Walcha along with six other councils in our region will benefit from the installation of new energy efficient street lighting, under a project coordinated by Regional Development Australia-Northern Inland and funded by the Commonwealth Community Energy Efficiency Program.
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The objective is to replace around 4400 mercury vapour street lights with the latest LED technology, saving 930 MW hours of energy and in excess of $200,000 per annum in electricity costs.
Maintenance costs will also be reduced, due to the lower failure rate and longer life of LEDs.
Street lights in Walcha are expected to be completely changed by the end of June.
The project also employs an energy efficiency education officer Peter Stanley to work with local communities, local government and businesses to reduce energy use and costs.
Last week Mr Stanley was at the Walcha Community Hub to tell people about the project and suggest ways we can save energy and reduce our bills.
Two of the biggest tips he had for residents in private homes was to turn off electrical equipment at the wall when not in use, avoiding the costs of standby mode and not to over heat your homes when the weather gets cooler.
“Often just putting on a jumper is enough when the weather initially starts to get a bit cooler,” Mr Stanley said.
“It is surprising how much a few degrees in temperature on your heater’s thermostat can add to your power bill.”
