Faqs

Queensland has arguably one of the most important and valuable natural environments in the world, so it’s only fitting that Queensland leads the fight against climate change. With the ClimateSmart Home Service, Queenslanders can make a measurable difference and show the rest of Australia and the world that we can fight climate change and preserve our environment.

By introducing this program, the Queensland Government is helping Queenslanders to tackle their increasing energy costs, while also protecting our lifestyle and environment.

You can book online at any time of day, 7 days a week. You can also call 133 600 Monday to Saturday between 7am and 7pm.

The ClimateSmart Home Service costs $50. This can be paid by cash, credit card or cheque direct to the ClimateSmart electrician at the end of the service.

Contact us here or call 133 600.

A licensed electrician will come to your home to install the equipment and perform an energy audit.

When booking your ClimateSmart Home Service, you will be asked to nominate a time for a service that suits you. Your electrician will come out to perform your service at your nominated time, so you won’t have to wait around unnecessarily.

The service takes less than an hour.

Unfortunately, no. The ClimateSmart Home Service electricians are funded by the Queensland Government to carry out this specific service as a means of reducing your home’s carbon footprint.

If you have further electrical work that you’d like carried out in your home, you can call one of the numbers below for a recommendation on an electrician in your area who has received specialist energy efficiency training:

• EcoSmart Electricians
  1300 794 846
  www.ecosmartelectricians.com.au
• Master Electricians
  1300 889 198
  www.masterelectricians.com.au

Yes. All of our licensed electricians have also received specific water efficiency training, as well as energy efficiency training, so that they can undertake an accurate energy and water audit of your home.

The following product and service warranties apply from the date you receive the ClimateSmart Home Service at your home:

• Equipment: 52 weeks
• Electrician’s workmanship: 13 weeks

Calling the ClimateSmart Home Service call centre on 133 600 from any landline within Queensland will incur a flat fee, usually around the cost of a local call, but the fee may differ depending on your phone service provider. When calling from a mobile phone, standard mobile phone charges apply.

Please visit the What you get section of this website.

No, you’ve only just begun to learn how to be more energy efficient! Following your ClimateSmart Home Service you will be sent a customised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan. The plan provides you with a summary of the savings that you’re able to achieve through the ClimateSmart Home Service, plus the potential savings available from other energy saving actions you can introduce to your home.

Your Energy and Water Efficiency Plan also includes login details to My ClimateSmart Home portal. My ClimateSmart Home allows you to access the comprehensive results from your energy audit, track your energy savings, plus access a range of tips and tricks to help you complete your energy-saving actions in your home. In My ClimateSmart Home you’ll find:

• DIY tips to help you achieve easy energy efficiency changes in your home
• information on where to find energy and water efficient products, services and tradespeople
• the latest information on federal and local government initiatives to help you save even more energy and money.

Brisbane City Council is encouraging residents to take up the Queensland Government’s ClimateSmart Home Service by providing a 100% after-service cash back rebate for any Brisbane City Council resident. To apply for your $50 rebate please download the application form. Complete the form and send it to the address provided along with the receipt from your service. Refer to the Brisbane City Council website for applicable terms and conditions.

The CFLs and showerhead provided in the ClimateSmart Home Service are high quality and meet specific Australian ISO standards.

Our ‘3 Star’ WELS rated showerheads have full compliance with Standards Australia (AS/NZS 3662, 1996 and AS/ANZ 6400:2005) and have a one year manufacturer / supplier warranty. The showerhead provided as part of the service is high quality and retails for around $55.

CFLs have been independently tested and have been found to last an average of 15,000 hours – 15 times longer than incandescent light globes and use about one-fifth of the energy of incandescent light globes.

The Queensland Government will be accruing carbon credits for the installation of the CFLs and water efficient showerheads installed during the program under the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change Greenhouse Friendly initiative. The products are installed for free during the program to comply with the Department of Climate Change guidelines.

Unfortunately, no. This program is designed to assist Queensland households to save money and help the environment by reducing the level of energy use and, subsequently, greenhouse gas emissions. The removal of these products is also a requirement of the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change Greenhouse Friendly initiative in order to accrue carbon credits for the installation of CFLs and water efficient showerheads.

Yes, you can choose either 10-watt or 15-watt compact fluorescent light globes (CFLs) or a combination of these in ‘warm white’ for your home. A 10-watt CFL is equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent light globe and a 15-watt CFL is equivalent to a 75-watt incandescent light globe.

