Are you spending more money than you need to heating and cooling your home?
Audit how efficient your heating and cooling is by answering the questions below. By the end you'll know what you can do to save energy and minimise your bills.
Where you have answers in the least efficient column look at what you can do to save energy for practical tips to increase efficiency.
If you prefer to do the audit away from the computer, you can download and print the complete home energy audit (PDF 1.9MB).
Guide to the audit icons:
 | this question relates to the home. If you are renting you should ask your landlord before making the suggested changes |
Audit your heating and cooling
| What do you do at home? | Most energy efficient | Least energy efficient | What you can do to save energy |
|---|
| 1. Do you only heat and cool rooms that are being used? | Yes
 | No
 | Consider closing doors to unused rooms so you only heat or cool the smallest possible area.
If you have a ducted system it may already be divided into zones - eg living areas and bedrooms. Make use of zones to only heat or cool occupied areas. |
| 2. In winter, do you open curtains, blinds and external shades so the sun can heat your home? | Yes
 | No
 | Use the sun as free heating for free in cooler months.
Sunlight shining directly onto north, east and west facing windows can produce the same amount of heat per square metre as a one bar radiator.
Use a compass like the one in the home energy toolkit  to find out which of your windows face north, east and west. |
| 3. When heating, do you set the temperature as low as you feel comfortable with? | Yes
| No
| Most people will find a temperature between 18°C and 21°C comfortable for heating. Every 1°C higher adds 10% to the running costs of your heating appliance. |
| 4. Do you maintain your heating and cooling appliances to ensure they operate efficiently? | Yes
| No
| Follow the manufacturer's maintenance instructions. Have your appliances serviced regularly. |
| 5. When cooling, do you set the temperature as high as you feel comfortable with? | Yes
| No
| Most people will find a temperature between 24°C and 27°C comfortable for cooling. Every 1°C lower adds 10% to the running costs of your cooling appliance. |
6. Do you shade windows in summer to keep your home cool?
| Yes
| No
| Shade windows to prevent heat from entering your home.
Sunlight shining directly onto north, east and west facing windows can produce the same amount of heat per square metre as a one bar radiator.
|
7. When you purchase a heating or cooling appliance do you seek advice about:
- the most appropriate appliance
- the right size appliance
- the energy rating label, or if there is none, the running costs of the appliance?
| Yes
| No
| The most efficient heating or cooling appliance is one that is suitable for the area it is heating or cooling and, where relevant, has been sized appropriately, see Energy efficient heating or Energy efficient cooling.
|
8. Do you use reversible ceiling fans to assist your heating and cooling appliances?
 | Yes
| No
| Reversible ceiling fans create cool breezes in summer and can redirect warm air down in winter.
|
9. Does your home have insulation?
| Yes
| No
| Consider installing insulation in your ceiling and walls if you don't have it.
If you have insulation installed already, ask a licensed insulation installer check its effectiveness. |
10. Have you sealed up gaps around doors and windows that let draughts in?
| Yes
| No
| Use draught excluders, door and window seals or gap filler to prevent draughts.
You can check your draughts by: - looking for daylight around the edges of doors and windows
- looking for gaps around skirting boards
- feeling draughts on a wet finger
Important: When using unflued gas appliances you must ensure you have adequate ventilation.
|
What's next?
The next step is to audit your home's water heating.
Or you can choose to audit other areas of your home:
A comprehensive home energy auditing manual can be borrowed free of charge from a number of South Australian libraries as part of the home energy toolkit.
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