Sustainable Man is becoming overwhelmed with sales, with the end date of the solar rebate drawing ever closer. 

Lucky for our customers, we are offerring a Solar Price Guarantee before the 31st of March.

If you proceed with an order by the 31st of May and for any reason we can't install your system by the 30th of Fune due to weather or installer limitations, we will guarantee there won't be any changes to your quoted price - even if it has to be installed after the 30th of June! 

This means peace of mind for you that even though the STC rebate will reduce in it's value after 30th of June, we will cover the difference on your behalf, so there will be no extra costs to you if we can't install by the 30th of June.

We highly recommend you view the video below to see our team answer the most commonly asked questinos and get in touch with us today to start organising your solar power!

 The Quest Business Achiever Awards are up and running for 2012 - and Sustainable Man has been nominated for the third year in a row! 

We have won the Commercial and Home trades award for the past two years (2010 and 2011).

We would love you to show your support a third time around by voting for us here: http://www.questawards.com.au/region/southeast-advertiser/vote

Every vote counts - thank you!

 From the Clean Energy Council today: The Queensland Competition Authority (QCA) has released its estimates of the impacts of the carbon tax and RET on the average household energy bill. According to the Australian, the QCA says both policies combined will inflate power bills by 16.6 per cent in Queensland from July 1, costing the average household $5.50 a week.

 Thinking about buying solar power but unsure who to buy through? Make sure you consider more than just the price and the panels. Who you buy through can make a big difference to your solar power system. Making sure they are a reputable company, and offer start to finish great service is very important (and dare we say, hrrmpphh, slightly lacking in our industry from some of our competitors!). 

Have a read through what our customers say about us (tab on our home page). We update these weekly and these are a great snapshot of what you as our customer thinks about us. 

Hearing all the great feedback reminds us why we come to work each day! 

The HOUSEHOLD rebate scheme for solar hot water systems has been abruptly axed by the Gillard government, prompting warnings it will cost clean energy manufacturing jobs.

 The latest round of electricity bills going out to QLD'ers are causing a bit of a "shock"! Prices keep rising and are in line with expected price rises of 32% between 2009 and 2012, according to the Australian Energy Market Commission. 

 Washing your clothes, hands, pets and hair with wild fruit might sound counterproductive, but there has recently been a rising trend in the use of soap nuts to wash clothing. Several cultures in Asia and North America have been onto this for centuries, and finally Australia is cottoning on.

Soap nuts are a part of the Lychee family. They’re actually berries that grow on trees, and are harvested in the wild then dried out to become usable soap nuts. They contain saponins which are a natural detergent, one that is highly effective at cleaning clothes.

  Recycling
Recycling is so easy to get into the habit of. I hear people say “what’s the point? One wrong thing gets in there and the whole lot’s contaminated!” That’s not the case in a city with access to sophisticated recycling facilities like Brisbane. Items are sorted and washed before being recycled into something new.

 Today we use multiple kinds of energy to fuel our lives. Non-renewable energy has been relied upon for hundreds of years in the form of coal and oil, and more recently, gas and nuclear power. As effective as these energy sources are, they still release a lot of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and they won’t be around forever. With that in mind, what can we use as an effective replacement to power our homes and transport?

Options for renewable energy sources include solar power, wind turbines, biomass fuels and hydrogen, among others.

  Spring has arrived, and soon summer will be upon us. As lovely as that summer sun is, it’s also incredibly damaging to our back yards. The hot sun accompanied by winds encourage evaporation, so our natural response to losing all that water is to reach for the tap and replace it, but water costs in South East Queensland are rising exponentially. Before you turn to the tap, consider how you could have prevented evaporation in your back yard and needing to use water there in the first place.

Eco Fatigue

Are you one of the many people who feel exhausted just looking at the word ‘green’? What about watching a car advertisement that talks about how ‘eco-friendly’ their seven-seater SUV is, or hearing how ‘pure and natural’ a can of pesticide spray is? Advertisement, cinema, news and everyday conversation has been infiltrated by the cry ‘green is good’. We’ve been assaulted by eco jargon and to avoid being overwhelmed we often let these marketing tools wash over us, ignoring the message.

