Tackling power bills head on

Above: Chris Lamont, CEO of Goodwin

By Keryn Curtis

Canberra’s largest aged care and retirement living provider has joined the vanguard of organisations embracing solar power and other environmental initiatives to reduce operating costs while reducing their carbon footprint.

Goodwin, which operates three sites in Canberra, has partnered with  Australia’s largest integrated renewable energy company, Solargain to install photovoltaic solar panel systems on some 230 villas at its Monash site. 

Goodwin has invested $500,000 in the project but expects the investment to pay off substantially in the future with big decreases in power bills.

Goodwin’s CEO, Chris Lamont, said the decision was taken jointly with residents of the independent living units at the site who had expressed concern about rising energy costs and their future ability to pay.

“We are seeing residents having double digit increases in their power bills and most of our residents are pensioners on fixed incomes,” said Mr Lamont.

“There seemed to be a narrow but definite opportunity to get in and make some changes so we bit the bullet.  We are conservatively estimating a $200 per quarter reduction in resident energy bills.  Some residents are already seeing these savings and we expect they will be extended to almost all our Monash residents as the roll-out is completed.”

The ACT Government also saw long-term financial and environmental benefits from the installation of renewable energy systems and has supported Goodwin with a $25,000 grant to install solar panels on the Monash Village clubhouse.  

“Goodwin with the assistance of the ACT Government is installing a 10Kw solar system,” said Chris Lamont.  

Above: The solar panel system on a villa at Goodwin’s Monash site

Goodwin’s commitment to the environment also includes capturing and reusing all of the water runoff from the Monash site, delivering six star energy efficiency ratings on new villas and highly effective solar orientation on all of the buildings at the Monash site.

Mr Lamont said it wasn’t possible to extend the initiative to all of Goodwin’s sites around Canberra  – and here he has a message for architects.

“We’ve done as much as we can at our Ainslie site but not all roof types are suitable or provide the efficiency needed for the for photovoltaic cells. The roof types at our Farrer site didn’t support solar panels at all,” he said.

“Architects need to be involved from the start to ensure the design supports energy efficient technology.  We got our six star energy rating for our Monash units because they have been designed with orientation to sun and light and thermal efficiency – using things like double glazing and using smart appliances.”

He also said there should be consideration of external maintenance issues too in order to keep costs down, such as choosing products that require less maintenance over their lifetime.

“It’s about going further using less resources and creating amenity that future residents will be able to take advantage of – whether it is a direct benefit to the individual unit holder – or to the organisation. Every bit counts.

Mr Lamont said it was important for all aged care and retirement living providers to be investigating new technologies and approaches to ensure services remain viable and affordable in the longer term.

“We should be mindful that we are not building just for today but for a resident base in ten years time. Where it is practical to achieve, [these alternatives] really should be considered because the benefits to residents are so great, especially in the context of the future cost of energy,” said Mr Lamont.

“We’re already seeing sizeable increases in electricity bills now so we need to get in before the carbon tax and start insulating people from future impacts.”