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Home energy efficiency: Blockheads Josh & Jenna’s tips

December 16, 2019 Leave a Comment

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There’s no doubt that home energy efficiency is top of mind for many Aussies; rising energy prices, increasing demand for non-renewable energy and environmental concerns are all contributing factors. We caught up with home reno experts, and HPM ambassadors, Josh and Jenna Densten who shared their top five energy efficiency tips to help reduce your household expenses.

Josh & Jenna with their daughter
Josh & Jenna with their daughter

“Aside from the obvious installation of solar panels and water tanks, many everyday Aussies are lost when it comes to making smarter energy savings choices. We believe having a more mindful and energy efficient home is increasingly important, not only because it will help increase the home’s value but investing in the right products upfront will help you save money in the long-term,” says Josh Densten.

Whether you’re a new homeowner required to have a six-star energy efficiency rating or a current homeowner or renter, there are several features that can be applied around the house and garden to minimise your carbon footprint.

Switch to LED lights
On average, lighting in Australian homes consumes 8-15 per cent of the average household electricity budget, or about 6 per cent of its energy use. LED lights are a more energy efficient and eco-friendly option for lighting, and cheaper to run than halogen lights by 80 per cent. LED lights are very long-lasting compared to other lighting, with an average 30,000 hours life expectancy.

HPM downlightHPM use quality components to make their lights even more durable, meaning they are expected to last up to 20 years based on 3-4 hours usage per day. They even have a product (‘MR16 Retrofit Downlight’) that is compatible with many existing halogen transformers and can be easily retrofitted by you at home.

Smart switches
The ability to monitor and reduce our energy consumption is becoming increasingly available, with smart home switches and sockets. With HPM’s ‘Arteor with Netatmo,’ white good appliances and devices like the fridge, aircon, washing machine, dryer, lighting, pool pump, can be monitored through an app. This includes instantaneous power consumption, remote surveillance and control over various functions when the user is out and about.

While you can monitor the connected home in real-time with push notifications like “Home: Living Room light has been left on since 7.15am”, the app also allows for a more long-term analysis of the house or individual appliances.

HPM's 'Arteor with Netatmo' switch
HPM’s ‘Arteor with Netatmo’ switch in action

Cost-effective ceiling fans
In the summer, ceiling fans are a cost-effective alternative to cooling when compared to air-conditioning. In fact, ceiling fans can save you up to 30% on your cooling costs in the summer. On those sweltering summer days, ceiling fans can be used in conjunction with your aircon to help circulate the cool air faster, so there is no need to run it for as long.

During the cooler months, HPM ceiling fans have a ‘winter mode’ that will rotate the blade counter-clockwise at a lower speed. This gentle updraft will essentially help to push the warm air, which naturally rises to the ceiling, down along the walls to the floor to keep everyone in the family snug and comfortable.

Use timers
Remembering to turn off devices can be difficult when you have many other household chores to do. Timers are ideal for magically turning on and off devices like Christmas and garden lights, pool pumps, heaters, fans, heated towel rails and dryers. During those cooler months, timers are great for setting the heater to automatically switch off one hour after going to bed, and to switch on before you wake up!

Commando Generale

Save with sensors
Ideal for bathrooms, pantries, hallways, walk-in wardrobes, garages and around the sides of the house, sensors are a great energy saving light management solution.

The HPM ‘360° PIR Movement Sensor’ system automatically activates light when a doorway is opened or movement is detected, resulting in numerous hours of saved electricity when the area is not in use. By eliminating the possibility of lights being left on when not required, the system has an 80% energy saving rating overall when compared to conventional lighting. Furthermore, the sensors are easy to install, meaning you can do it yourself, saving time, money and the planet!

For more on the HPM range | Stylish lighting tips from The Block’s Josh & Jenna

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The patient has very much bounced back! Letterbox The patient has very much bounced back!

Letterbox kinder egg deliveries from a friend, dressing changes without a flinch and refusing to nap despite all the bribes (check the face on him in pic 3!).

Thanks for all your care and messages/comments for this tired and shaken up mama! Now very relieved and grateful 🙏
Before & after It's not just the award winning de Before & after

It's not just the award winning designer houses that get us excited here. It's also the beloved family homes which are renovated and extended to make them fit for purpose so people can continue to live where they love 🤗

@inspiredspacesaus helped her clients with teenage kids transform this house in Sydney's Hills District inside and out, making it their forever home. 

Due to the nature of the block they could only extend sideways and then gave it street appeal with render, new windows and doors.

See inside on the blog now, via link in bio. It was completely overhauled!
Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into Charlie doesn't recommend running head first into tiled steps 🤕

Oh what a night. Thankfully Hornsby Hospital were as amazing as always and we avoided stitches. All taped and glued  back together and now to keep him calm for the next few days (🤪) and watch for signs of concussion. 

Bravest little patient ever. Yes I've had a 🍷

Funny how we go into super organised mama mode in times like these. Grabbed dinosaurs, textas and scrapbook on the way out in case we had a long wait!

UPDATE: thanks for all the love! Charlie is so well this morning after a big sleep!
Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressi Australian made bathroomware is seriously impressive!

The new @studio.xox ONLY sells Australian brands. Like @nood_co coloured basins, lead-free eco brass from @faucetstrommen and @lindseywherrett's  ceramic basins made by hand in Tassie.

And as for their Sydney showroom (they also sell online): WOW.

See and read more on the blog now via link in bio.