If you live in Queensland, you’re probably aware of the continual waves of rebates flooding the media, influencing your home-improvement purchases since the mid 2000’s. It started with rebates on rain water tanks when the droughts were at their worst and then shifted towards insulation when we had hot and cold extremes. It started to go downhill from there, with every man with a tool kit declaring themselves a small business in the industry, and untrained men becoming victims of their own handy work when things weren’t done with professional detail. Now it’s all about solar power, and wary Queensland residents are becoming suspicious, if not weary of this eco-friendly rebate bombardment.

Despite this, you need to consider why these rebates were implemented at all. They’re there to help Queenslanders consider how they can make a difference in our environment’s future. Installing solar power and solar hot water reduces the burden a house places on the electricity grid, which means less electricity needs to be produced at large fossil-fuel powered plants. This has a roll on effect, meaning less fuel needs to be transported, reducing truck fuel usage and less coal needs to be mined. Because there is also minimal energy loss from point of production to point of consumption, solar power in the home is far more efficient, reliable and much more clean.

To prevent yourself from falling victim to admen’s weasel words, there are a few things you can check to make sure you’re buying your ‘green’ products from a company who actually practises what they preach. For solar power, make sure the company is listed on the Clean Energy Council’s website. Always read the fine print, and get a second opinion. Ensure the panels are from a reputable manufacturer who’s likely to be there in many years time, just in case. For solar hot water, choosing a reliable manufacturer is paramount. A brand like Solahart is Australian made, and has been around for decades with reliable results. When choosing products as simple as a household cleaner, check to see if its green claims are substantiated: is the bottle recyclable? Does it contain phosphates, which may cause algal blooms in waterways? Does it unnecessarily contain bleach?

Eco fatigue is a problem, but by knowing the difference between green claims and what’s really good for us, we can really make a difference.

Sustainable Man supports Fair Trade

Sustainable Man has officially been declared a Fair Trade workplace by the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand. We proudly support producers who are rewarded fairly for their efforts, including those participating in the Fair Trade program across the globe. We also support organic farming in Australia, choosing to stock organic tea, coffee, sugar and other food in our office. Being an organic supporter, we not only feel healthier, but we’re helping to keep our country’s soil as healthy as can be.

For more information on our sustainable office practices, check our green office page, as well as Fair Trade’s website.

The Global Bee Mystery

In recent years, bee populations have been mysteriously cut by a third every winter. Bees have been abandoning their hives, leaving their pupa behind to starve, with no dead bees near the hives to be found. This news may not be alarming to you now; however, what if you knew that bees were responsible for the survival of 90% of the Earth’s fruit and vegetable crops? Could you go without apples, plums, broccoli or onions?

Bees help pollinate crops globally, in fact, there are thousands of people who make a living travelling the country with their bee hives in tow to help pollinate crops each season. Farmers have known the importance of bees for hundreds of years, keeping hives on their properties to help pollinate their livelihood.

The reason for this mass disappearance of bees is a mystery to farmers and scientists alike. It’s been attributed to mites, fungus, Genetically Modified Crops, pesticides and other environmental factors, but none can be confirmed as a certain contributor to the deaths of bees.

Despite the negative prospects of a future without bees, there are things you can do to help. Planting flowers as well as a vegetable garden and fruit trees will provide bees with food and shelter. Attracting bees to your garden will make your vegetables and fruits healthier in the long term, and growing them will also help you financially as you won’t have to depend on supermarkets for your fresh produce as much.

You can also help by taking up beekeeping as a hobby in your own yard. It takes only a few hours each month during their active time of year, while producing 10 to 30kg of honey for your family.

For a less involved option, you can also choose to buy only organic fruit and vegetables, which are farmed in a way that won’t harm bees due to the lack of synthetic pesticides used.

To learn more about how you can help, visit www.vanishingbees.com or contact the Queensland Beekeeper’s Association through their website www.qbabees.org.au or say hi at this year’s Ekka show in Brisbane from August 11 to 20.

Burnside fully sustainable farm in Margaret River

Whilst attending the Solahart conference in Perth last week, Lachlan and Lisa visited a fully sustainable and organic farm down in Margaret River. Burnside products avocados, macadamia nuts, olive oil, salted capers, eggs and other produce as well as being self sufficient from their own orchards, vegetable gardens and animal stock. They also produce their own organic wine under a label called Three Boys. They have 4 cabins on the property constructed from either Limestone or rammed earth. They have solar hot water and a 5 kw solar power system, and rely on rainwater tank water only. It was a great experience and very inspiring!! See more about Burnside here:  http://burnsidebungalows.com.au/

Directors attend the Solahart National Conference in Perth

Lisa & Lachlan headed off to the bi-annual national Solahart conference in Perth last week.  Perth is the heart of where Solahart started their business back in 1953. They continue to manufacture their systems from a factory in Welshpool, which Lachlan and Lisa visited. The factory has just received a $5 million upgrade to a robotic line for their solar collector production! With a further $1.5 million spent on the research and development to get this new line up and running, this is the single biggest investment in the solar hot water market in Australia for a long time.

