wondering if it’s possible to get better electricity data… and it turns out it is. With thanks to a post on the Facebook “My Efficient Electric Home” group, it turns out the electricity distributors have a way for you to get half-hourly data ... [More]
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Electric buses are coming
On Saturday I had my first brief ride in an electric bus. The electric bus seemed much quieter than itâs diesel cousins. And no engine vibration while idling. And no fumes of course.Great to see more electric buses coming into service – hopefully with ongoing investment in route reform and more frequent services.đ pic.twitter.com/AsVFhGWdKI â ... [More]
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Cutting my household emissions
I’ve been on a long term course to reduce my household emissions, so this little list caught my eye: One by one on these (in a slightly different order): LED lighting – yes – I think all the CfLs have been replaced by LEDs. LEDs to me seem to be living up to expectations of ... [More]
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Green and red and yellow
The recent IPCC report is a reminder that we should all be doing what we can to minimise our environmental impact. Rather than big picture, right now I wanted to focus on rubbish going to landfill. I think it’s good that my local council, Glen Eira, have modified their rubbish collection. Since late July, the ... [More]
Not a transport post, though it does get a mention. Previously in my quest for a greener house: 2012: Better roof insulation 2015: External blinds 2017: Air conditioning (livingroom) 2019: Wall insulation 2020: Heat pump electric hot water (replacing gas-boosted solar hot water) I’ve got two new house upgrades to report on. Solar PV This ... [More]
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Solar panels on period homes
Solar panels on heritage homes are the perfect blend of old and new
Just a quick post while I work on some more substantive content. State Budget Victoria’s State Budget, normally in May but much delayed due to COVID-19, was on Tuesday. Most of the big ticket public transport investment (Airport Rail, Geelong upgrade, and a huge early works package on the Suburban Rail Loop) had already been ... [More]
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The new empty-nester
This is one of those posts like I used to do, with life events and observations. Little or no transport content here, so if that’s what you’re here for, you can skip this post. We moved into my current house back in 2005. It was what I could afford at the time. I prioritised position ... [More]
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Some personal metrics
Public transport use down, electricity consumption up, mobile internet down, home internet up. Grocery spending up… then almost back to normal. Some personal metrics in the age of COVID-19.
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The new fridge
Amongst all the chaos in the world, a everyday standard curve-ball thrown my way: my fridge broke down on the weekend. Okay – drag out the esky and buy a bag of ice (no I’m not going to a party) and save what food I can. Lucky I’m not a big hoarder of food, so ... [More]
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Getting into hot water
There’s a lot of doom and gloom from COVID-19 at the moment. So here’s something positive: I got a new hot water system. Twelve years ago this month I got solar hot water installed: a collector panel on the roof, a tank to store the water, and a gas booster. I thought it was going ... [More]