The next meeting of the Sydney Central Branch of the Alternative Technology Association will be about Getting Sustainability on the Agenda in your Apartment Building and our speaker is Christine Byrne, founder of Green Strata Inc. Green Strata provides information and case studies on the options available to strata owners and Chris also works with all levels of government on emerging programs and policies.
With the price of water expected to increase by more than 50 per cent in the next four years and climate change creating uncertain rainfall patterns, rainwater tanks are a necessity for most Australian homes.
The Tankulator is a free interactive online calculator that helps people plan for a new rainwater tank or improve the performance of existing tanks.
It calculates how much rainwater can be harvested from a roof anywhere in Australia over one, three or five years based on rainfall figures from the nearest Bureau of Meteorology station, the roof type and size, and flushing and overflow capabilities.
The Tankulator has been developed by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), a not-for-profit organisation promoting water saving and household renewable energy, with support from the Victorian Government Sustainability Fund, managed by Sustainability Victoria, and the City of Whitehorse.
Ian Porter, the ATA’s chief executive, said the innovative new tool would help people save money on water bills.
“While government rebates and environmental concern has meant a rapid growth in the number of rainwater tanks in recent years, there are still thousands of homes across Australia without them,” Mr Porter said.
“The Tankulator gives people an in-depth understanding of how much water they will harvest and the choices they need to make to get the most out of their tanks.”
The Tankulator’s interactive page gives a summary of water usage, the amount of days the household tank is empty or overflowing and presents suggestions to the user. There is a tank level graph and another graph displaying available rainwater against selected uses.
The website includes pages on material types, tank positioning, filtering and other information to help people choose and plan for rainwater tanks.
Website: tankulator.ata.org.au
From curtains to LCD monitors, taking showers to making toast, the Alternative Technology Association’s new guide examines all the ways to save money and improve energy efficiency around the home.
The complete Guide to reducing your energy use and saving money is available now as a PDF and is completely free.
Click here to download.
The guide was developed by the ATA and the Victorian Council of Social Service, with support from the Melbourne Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation.
Yale will present a short overview of geoexchange heating and cooling systems and their various applications. He will include a series of local and international case studies that will range from residential applications through to commercial projects, including office buildings, Councils, universities etc.
Yale Carden has a First Class Honours degree in Environmental Science and a Masters in Environmental Engineering. Yale has been working in the sustainability sector for over fifteen years and has spent the past six years working with geoexchange systems. He is a member and certified installer with the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) and has advised on Geoexchange systems across the Asia Pacific.
Yale will present a short overview of geoexchange heating and cooling systems and their various applications. He will include a series of local and international case studies that will range from residential applications through to commercial projects, including office buildings, Councils, universities etc.
Yale Carden has a First Class Honours degree in Environmental Science and a Masters in Environmental Engineering. Yale has been working in the sustainability sector for over fifteen years and has spent the past six years working with geoexchange systems. He is a member and certified installer with the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA) and has advised on Geoexchange systems across the Asia Pacific.
| When: Saturday 23rd June 2012 Time: 1-3pm Where: Customs House Library, Circular Quay, Sydney |
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When: Friday 15 June 2012
Time: 11am
In conjunction with bankmecu, the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) presents a series of free online presentations to share practical knowledge about energy efficiency, sustainable building and water conservation at home. Webinars are broadcast live for view over your web browser, and will be available for playback on demand afterwards.
The fifth webinar in the series will be held on Friday 15 June, and will focus on the importance of site orientation, location and climate in designing an energy-efficient, sustainable house. It will introduce the sustainable design elements incorporated in an owner-built home on Sydney’s northern beaches, looking in particular at how the site’s location and challenges (including slope, proximity to the sea, and limited solar access) influenced the design.
The webinar will feature a presentation by designer Dick Clarke of Envirotecture, and a conversation with homeowners Barbara Stack and Rodney Reece on their design priorities and what it’s like to live in the finished house. The webinar will finish with a Q&A session.
Click here to register for free for the webinar.
If you’re not able to join in live, remember that the webinar will be recorded and you will be able to view it via the ATA website from a couple of days afterwards.