Unfortunately, no. The available technology is too expensive to be provided as part of this program.

CFLs use only 20% of the electricity used by incandescent globes to produce the same amount of light. This means reduced electricity consumption and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. CFLs also last 15 times longer than incandescent globes, so they are particularly good for areas that require lighting for long periods of time such as living areas.

CFLs can be disposed of in regular garbage bins, where the garbage goes to landfill. CFLs should not be placed in your kerbside recycling collection. For further information on disposing of CFLs please visit the Queensland Government’s
Climate Smart Living website.

Like common incandescent light globes, CFLs can have either a screw or bayonet fitting to fit the most common light fixtures.

CFLs do contain a very small amount of mercury (around 5mg on average) sealed within the glass tubing. For more information on this, please visit the Queensland Government’s ClimateSmart Living website.

Research indicates that, with appropriate handling, there is no health risk to you or your family if they break, but careful handling and disposal is recommended. For information on CFL clean up and disposal guidelines visit the Queensland Government’s ClimateSmart Living website.

CFLs emit low levels of ultraviolet light. People with a health condition that causes them to be light sensitive may also be at a low risk of developing a skin rash if their skin is overexposed to light from a CFL at a close distance for an extended period of time. To reduce the risk of any skin irritation, the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency ( ARPANSA) recommends CFLs be utilised at a distance greater than 25 30 centimetres away from a person's skin. For more information on ultraviolet radiation emissions from CFLs, see the fact sheet at the ARPANSA website

The CFLs and showerhead provided in the ClimateSmart Home Service are high quality and meet specific Australian ISO standards.

Our ‘3 Star’ WELS rated showerheads have full compliance with Standards Australia (AS/NZS 3662, 1996 and AS/ANZ 6400:2005) and have a one year manufacturer / supplier warranty. The showerhead provided as part of the service is high quality and retails for around $55.

CFLs have been independently tested and have been found to last an average of 15,000 hours – 15 times longer than incandescent light globes and use about one-fifth of the energy of incandescent light globes.

The Queensland Government will be accruing carbon credits for the installation of the CFLs and water efficient showerheads installed during the program under the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change Greenhouse Friendly initiative. The products are installed for free during the program to comply with the Department of Climate Change guidelines.

Unfortunately, no. This program is designed to assist Queensland households to save money and help the environment by reducing the level of energy use and, subsequently, greenhouse gas emissions. The removal of these products is also a requirement of the Federal Government’s Department of Climate Change Greenhouse Friendly initiative in order to accrue carbon credits for the installation of CFLs and water efficient showerheads.

No – this is a common myth. The showerhead offered as part of the ClimateSmart Home Service is ‘3 Star’ WELS rated and supplies water at a rate of nine litres per minute.

Absolutely. It is commonly accepted in the plumbing industry that water-saving showerheads operate better in low pressure environments than showers which output more than nine litres per minute.

In a low pressure environment, you are more likely to have consistent pressure using a water-saving showerhead, which only needs nine litres per minute, than one that needs much more water to maintain a steady stream, such as ones with a capacity to output 21 litres per minute. This is because when water pressure is reduced there isn’t enough water to supply the hungry 21 litre showerhead to make it perform at its best.

Generally water efficient showerheads are not compatible with older instantaneous gas hot water systems because the showerhead’s reduced flow interferes with the water heater’s operation.

The following types of hot water systems may also be incompatible with water efficient showerheads, as these systems already have an efficient low flow rate:

• electric instantaneous
• gravity fed, and
• open vented.

In a typical home, the most energy consuming device is the electric hot water system. Similarly, gas hot water systems consume a significant level of energy. If you install a ‘3 Star’ water efficient showerhead, your household will reduce its hot water usage significantly, saving you energy and therefore money on your water and electricity bills.

It monitors a home's electricity supply and provides easy-to-understand, real-time information about the household's electricity usage. The simple-to-read LCD monitor reveals how much electricity is being used, how much the home's current usage is costing per hour and how much CO2 emissions the home is producing. This is a powerful tool that helps householders to make more informed decisions about using electricity around the home.

If your home is a three-phase home, the energy monitor is only connected to read one tariff. So, if you're connected to more than one tariff in your home the energy monitor will not include information on the non-peak tariffs, such as those connected to hot water systems and pool pumps.

No. The data provided by the monitor is for use by the residents of the household only. The information cannot be read remotely.

