Energy Efficiency Professional – Sebastian Crangle
Need help making your home or rental more energy efficient?
Sebastian is a local expert passionate about supporting Northern Rivers residents. He began his working life as an archaeologist, with an Honours degree in Anthropology, before deviating into Disability Services with over 10 years’ experience as a Quality Assurance Manager.
His deep underlying passion for sustainability and renewable energy then compelled him to channel his skills and expertise towards making a difference for the planet – applying his aptitude for data analysis, assessment, auditing and process management.
He is an accredited home energy assessor with the National Scorecard program (Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning - Victoria) and has completed training with the Energy Efficiency Council in Commercial Energy Auditing to the Australian Standard.
He works as a consultant for some notable local organisations: The Australian Sustainability Institute (ASI - https://theasi.com.au/our-team/), Tweed Shire Council and Enova Community Energy. At Enova he started as a volunteer Energy Coach in 2017 and currently is their Head Energy Coach, coordinating their energy coach service - advising on energy efficiency for customers and the broader community. He has worked with Colin George (ASI) on commercial energy audits and water efficiency assessments (including Southern Cross University, NORCO).
He has volunteered with ZEB both as a stall volunteer and participant in our Fight for Planet A and Win! campaign and as a contributor to the Buildings Group.
Seb's main service offering to households is in the form of home energy evaluations - whereby he supports households to better understand their energy use and then reduce their energy consumption, and carbon emissions. In so doing, he appreciates that many households don't necessarily want to change their energy use behaviour or restrict the comforts and convenience in order to save energy. And so he can recommend improvements to a home that provide "set and forget" energy efficiency, and technological solutions.
A Residential Scorecard Assessment is particularly useful for these purposes because the tool factors in all of the home's current features to model which retrofits would have the biggest impact. It also provides the owner with a nationally recognised Scorecard Certificate, with ratings for overall efficiency, hot and cold comfort ratings and a breakdown on the energy use of fixed appliances.
Seb can then advise on improvements that will increase your home's rating - so you know where you stand but also for such purposes as selling or renting a property. Seb is also currently looking into using the Scorecard tool to calculate the carbon savings from energy efficiency retrofits. This has great potential for households/ councils / community organisations to account for the carbon abatement from their initiatives in improving the efficiency of existing housing stock.
There's some good videos explaining the Scorecard system, including: https://youtu.be/XMP3n5VUOCA. Seb can conduct an evaluation of your property with or without the Scorecard Assessment, depending on your goals/ needs.
As well as conducting home energy assessments, Seb provides a few other complementary services, including:
- draught-proofing (doors, windows and floorboards),
- insulation (ceiling and subfloor)
- solar panel cleaning (with safety gear and certifications from his solar work).
- customised advice on solar PV.
- including for homes that already have it - checking performance output and advising on ways to maximise utilisation of the power generated.
Seb has a website at www.homeenergyadvisor.com.au and posts informative blogs and case studies on the Facebook Group 'Energy Efficiency Homes', (https://www.facebook.com/groups/273146693657031).
Since 2021 Seb has been on the Board of ZEB, in the role of Board Secretary.
