Deakin University and Yarra Ranges Council are partnering on a project focusing on reducing household energy use in the Yarra Ranges.
The Power to Save project will research how local families use energy, motivations to reduce power use and help the environment, and what barriers stand in their way.
Yarra Ranges Mayor, Jim Child, said the result of this research will help Council and other Local Governments understand how to better help families.
“There’s a lot of small things we can do as community members to reduce our power use, save some money and shrink our environmental footprint, but there are also a lot of hurdles that can stand in our way,” Cr Child said.
“We know that household energy use increases dramatically after children are first born, with families with teenagers using the most energy. There are many reasons for this, and this partnership with Deakin University will help us understand how people use power, how we can help them reduce power use and reduce emissions and energy bills for them along the way.
“Council will be holding focus groups for local families, where we’ll ask them a few questions about how they use power at home. This will inform research and the result will be a better understanding of how we can lend a hand through programs, subsidies or communications.”
Parents of children aged 0 to 18, who live in the Yarra Ranges, are eligible to join the focus groups.
The focus groups will be run at the following times –
Monbulk – Wednesday 6 September, from 5pm – 7pm
Healesville – Friday 8 September, from 12pm – 2pm
Yarra Junction – Wednesday 13 September, from 5pm – 7pm
Lilydale – Friday 15 September, from 10am – 12pm
To express interest in participating in the focus groups, please fill out the Expression of Interest on Shaping Yarra Ranges by 27 August.