The information provided by the monitor will allow you to see how much energy your appliances are using and how much they cost to run. This will allow you to better manage your energy usage.

Your customised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan and My ClimateSmart Home online resource will help you use your energy monitor to the best of its ability.

Your wireless power monitor is designed to assist you in taking back control of your power bills by providing you with an understanding of how much it costs to run individual appliances. Having this knowledge enables you to make informed decisions about your power usage.

The power monitor provides you with indicative electricity costs to help you control your power bills however it is not programmed to provide an exact calculation of your power consumption or to correlate with your quarterly bills. At the time of your service the power monitor is programmed with the tariff as detailed on your most recent power bill. If these details are not available the monitor will be programmed with the Queensland average tariff, which may be slightly higher or lower than the electricity tariff/s charged to your home. To reprogram the tariff settings of your power monitor, refer to your ClimateSmart Home Service Product Guide (may also be called Information Guide).

Please note that the power monitor should be used as an information tool only to assist you in taking back control of the way you use your power. For a more accurate reading of your power usage and costs, please refer to your current power bill.

While we're happy that you love your wireless energy monitor so much that you want to take it with you, it might be a better idea to book the ClimateSmart Home Service for your new home - so you can be sure your energy monitor is installed correctly. If you want to move your energy monitor, there are two important things to remember: (1) it is an Australian Government regulation to use a licensed electrician to remove the energy monitor from your existing home and reconnect it at your new home, and (2) your product warranty for the energy monitor is only valid while the energy monitor is installed at the residence that received the ClimateSmart Home Service. If you remove the energy monitor, the warranty will no longer be valid.

There are three different types of wireless energy monitors used as part of the ClimateSmart Home Service. Whilst they look slightly different one does not function any differently from the other—they all monitor your home’s electricity consumption in kilowatt hours, kilograms of carbon and money over time (days, weeks, months and quarters). The reason for the different energy monitors is to ensure a good supply of effective, high-quality energy monitors are available for the service over the lifespan of the program.
For more information download your Product Guide below.

Download Owl Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy2 Energy Monitor Product Guide

If your wireless energy monitor isn’t working it could be due to one of the following reasons:

• 1. Are the walls of your home double brick cavity?
  

  The radio frequency used by the transmitter connected to your meter box can have difficulty transmitting through double brick walls. Try moving your energy monitor closer to where your electricity box is located to see if the shorter distance may assist in the transmitter signal reaching your monitor. If you require further assistance please contact the ClimateSmart Home Service on 133 600.

  
  
• 2. Lost connection
  If the energy monitor is more than 40 metres away from the transmitter, or the signal has been interrupted, the energy monitor display may lose its connection to the transmitter. If this has occurred the energy monitor display will show ‘----’ or ‘0’.

  If the energy monitor is showing flashing dots on the screen, this means that it’s trying to reconnect. Try placing the energy monitor display closer to the transmitter and leave for about 15 minutes. If this doesn’t work, follow the reset instructions in the ClimateSmart Home Service Product Guide provided to you by the electrician. If you no longer have the Product Guide download a copy for your monitor below.
  

  Download Owl Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy2 Energy Monitor Product Guide

  If you continue to have trouble, please call 133 600 and our staff will help you through the process.

If you're using electricity, but your energy monitor is showing zero, it may mean that a cable has slipped in the transmitter.

To fix this, go to your electricity meter box and look at the transmitter. Please be very careful when doing this and if you don't feel comfortable doing so, please contact a licensed electrician to help. Safety comes first. There should be three holes in the bottom of the transmitter with at least one (1) white cable attached. If there is no white cable at the bottom of the transmitter, it has slipped out. Plug in the cable (it doesn't matter which hole you use) and your energy monitor should start working again. If this hasn't worked, call 133 600 for further assistance.

If you do need to reset your monitor please download the attached Product Guide and follow the instructions.

Your home will be tested to see if it is suited to have an energy monitor installed prior to the ClimateSmart Home Service. There are some instances where the energy monitor may not be able to be installed. These include:

• Some homes with double brick cavity walls
• Homes where the meter box is situated more than 40 meters away from the home
• The transmitter cannot be connected inside your electricity meter box.

If a ClimateSmart electrician finds that an energy monitor cannot be installed at your home, you will still have the option to proceed with the service and receive the other great items including:

• Installation of up to 15 energy efficient light globes (CFLs)
• Installation of a water and energy efficient showerhead
• an energy efficiency audit to provide you with ways to become a more ClimateSmart household
• a customised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan
• access to My ClimateSmart Home, an online resource providing lots of useful information to help you make even more energy savings.