Director Lisa Laing in Perth

• 500 of Australia’s worst polluters will be charged for every tonne of carbon they pump into our atmosphere. This will force them to consider ways to reduce their emissions, and therefore their costs.
• It is NOT a tax on the people. Our cost of living has been estimated to increase by less than 0.7% per year. That’s $9 a week for a family earning around $100,000 a year. This is also due to those big polluters passing on costs to us.
• Over 1 million Australians won’t need to lodge a tax return due to tax-free threshold increases.
• Over 6 million Australians will get assistance from the government to cover the difference in living costs, either through tax cuts, benefits or direct payments. 4 million of those people will receive more than the difference in living costs from the government, so will be better off than they were before the tax.
• People earning up to $80,000 a year will receive a minimum of $300 in tax cuts in 2012.
• Using this tax, the Government aims to reduce pollution by 23% compared with 2000 levels by 2020, and 80% below 2000 levels by 2050.

• Get a Climate Smart assessment: $50 for $400 worth of energy saving gadgets and guidance from a licensed electrician.
• Switch to LED or CFL lighting. It uses about 20% of the power of a regular incandescent bulb, which means an 80% reduction in your lighting costs in your home. They also last for decades, so they soon pay for themselves.
• Install a Solar Power system in your home. If you get a system which actually suits the power consumption of your household, within months you could be receiving energy bills that you don’t need to pay, and even cheques from your power company paying you!
• Switch appliances off at the wall, including your TV and microwave. Standby power still consumes a lot of energy, and usually takes up about 10% of your power bill.
• If you use your dryer once a week, you can save around $55 a year by just using a clothes line instead. If it’s rainy, set up a drying space in your laundry, garage or bathroom if you have the room so you can still dry your clothes naturally, even on wet days.
• Install Solar Hot Water.  At the basic level, electric hot water heaters operate like a giant kettle; imagine how much energy it uses to heat up a few hundred litres of water every day whether you use all of the heated water or not!  By switching to solar hot water, you can heat your water using the power of the sun, potentially saving an average household around 25% of their power bill.  Because solar hot water units are known for their much longer life span compared to electric and gas systems, you can expect those savings to continue for two to three decades.  This also means you replace your water heater much less often, saving thousands!

Sustainable Man Provides Solar Hot Water for Consumers

From 1 July 2011, electricity prices will increase to 6.6% across Queensland with household budgets being forced to cut down on certain luxuries to afford energy costs.

Saving energy by turning off switches and layering your clothing to keep warm will help families and business owners who are feeling the burn, but the best alternative would be to switch your electric hot water heaters for a new solar hot water system.

How Sustainable Man can Help You Switch from Electric Hot Water to Solar Hot Water

Replacing your electric hot water systems with a solar alternative will significantly reduce your energy expenditure and lessen the impact of these power price rises.

Electric hot water heaters use around 25% of a household's energy. Using a solar water heater will reduce this type of consumption by up to 65-90% – money that could be better spent on transport/petrol and food. Furthermore, it will decrease a household's harmful CO² emissions.

From 2012, the Federal Government plans to phase out electric hot water heaters, which means households will need to install an environmentally-friendly alternative such as a solar water heater or heater pump. The Federal Government aims to assist in this by offering generous rebates to eligible home-owners who swap their electric water heater for a solar hot water system.

These incentives won't be around forever so call Sustainable Man today to get an obligation-free quote on a Solahart hot water system and start saving on your energy bills.

Queensland's Love Affair with Solar

A statement released by the Queensland Government Department of Energy today has let it be known that Queenslanders love solar.

In April 2011, the Queensland Government set a target to double the state’s solar power installed in homes from 250 megawatts of installed solar capacity, to 500 megawatts over five years. Less than fifteen months later, residents of Queensland have reached that goal more than three years ahead of schedule.

