Local owner of the award winning Rooster Restaurant and Jamison Guesthouse, Ross Dalaney, has made significant renovations to the heritage-listed building to ensure energy efficiency without compromising the 1890s Edwardian architecture or structure.
Double-glazing, time regulated central heating, waste management, LED lighting and energy efficient globes have been installed since he joined the Low Carbon Living Blue Mountains Program two years ago.
With the roof too steep for solar panels Low Carbon Living - Blue Mountains director John Merson advised Dalaney switch to a renewable energy provider. After researching at https://www.choice.com.au/home-improvement/energy-saving/reducing-your-carbon-footprint/articles/green-electricity-review#Table, Dalaney has switched to Powershop – the Melbourne-based Australian retail arm of New Zealand public company, Meridian Energy.
Meridian Energy is Australasia’s largest 100 per cent renewable generator with two massive wind farms in Victoria and South Australia, generating an accumulative 580 GWh of renewable energy annually – enough for 116,000 households and businesses.
It is also supported by the national government-managed GreenPower program that enables energy consumers to choose renewable energy providers that generate electricity from wind, solar, water and bioenergy.
The amount of electricity purchased on behalf of each consumer is added to the grid to offset fossil fuel and coal seam gas generated electricity
Dalaney plans eventually to reconsider solar panel installation, a solar water heater and to replace gas heating with reverse cycle air conditioning.
“If others in the industry have suggestions about becoming more green,” he said, “I’m willing to take them on board.”
In Blackheath, Vesta Restaurant owners may soon be in a position to advise Dalaney on a solar panel system. Vesta’s venue is perfectly suited to energy efficient modifications that would address the impact of this local business’s carbon footprint and reduce energy waste and cost in the longer term.
The restaurant’s roof is north facing which would maximise the use of solar panels. To ensure the production of solar energy is most effective, solar batteries would also be considered for storage and usage 24 hours a day.
Vesta Restaurant’s main attraction, the 120-year-old scotch oven, is a reliable and cost-effective source of heat, reducing the business’s heating costs dramatically and ensuring its energy bills are consistent throughout the year. The annual electricity bills amount to an average of $10,000, which would mean the investment in solar panels would be recouped in about 18 months.
For more information visit: http://lowcarbonliving-bluemountains.com.au/ Or call Low Carbon Living Program Co-ordinator: Annabel Murray 0448 107 267.
