The Victorian Energy Efficiency Target Act has been in effect since 2007, requiring energy retailers to purchase and surrender Victorian Energy Efficiency Certificates (VEECs) with each certificate representing a saving of 1 tonne of greenhouse gas through avoided energy use. Programs have been established to support the generation of VEECs, with the Victorian Energy Upgrades (VEU) program covering eligible products and services for households. In effect, households are able to procure eligible energy efficiency products and services at a discount, since the eligible providers are able to create and sell VEECs for eventual purchase by liable retailers.
Well-known activities in the past have been the replacement of older style lighting products, typically incandescent, halogen and compact fluorescent lights with light-emitting diode (LED) alternatives. This aspect of the program is no longer eligible for VEECs.
There are a number of eligible products that are available, and these are well worth implementing for both their environmental and energy cost benefits. These include replacing electric resistance and gas water heaters with electric boosted solar or heat pump water heaters, upgrading a range of inefficient appliances to higher efficiency models, upgrading or replacing heating systems, replacing or retrofitting windows to reduce heat loss, installing weather sealing and installing water efficient shower roses. More details of the program can be found at https://www.energy.vic.gov.au/for-households/victorian-energy-upgrades-for-households .
Other changes are planned for the VEU, particularly regarding Victoria’s gas substitution road map. According to The Age of 6 December 2023, “financial incentives to households wanting to alter or replace cook tops running on gas were a key aspect of the planning of the program”.
A valuable energy efficiency service that is also covered in the VEU program is getting a rebate on a Residential Efficiency Scorecard assessment. The Scorecard energy efficiency assessment tool is used nationally and provides a comprehensive guide to current household energy use and how to reduce this. What is a Scorecard assessment and how can it help me? (homescorecard.gov.au) The Scorecard assessment is a detailed analysis of a house and its energy use, including the efficiency of water heater and space heating appliances, thermal performance of windows (e.g. orientation, heat loss or gain), existing insulation, house construction and materials, lighting, existing solar power and any large energy-using loads.
Typical costs for an assessment are between $250 and $500, with rebates available through the VEU of $120 for customers in urban areas, as long as the assessor is accredited under the VEU program. Note that there will be a number of accredited assessors who are not currently registered under the VEU program. In this case rebates are not available, but the assessor is still able to provide a fully compliant assessment.
We will take a more detailed look at Scorecard assessments in a future article and look at other energy efficiency opportunities for households including how to do your own basic checks for energy saving.