#interiorsaddict #theinteriorsaddict #jenbishop
#creatingbeautifulspaces #homestylingdesign
#designbywomen #homestylingtips #sydneycreatives
#homestylingsydney #interiorstyling #interiordesignsydney
#everydaydesign #interiortrends #renovationinspiration
#homedesigninspo #lovemyhome #stylingdetails
#loveinteriors #homeimprovements #interiordesignaustralia
#dreamhomeinspiration #homemakeover #personaldesign
#interiordesignaus #creatingbeautifulspaces
#creativehomes #housestyling #sydneyhomes
#interiorinspiration #myhomedesign
I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new I'm THRILLED to be an ambassador for the brand new @madeinaustshow in Sydney this August.

🦘🐨Forget every tacky association you ever had about touristy Australian made and prepare to see a showcase of the best of home, lifestyle, fashion and beauty made right here. If the pandemic has made you appreciate buying local even more, this is for you.

It's the first business to business trade event connecting retailers with Australian made products to champion our local makers🙏

Apply to exhibit or find out more at their website, via their bio, now!

Are YOU buying more Australian made post covid?

#madeinaustralia #australianmade #aussiemade #aussiedesign
Do I recommend a timber vanity top? A big fat NOP Do I recommend a timber vanity top?

A big fat NOPE! 💧 

Which is why we have recently covered ours with a Caesarstone top (thanks to @justinplace_sydney for the advice and supply) and the sweet RELIEF of not having to worry about this high traffic area anymore, I'm telling you!🤗

Doesn't matter what they tell you or how many times it's sealed, I'm not sure it's a great idea in a room which is so, well, wet!

I love having the warmth of timber in the bathroom and it's a beautiful piece, but timber on the top? Never again.

Ours probably lasted a year (if that) before it started to go downhill (and we want a good decade out of a bathroom, right?!). 2.5 years on, everything else in this bathroom looks virtually brand new and the water marked vanity top was really letting the side down and making me sad!

But I'm so pleased with this solution, I have to say! Took the plumber less than an hour to remove the sink, install the top and connect the sink back up. We didn't need to move the tap and it isn't too close to the basin.

The kids are allowed to brush their teeth and wash their hands (liquid soap 🥴) in here again and I can leave my hair straightener on there with gay abandon 😆

The reflective surface (which I can clean with whatever I like!💪🏻) brightens the room up too!

Next week I'll tell you what I really think of my brass tile trim too 😉

#interiorsaddictbathroomreno2 #interiorsaddictfamilyhomereno #timbervanity
Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than F Is there a more decadent and delicious soup than French onion?

I think not!

Grab the recipe on the blog this morning via link in bio.
Get to know me! I haven't done one of these in YE Get to know me!

I haven't done one of these in YEARS so there's possibly thousands of you who don't know my back story. Here's a few things you may not know about me!

✔️ I'm English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and I moved here (just for one year) back in 2008😆 

✔️ I can't end the day without a bath, even if I get home really late or on a really hot day. It's a mental health thing and my happy place. 🛁 

✔️ Before becoming a blogger and running my own small business, I was a journalist from the age of 18. My favourite news gathering times were as a newspaper crime reporter (bit different to interiors!) 📓 

✔️ I once worked at New Scotland Yard in London 🚔 

✔️I had an interview at Oxford (didn't get in!) but chose not to go to uni at all after being offered a job on the local paper #universityoflife 😁

✔️ My mum died when I was 3, I have an excellent dad and one sister (younger) in the UK ❤️ 🇬🇧 

✔️ At school, my favourite subject was French 🇫🇷 and I was head girl 🤓🤓

✔️ I'm addicted to ☕️ , long hot baths and💄 (been wearing it since I was about 14!)

✔️ I'm not a phonecall person and will never ever pick up an unknown number. Ever. They can leave a message 😁

✔️ My favourite cuisine is Japanese 🍣 🍜 and Damian and I honeymooned in Tokyo and Venice 

✔️ I have zero design qualifications. I just started blogging about my passion, which is trying to persuade everyone to #heartyourhome That was 11 years ago...

✔️ My favourite tipple is a good GnT or🍷 

✔️ Cheesy as it sounds, 💁‍♀️being a mum is my absolute biggest joy in life 🧒👦

✔️ I will never give up my old school paper diary! Has to be A5 and week to view 📖 

✔️ My official surname isn't Bishop. I kept my maiden name for work after I got married but changed it for everything else. Often confuse myself!

✔️ I didn't get my Ps until I was 37 and I'm still a terrible parker 😯 🅿️

Hope you feel like you know me a bit better 😘

📸 @vanlowvanlow
Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 @nood_co coloured con Blue, green or lilac? 🎨 

@nood_co coloured concrete basins is a great Aussie business success story. Although co founder Matt Di Costa first found fame as one half of Matt and Kim on The Block, he hasn't relied on this to build his brand.

“We are very honoured to have been a part of The Block, and all they have done for us. I am, however, a believer in letting the product take centre stage,” he says.

Read our interview with Matt via link in bio now.

🙏Share your favourite colour basin in the comments!

#colouredconcrete #noodco #colouredbasin #blockheads #the block #bathroomtrends2022

Pic 1 by @naibudesign_ and 2 by @twostyleinteriors
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Amy Collins Walker

About Amy Collins Walker

Amy is our regular feature writer, an experienced journalist and interior stylist living in Perth, Western Australia. Find out more about her styling work at http://www.amycollinswalker.com/

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