The Minister for Energy and Water Utilities, Stephen Robertson, was extremely pleased. “Today, Queensland has a total of 500 megawatts of installed solar capacity. This represents approximately more than 230,000 household solar hot water systems and the equivalent of around 141,000 small scale (1.5 kilowatt) solar panel systems.”

He continued to state that together, Queenslanders are producing more power on their roofs using solar power than some of the state’s coal-fuelled power stations.

Over 100,000 Queenslanders have joined the solar power revolution, with another 20,500 or more residents applying for the Queensland Solar Hot Water Rebate Scheme. Queensland has a great climate for this technology, with our customers experiencing savings of over $800 on their energy bills a year, even with smaller scale systems, which is a testament to the benefits of changing over to solar power.

For more information on why moving to solar is the right choice for you, contact us online or call our office on (07) 3399 1513.

Source: http://statements.cabinet.qld.gov.au/MMS/StatementDisplaySingle.aspx?id=75737

See what Sustainable Man has to offer

The Truth About Queensland Solar Rebates

 Many people in Queensland are confused about the state of solar rebates since the beginning of the new financial year. There’s uncertainty about whether they’re still in place, are ending soon or have been cut dramatically. We can tell you with confidence that solar rebates in Queensland are safe for the time being and are as hot as ever.

In the lead up to July 1 this year, there was a massive surge in purchases of solar power and solar hot water. This wasn’t without cause; the threat of diminishing government rebates loomed on the horizon, with the Federal Government’s move towards cancelling the Renewable Energy Certificate scheme, or RECs. There was also the threat of the NSW government ending rebates for solar hot water and reducing the gross feed-in tariff for solar power owners from 60c per kilo Watt hour contributed to the grid to 20c.

The truth is, there has not been a better time to consider the switch to solar in Queensland.

The RECs rebate is increasing in value day by day, despite the 40% cut in value to them only weeks ago from the Government, thanks to increasing demand for them, and they’re at their highest value in months. In fact not only are those rebates looking healthy, but Sustainable Man, among other retailers, have reduced the prices of their solar power systems to compensate consumers for the ‘rebate price drop’. Our feed-in tariff rates for solar power are also one of the highest in the country, offering at least 44 cents per kilo Watt hour contributed to the power grid, with some electricity retailers offering up to 52 cents.

The Queensland State Government and the Federal Government are also still offering generous rebates to solar hot water buyers. In fact, the Federal Government recently changed the application process so you have twice as long to return your rebate claim for to them. For the average home owner upgrading from an electric hot water heater to a solar hot water system, you could be looking at up to $1600, or $2000 if you’re a pensioner, and that’s not including the extra RECs on top of that. At time or writing, the RECs value for a standard Solahart unit is $600.

So, with one of the best feed-in tariffs in the country at 44 cents or higher, and the possibility of $2100 or more in rebates available to solar hot water users, or over $3000 in rebates for solar power purchases, there’s never been a better time in Queensland to make the switch to solar.

For more information on how you can join hundreds of thousands of Queenslanders in making your home more sustainable, contact us online or by phone on (07) 3399 1513.

See what Sustainable Man has to offer

2011 QLD Telstra Business Awards Night

The Sustainable Man team were very proud to be present at the 2011 Queensland Telstra Business Awards. It was a wonderful evening at the Sofitel in Brisbane city, and while we didn't take home the gong, we were happy to have received recognition by such a prestigious award, and to witness the other inspirational finalists make their speeches and win their awards deservedly. Congratulations to everyone!

On the evening, we were recognised for our excellent customer service with the award of Queensland Finalist in MYOB Small Business Award, and our efforts towards a sustainable existance with the Queensland Finalist in Yellow Page's Social Responsibility Award.

Thank you to everyone who supported us, and I hope we can continue to help others in our journey to make Brisbane a more sustainable place.

Sustainable Man Home

Choose an Eco Pool Pump instead!

There are so many things in our homes that consume more electricity than you think they should. The 15 year old second fridge, all the devices on standby connected to your TV or that spotlight facing the back yard that gets triggered by moths flying by. But what about your pool pump?

It may not be obvious to some at first, but pool pumps are big contributors to a household’s power bill. If you’re with one of the big energy companies in Brisbane, you’re probably paying about 23 cents per kWh (that’s kilowatt hour). During warmer months when your pool is getting used a lot, you’d often need to run your pump for 8 hours a day to keep it clean, and in winter, probably 4 hours a day. If you have an average 1hp pool pump and a medium sized pool, you’re looking at a cost of $524.40 a year to run it. That’s an extra $131.10 per bill to deal with. If you have a 1.5hp pump, the figures are worse. In the same environment, it costs $752.40 to run the pump annually, or $188.10 per energy bill just to run your pool pump.

