So you’re interested in volunteering? In doing something meaningful and fun? In working with dynamic and inspiring people?
We’d love to have you.
Zero Emissions Solutions is an all-volunteer run community organisation working in Mosman and the Northern Beaches LGAs. We’re all about practical ways to take action on climate: things we can do that will have a real impact. No-one is going to solve the climate crisis on their own. Working together for zero emissions has to be the way forward.
Where to start?
Choose from a range of activities to match your skills and/or interests.
Solar My House is Zero Emissions Solutions flagship program. We’ve run over 30 events since 2019, reaching more than 300 households, creating guides, videos and case studies, and attending forums, local expos and online events. We’re always looking for people who are passionate about rooftop solar to get involved with organising events and taking this exciting program forward. You don’t need special skills, just enthusiasm for making a difference. If you can help, please contact Ann Charlott.
Zero Emissions Homes working group meets regularly and creates resources to save energy and emissions at home. They produce Council/LGA specific Sustainable Living Guides, the first was the Mosman Sustainable Living Guide provided to Mosman LGA’s 30,000 residents in mid 2021. They promote switching and supporting renewable energy to approx. halve household emissions. They also look at sustainable solutions including new house design, renovations, appliances, pools and policy. If you are interested in ecosmart retrofits, building trends and energy savings, please email Ursula on electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Out and about
The Zero Emissions Markets team launched our first market stall at Mosman in October last year. Since then, they’ve held 7 events. In 2022, their sights are set on exploring markets in the Northern Beaches. It’s a fun opportunity to meet like-minded volunteers and to have meaningful conversations with the local community. No experience required, just a big smile and an hour or two of your time! If you’re interested, please contact Lesley.
Our youngest volunteer, Theo, demonstrates how to measure household energy consumption.Mosman Markets group: Louise, Lesley, Fay
Zero Emissions Schools is run by Jenni Hagland and Liz Migliorini. They are responsible for the guides on our Schools page and they convene the Zero Emissions Schools Network (Mosman). If you’re involved in education, or if you’ve got school age children and want to get your school involved in sustainability, they would be keen to hear from you. Lots to do, from researching resources to project managing events. Please email Jenni on schools@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Worksheets to download Zero Emissions Schools Network Mosman: Mosman Public
Zoom zoom
Zero Emissions Transport is run by Ursula and the Zero Emissions Transport working group. They’ve put together great resources and guides to help electrify your transport on our Electric Vehicles and Electric Bikes pages. They’ve reached over 250 households with Zero Emissions Transport info sessions, and held 7 E-Transport Markets show and tells with electric cars, bikes, scooters and motorcycles. They’ve investigated second hand EVs, hosted a test-drive day, compiled a report on Councils installing chargers, and are creating case studies on many EVs. If you have an EV or are interested in EVs, and would like to be involved, please email Ursula on electric@zeroemissionssolutions.org
Zero Emissions Transport: E-ScooterGood storage space!
And finally…
If you’re good with words, pictures, sounds, and any other form of story-telling, Harriet wants your help. She puts together the newsletter, website, this blog, marketing materials, and tries to keep up with social media. If you’re an introvert who wants to save the world, or a wordpress genius, if you’re an instagram maven or a budding film maker, a demon proof reader or someone who just likes a yarn, just say hello to Harriet on hello@zeroemissionssolutions.org
We look forward to hearing from you!
An electric car may be more affordable than you think. Two events in April offer the chance to find out more about affordable electric vehicles.
EV Me Now!, a free webinar presented by renew.org next Monday 12 April at 7pm, organised by Clive Attwater, Vice-President of the Australian Electric Vehicle Association, giving an update on EVs in Australia, Anthony Broese van Groenou, co-founder of the Good Car Co discussing affordable electric vehicles and bulk buys, and Ursula Hogben, co-founder of Zero Emissions Solutions discussing climate groups and Councils helping communities to decarbonise,
Second, we’ve organised an exclusive event with Tesla Chatswood for members and friends of Zero Emissions Solutions on Tuesday 20 April, from 6 pm to 7 pm. The Tesla is one of the world’s favourite electric vehicles. Attend the info session then book your test drive one one of the reserved Zero Emissions Solutions member test drive days. Contact Ursula Hogben with any questions.