The wireless energy monitor installed during your service has a minimum of 90% accuracy when reading a product's electricity usage. Most stand-by appliance usage will be picked up with this accuracy level, however, if your stand-by appliance usage is not clearly indicated on your energy monitor, the electricity usage from other large electricity users such as your hot water system, fridge or pool filter may be interfering with your reading. The best thing to do, so that you don't miss out on any savings, is to simply turn off your stand-by appliances. If in doubt, switch it off! That's the ClimateSmart Home Service motto.

If you believe that your energy monitor is faulty or not reading your electricity usage properly please contact the ClimateSmart Home Service on 133 600.

Generally, this means your batteries are flat. Your wireless power monitor and transmitter require 2 x AAA batteries or 3 x AA batteries in each (depending on the type of power monitor installed at your home). To change batteries, please remove the battery cover and insert batteries as labelled on the inside of the compartment for each device.

If you require further assistance please contact the ClimateSmart Home Service on 133 600.

DO NOT remove the sensor on the transmitter. Simply remove the transmitter from the outside wall of your electricity meter box and replace the batteries as instructed on the back of the transmitter. Please be very careful when doing this and if you don't feel comfortable, please contact a licensed electrician to help. Safety comes first.

No. The warranty on your wireless power monitor and transmitter covers faults with the products, not the batteries.

It is easy to update the tariff in your wireless power monitor, your ClimateSmart Home Service Product Guide, provided to you at the time of you ClimateSmart Home Service, has clear step by step instructions on updating your electricity tariff rate. Please click on the image of your wireless power monitor below to download the correct information booklet to update your monitor's tariff rate.

Download Owl Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy2 Energy Monitor Product Guide

The aim of your power monitor alarm is to alert your household to the high amount of electricity that is consumed at a particular point in time. Your power monitor has a default alarm set to $2.00/hr or 12 kW, which is the recommended level of alarm for an average household. If you feel that the alert is set either too low or too high for your household, you can easily adjust it with the 'Setting the Alarm' instructions in your ClimateSmart Home Service Product Guide provided with your power monitor. You can find an electronic version of this guide by clicking on the image of your power monitor below

Download Owl Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy Energy Monitor Product Guide	Download Efergy2 Energy Monitor Product Guide

Most of the electricity used by Queensland households is used either in the morning, before work and school, or in the evening, around dinner time. If all ClimateSmart Home Service homes turn off everything unnecessarily left on when this alarm goes off, we together can help reduce the strain of this peak usage on electricity supply infrastructure.

Remember this is only an alarm to let you know when you have a lot of items using electricity at once. You should still monitor your daily usage to keep it below your Household Consumption Target (provided during your service and on My ClimateSmart Home) if you want to see savings on your next bill.

To be eligible for a service, your home must:

1. be separately metered for electricity
2. be located in Queensland
3. have an authorised and approved connection to the ENERGEX or Ergon Energy electricity grid* (but not be connected to Ergon Energy’s stand alone distribution networks in remote areas of Western and Northern Queensland); and
4. not have previously had a ClimateSmart Home Service carried out.

*Electricity in Queensland is supplied to most customers via an electricity distribution system, which connects the high voltage transmission system to individual premises. In most of Queensland, the Government Owned Corporations ENERGEX and Ergon Energy are responsible for the distribution of electricity. Generally it is only remote and rural areas which are not connected to the ENERGEX or Ergon Energy electricity grid.

Unfortunately, no. As this service is designed to reduce households’ demand on the energy grid, we can only service properties where power is connected. However, we will provide a service to a vacant property where the power is still connected.

Unfortunately, no. In accordance with the terms and conditions, we can only service properties that are separately metered and billed, as the wireless energy monitor we install can only be fitted to electrical wiring for individual premises. This also applies to caravan parks and any other dwellings where residents do not have their own meter.

Absolutely. All you require is your property owner’s permission and we leave it up to you to consult with them. Once you have this, you can ring up and book the service for yourself. Please contact our call centre for more information on 133 600.

Residents in South East Queensland and most residents (based on postcode due to the broad geographical areas of some regions) within the major population centres of Cairns, Mackay, Mt Isa city, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville will have access to the service six days per week (Monday to Saturday) between 7am and 7pm.

