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An energy or water audit is used to work out
which appliances are using the most electricity, natural gas or water
and suggest ways that usage can be reduced.
You can do your own using an on-line auditing tool from one of the websites in the Saving energy and Saving water sections.
You can get help over the phone from your energy or water company —
someone will ask you about your usage, do some calculations, and
suggest ways you can reduce your usage.
The most effective way of doing an energy or water audit is for someone
to come to your property. This is called a ‘field audit’. As well as
talking to you about how you’re using energy or water, or both, they
can look at the energy and water characteristics of the property and
make recommendations on that basis.
Energy retailers have to offer some kind of low cost or free energy
auditing — it's a requirement of the legislated provisions for hardship
policies — but they don’t all offer on-site (field) audits. The offer
of an on-site audit by an energy retailer is likely to arise from a
discussion between you and the retailer’s hardship team — when they’re
trying to help you work out an ongoing solution to your usage and
billing issues.
Onsite water audits are less available than energy audits, but Yarra
Valley Water offers free water audits to eligible customers who hold a
pension or concession card. This is known as the Smart Homes programme,
run in partnership with the Department of Human Services. See Yarra
Valley Water’s website for more information.
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