Read more about electric cars, bikes and other clean alternatives here. The Zero Emissions Transport group includes many EV owners and they are always happy to show off their vehicles. You can meet them at Mosman Markets on the first Saturday of the month. Have a crawl around a Nissan Leaf, a Tesla and a Hyundai Kona, plus check out the latest in affordable electric transport, the scooter! If you have a motorbike licence you can take it for a test drive. Otherwise, you can test ride the electric bikes on display. See you soon!
Feed-in charges?! No way! The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) today released a draft determination on how to integrate more small-scale solar into the electricity grid. The paper addresses the problem of ‘traffic jams’ on the network, caused by small-scale solar feeding into a grid infrastructure which was designed when power only needed to flow one way.
The draft determination suggests rooftop solar owners might be charged to export the solar power they generate in excess of what they use to the grid. In other words, instead of a feed-in tariff, a feed-in charge. The Sydney Morning Herald calls the proposal ‘controversial’.
What does this mean for rooftop solar owners? Ann-Charlott, team leader of our Solar My House program (well-informed but, she notes, ‘not an expert’), has been following the developments. Here are her thoughts:
This issue is most relevant for states like SA that have a high penetration of solar. It is less relevant to NSW and especially our Ausgrid area. As we know, the rate of rooftop solar installation for Mosman is 5 to 6% of houses, and around 14% on Northern Beaches, well below the national average and much below SA.
In the meantime, Ann-Charlott says, networks are exploring other ways to address the problem.
Meanwhile, the transition to renewable energy in Australia is happening, so the existing infrastructure – the poles and wires – will need to adapt to accommodate new technologies. The feed-in tariff is always liable to change — up, down, different pricings at different times — but the savings you get from all that free solar power from your roof remain.
Shine on!
As a partner with local real estate agency Cunninghams, Georgi Bates is often asked for advice on house builds, layouts and renovations. Should we put on solar? Should we have a battery? Does solar increase the value of my house?
When I drop by to talk about sustainability trends in real estate, the answers are clear. From the street, Matt and Georgi Bates’ house looks much like its neighbours: a weatherboard cottage with a picket fence and a bullnose verandah. But walk out the back and it’s all happening. There’s a new garage going up on the back boundary, complete with solar panels to heat the new pool. There’s an electric car charger, batteries and a green wall, ready to plant.
“We’re pretty much off the grid,” says Matt. “The oven’s running off the battery and we’re feeding to the grid. We have about 6kW [of panels] on the roof, providing about 5.5kW per hour. We realistically only need about 3kW per hour for our charging and usage.
“We’ve got a Tesla [car]. We’re putting in a pool. That’s going to have heating costs, but we’re not going to run it on gas. We’re putting more solar and another battery on. We will run it on the sun and the battery.”
Matt and Georgi’s top TV tips: Ewen McGregor’s Long Way Up, a rollicking adventure through South America on *electric* Harley-Davidsons!
A self-confessed sustainability nerd, Matt has driven the research and design of their renovation. Georgi, meanwhile, has driven the Tesla.
“I’m not a car person. But particularly during Covid, working from home, the Tesla is another office, another workspace. I recently got into a petrol car and it felt like a dinosaur. It was a nice car, but it’s amazing the difference of the sound and fuel compared to battery operated.”
Housing trends
Beyond their own home, Georgi is seeing interest in solar power, sustainable building and energy efficient housing growing.
“It starts with someone [putting on solar] in the street then everyone is curious. They all speak to Matt and ask about the benefits. And I’m starting to see more of a shift with people wanting to put green gardens on their garage roofs, or looking into rooftop gardens.”
New energy rating scheme
This trend is set to strengthen with recent developments in the building codes. At the moment the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme – aka NatHERS — requires new houses to score at least 6 out of 10 for energy efficiency. In 2021, NatHERS is set to be extended to existing homes, so that when you buy or sell, just like household appliances, each property will come with an energy efficiency star rating. At which point it’s not just about saving money on a power bill: it directly affects the value of your house. So Matt and Georgi are not just champions for sustainability: they’re smart investors. Does solar increase the value of my house? Yes.
“I think sustainability is the future of real estate. It will become one of the must haves.”
Georgi Bates is a partner at Cunninghams Real Estate. Whether you are looking to buy or sell, or just to find out more about the market, she’s happy to hear from you. And if you want to find out more about rooftop solar, explore our website or come to one of our free webinars.
It was one of those lightbulb moments. Ursula Hogben, founding member of Zero Emissions Solutions was filling up her car at the local petrol station when, chatting to her kids, she said, ‘it’ll seem really strange to you in the future that we all put petrol in our cars and all drove around burning fossil fuels.’ Her son’s reply pulled her up short.