A special regional service team will visit rural and regional parts of the state and will reach most rural and regional communities within the serviced area at least four times during the lifetime of the program, or once every six months. For more information on when we’re coming to your area call 133 600.

Residents in South East Queensland and most residents (based on postcode due to the broad geographical areas of some regions) within the major population centres of Cairns, Mackay, Mt Isa city, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and Townsville will have access to the service six days per week (Monday to Saturday) between 7am and 7pm.

A special regional service team will visit rural and regional parts of the State and will reach most communities within the serviced area at least four times during the lifetime of the program, or once every six months. We will have a fixed date for these areas and for more information on when we’re coming to your area call 133 600.

Yes you can. Simply call 133 600, indicate that you wish to make a multiple booking and we can take you through the process. Residential dwellings that have not previously had the service are eligible as long as they are separately metered, connected to the Ergon or Energex electricity grid, and located in Queensland.

Unfortunately, no. The ClimateSmart Home Service is developed for residential properties only, so common areas of the complex are not included.

The details provided on the 'My ClimateSmart Home' website as well as your customised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan, explain any energy saving opportunities that remained in your home after the ClimateSmart Home Service. If you have done everything listed here, congratulations! But why not keep going? Check out the Queensland Government's Low Carbon Diet 30 day program to see what other simple changes you can make to your everyday actions to further reduce your carbon footprint.

The greatest energy saving action that you can now take, is to help your friends and family be as ClimateSmart as you. The ClimateSmart Home Service is helping CSIRO identify homes like yours throughout Queensland to help share your knowledge and experiences with the community. Join the EnergyMark program delivered by CSIRO to help your friends and family to be more ClimateSmart. For more information on the Low Carbon Diet and the EnergyMark program visit My ClimateSmart Home.

A service like this would normally cost you over $450, so the savings start right away. And they’ll continue with reduced ongoing energy and water bills — up to $325 a year!

Taking advantage of the ClimateSmart Home Service won't just save you money; it will save you, and Queenslanders, so much more by reducing your carbon footprint.

If your home undertakes a full service you can save a total of up to 20.4 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. This equates to taking four cars off the road for a year.

An element of the service is about supporting you to make certain changes to your energy use around the home. So the total emissions saved will depend, to some extent, on how you adjust your usage habits. Likewise you may not require all 15 CFLs or may already have a water efficient showerhead.

Now that you’ve had your service you’ll be mailed your Energy and Water Efficiency Plan, which is customised for your home. The best thing you can do to reduce your carbon footprint is to start working through your plan, one step at a time.

This plan has been designed to ensure you can continue to save energy and water into the future. It gives you more than just tips; it guides you step-by-step on how to make savings a reality in your home, according to the most impactful changes you can make.

When you get your plan you’ll also get access to an online resource called My ClimateSmart Home. This online resource allows you to add to your plan, track your household’s energy consumption and provides other useful energy and water efficiency information for your home.

Another way you can help Queensland reduce its carbon footprint is to recommend the service to friends and family. Getting more homes into a ClimateSmart Home Service means that they too will receive the energy-saving technology like you, as well as their ClimateSmart Home plan to make even greater savings. You can send an email to friends and family here

You can also take further action by participating in the Queensland Government’s low carbon diet.

GreenPower is purchased on your behalf from renewable energy sources including mini-hydro, biomass and wind power. Electricity for our homes is the largest single contributor to Australia's greenhouse gas emissions. If everyone switched to 100% GreenPower today, these emissions would be halved. By purchasing renewable energy you not only help combat climate change but future energy bills too.

Switching to 100% GreenPower is promoted within the ClimateSmart Home Service and is the action which will have the highest impact on reducing your household's greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information about climate change and greenhouse gas emissions affecting our environment, please visit the
Queensland Government’s Office of Climate Change website.

Electrical energy consumption is measured in kilowatt-hours (kWh) and depends on both the power of the appliance, watts (W), and the time for which it is used in hours (h). For example, a 1000W appliance turned on for one hour uses 1000Wh = 1kWh.

The energy usage and savings figures found in your personalised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan are partly calculated based on the information you provided during your ClimateSmart Home Service. We combine these figures with the latest research available on how Queensland homes use electricity to accurately look at your energy use and potential savings.

The Plan Calculation Notes document provides you with additional explanation regarding how your plan's savings were calculated. If you have any questions regarding your service or your personalised Energy and Water Efficiency Plan please contact the ClimateSmart Home Service on 133 600.