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The HEAT Pack contains equipment and instructions to help you understand your energy and water
use at home. By understanding where you use the most, you
can find ways to reduce it. Inside the Pack you will find; An energy meter,
an infra-red thermometer,a light meter, a thermometer and a water flow measuring cup.
The energy meter measures how much electricity an appliance uses when it is switched on or
using standby power. To use, simply plug the energy meter into
the power socket, then plug your appliance into the meter.
Turn on the power at the wall and on your appliance.
On the energy meter, hold down the RUN button until you see the message on the screen "clear
all data". Select YES. Press RUN again to start measuring.
To work out the cost, energy or greenhouse gas emissions of the appliance you are testing
when it is switched on, press the MENU button until you see the screen you want.
There are four lines of information; the top line shows the actual cost/energy used/emissions
created to run your appliance since you switched it on and started measuring. The second line
is the estimated cost/energy used/emissions created of your appliance per hour.The third
line shows the estimated cost/energy used/emissions created after three months, if you had your
appliance switched on all the time and the bottom line shows how much it cost/energy
used/emissions created if your appliance is on all year.
To work out the cost, energy or greenhouse gas emissions of the appliance you are testing
when it is switched off, turn your appliance off.
Hold down the run button until you see the message on the screen " clear all data". Select
YES. Press RUN again to start measuring.
This time you will see that the appliance is using a lot less energy and therefore costing
less and emitting less emissions because it is switched off.
BUT even switched off, the appliance uses a little bit of power. This is standby power,
and when left on all the time, can start to add up, particularly if you calculate it over
a year. Switching your power source off should save money, energy and greenhouse gas emissions.
By pointing it at walls and windows, you can measure the surface temperature and see if
you are losing or gaining heat - both of which can be fixed with gap sealing, insulation
or shade.
Let me show you. We point the thermometer at the window, and press the trigger. On the
screen we can see the temperature of the window.
Now point the thermometer at the wall, and compare temperatures.
In winter, the window is much cooler due to the low outdoor temperature. This shows that
it is less insulated than the wall and lets the cold into your room more easily.
If we close the curtains and measure the temperature, you will see that it is already a bit warmer,
making it cosier inside and our heater doesn't have to use so much energy to keep the room
warm.
In summer, you will find that the window is hotter than the wall as the high outdoor temperature
heats it up. Closing the indoor curtains will help keep the room cool, and external shades
stop the sun heating up the window directly, which can be very important on the north and
west facing sides of your home.
The infra red thermometer can also help you identify walls, ceilings and floors that may
need more insulation and areas, such as around windows and doors, which need gap sealing.
The light meter allows you to measure and compare light levels around your home. This
way you can find out if you can be using less artificial light to safely undertake your
daily activities.
Remove the light meter from its carry case and remove the flat cover to reveal the round
white circle.
Turn the dial to a setting of '2000'.
A number should now appear on the screen, telling you the lux rating of this area. Check
the rating against the table in the kit's instruction booklet to see if you could reduce
the amount of artificial light here by choosing a weaker strength bulb, or reducing the number
of bulbs in the area.
The speed and volume of water coming out of your taps can be adjusted if it is too high,
so that you don't waste water. The water flow measuring cup can help you decide.
Move cup handles so they are together and touching.
Turn the tap on to the regular flow that you would use to wash your hands.
Hold the cup under flowing water until it is overflowing out of the cup.
Keep the cup under the water flow and slowly move the handles of the cup away from each
other until the water remains level with the top of the cup. The cup is full but not overflowing.
Once the water level of the cup is remaining a stable level in the cup, you can turn the
tap off. Be careful not to move the handles in any way.
Read the numbers on the side of the cup to find out the flow rate of the tap. The numbers
on the cup stand for litres per minute.
If the flow rate of your tap is more than 9 litres per minute, an easy way to save water
is by installing a flow restrictor on the tap. This means that less water will fit through
the tap, preventing too much from being wasted.
We hope this helps you to find out how energy efficient your home is, saving you money and
helping the environment. The HEAT packs are available to borrow from Mill Park, Lalor
or Thomastown libraries.