“Mummy, it seems really strange now. Why wouldn’t you just have a battery and fill the battery up from the sun?”
Yes. Of course. Why wouldn’t you? It was the starting point for the next Zero Emissions Solutions program, Zero Emissions Vehicles.
Video conference + Q&A, Wednesday 11 November 7 pm to 8 pm, EV Essentials + Affordable EVs. Special guests: Anton and Anthony from the Good Car Co. Book your free ticket here: https://events.humanitix.com/accelerate-wed-11-nov
“If you’re trying to make a difference it feels really incongruous to then be filling your car up with fossil fuels each week and emitting greenhouse gases as you drive around,’ says Ursula. “We want to help people move away from fossil fuels and be part of industry level change. Supporting active transport, E bikes and EVs gives everyone low emissions choices.”
Electric cars in Australia
Electric cars — EVs, as they’re known in the business — are the exception in Australia, but that’s changing as manufacturers and consumers rush to catch-up with the worldwide shift to low-emissions transport. Elon Musk’s high performance Tesla has made electric cars desirable, and now other manufacturers, along with government incentives in some countries, are making them affordable. But what’s available? How do they work? Where do you get them? What do they cost?
ZESN’s Electric Transport working group has been doing the research and finding out answers to these and many more questions. Next week, Ursula will host the first of ZESN’s regular events to share what they have learnt. Accelerating your transition covers why people are buying EVs, how EVs perform, the financial savings (and the environmental benefits), and features guest speakers who will be more than happy to answer questions.
“We want to help make EVs more accessible. We looked at options and we’re glad to partner with Good Car Co a Tasmanian-based company pioneering the import of low mileage, reasonably priced (from $19,000!) second hand electric cars with a guarantee and user support. We’ve also done a research review of Councils installing EV chargers to help people who can’t charge at home. We’re very excited that Mosman Council is installing an ultra-fast charger soon!”
Webinar coming up
If you’re even slightly curious affordable about electric cars, don’t miss Accelerating your transition. Our events are informal with plenty of time for questions, and Covid-safe online for the moment, so you can join the conversation from home. EV owners will be there to share their stories, and we’ll be taking registrations from interested parties so we can make a Good Car Company bulk buy a reality.
Maybe you’ll be driving an electric car sooner than you think.
I have discovered a secret weapon in my quest to persuade people to make the switch to renewable energy. It’s called GADGETS!
We’ve had solar panels for nearly ten years now. 18 months ago we bought a Tesla 2 battery for $11,500 (which, as I now realise, was quite a bargain since prices have gone up this year). The installer, who did a great job, showed me how the app tells you exactly how much electricity you are consuming at any moment, and where that electricity is coming from.
I didn’t realise at the time how powerful that insight could be. Three pictures
A sunny day in North Balgowlah
A sunny day in November 2019
The big yellow mountain is solar energy, collected from our rooftop panels. The jagged line is our household energy consumption. (You can see that I made a cup of tea just before 8 a.m., and I ran the dishwasher and the washing machine in the morning.) Below the horizontal axis shows how the battery works: when the sun comes up excess solar energy feeds into the battery. It’s full by noon, so the grey area is excess energy flowing back to the grid (and earning a feed-in tariff). And you can see that, on this day, the battery powered the house right through till sunrise, so we were 100% self-powered. ☺
Solar Offset
Of course, the sun doesn’t always shine
But this screen shot shows that across 2019 we offset our usage — 8166 kWh — with 5473 kWh solar power from our roof. So a 67% reduction in our electricity bill and a 67% reduction in our carbon emissions. The retail price in NSW per kWh is 33c. So *furrows brow, doing sums* that’s $1806.09 in savings in 2019. Nice.
What’s happening here?
This is a screenshot from March 2020 showing where our power is coming from. We’re in the middle of a powercut. The Tesla battery automatically takes over, so that the house can be independent of the grid, using power from the solar panels and, if needed, from the battery. WFH with no grid? No problem.
We love checking on the app to see how much we are saving. But above all, this funky little app, with its visual representation of real time household electricity usage, is an amazing communications tool. Household power bills aren’t sexy but gadgets totally are. Therefore, my husband, even though he is not involved in environmental campaigning, gets a real kick out of showing his friends how we are helping ourselves to free energy (and helping the environment at the same time).
Do you have a battery? Do you have a story to tell about your journey towards zero emissions? Let us know by [best way to connect]