Given the fact that electricity prices in Queensland just increased by 6.6% today, that figure is set to get more frightening. So what can be done?

Eco pool pumps are a great way to solve a problem like this. While your current pool pump may only be a few years old and in working condition, it’s a drain on your bank account and the environment. By switching to a Viron P300 eco pool pump, you can reduce all of that dramatically. In the same operating environment, a Viron P300 only costs $63.98 a year to run. That’s a saving of up to six hundred and eighty-eight dollars and forty-two cents! It also prevents over 4.2 tonnes of CO2 emissions from being released into our atmosphere each year. That’s equal to taking one car off the road.

With figures like this, it makes sense to make the switch. Depending on your pool, you can save up to $700 a year by changing your pool pump to an eco-friendly one. If you would like a free quote on how to make this happen, call our office on (07) 3399 1513 today!

Comparison of running costs between a conventional pool pump and a Viron P300

See our eco pool pump range

Australian Electricity Prices Expected To Rise 30% By 2013

The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) estimates residential electricity prices are forecast to have increased by 30% on average in nominal terms nationally since last year to 2012-2013 - and it's again been made clear renewable energy will not be the major contributor.
     
While some in the media continue to focus on solar power being the culprit in skyrocketing electricity costs; it will only be a bit player according to projections from the AEMC. In fact, with home solar power being only one aspect of renewable energy technologies; the continued demonising of Australia's rooftop revolution would appear to be at best misinformed and at worst intentionally misleading.
      
Based on a national expected average of a 30% increase, statistics indicates renewable energy as a whole will contribute around 4.5% to additional electricity costs; an amount some may consider a small price to pay to kickstart a clean, renewable energy future for the nation and necessary to help repair the damage our decades of emissions intensive fossil-fuel based electricity generation has wrought.

The AEMC's Retail electricity price forecasts summary infosheet and full report.  http://www.aemc.gov.au/Market-Reviews/Completed/Future-Possible-Retail-Electricity-Price-Movements-1-July-2010-to-30-June-2013.html

[Source: Energy Matters]

See our Solar Power range here

A team who eats well, works well!

Once every week the team at Sustainable Man makes the time to share a lunch together. What began as an exercise in making new team members feel welcome has become a weekly ritual for the office staff. Each week, a theme is thought up for a lunch and each team member will contribute a plate to the meal, which strengthens intra-office communication and helps to maintain our office’s relaxed atmosphere.

Sustainable Man Home

Consumers Slash Spending as Power Price Hikes Hit Hard

New research shows consumers are preparing to tighten their belts and slash discretionary spending as electricity price increases of 6.6% come into force across Queensland from 1 July 2011.

A recent Newspoll survey of more than 1200 adults aged 18 to 64 found a massive 96% of participants feel that rising power bills will add pressure to the household budget with an overwhelming 87% of respondents indicating that they will cut down on eating out or ordering take-away just to afford energy costs.

Commissioned by Solahart, the survey also found that 79% of consumers will put the brakes on purchasing household items such as furniture or electrical goods, 76% will slash holiday spending and 73% will go without new clothes.

Essential items such as transport/petrol and groceries aren’t safe from the impact of mounting energy prices either, with 45% and 38% of respondents respectively admitting they will seriously contemplate curbing their spending on these basic goods.

Lachlan Laing from Sustainable Man said the dramatic hike in power prices from July 1 clearly has consumers scrambling for ways to cope as energy surges up the list of household burdens.

“These price rises will mean Queensland families will have to pay around $118 more on their electricity bills per year,” Lachlan said. “Saving energy by turning off switches, rugging up and moving to sustainable energy options will help families and business owners feeling the pressure, but it’s obvious the impact of these price rises will be wide ranging with spending on non-essential items about to take a big haircut.”

“The most effective way to cut your energy expenditure and lessen the impact of these power price rises is to become more energy efficient and often the best way to do that is to replace your electric water heater with a solar alternative,” Lachlan said.

“Electric water heaters account for around 25% of a household’s energy use and switching to a solar water heater will reduce water heating energy consumption by up to 65-90%. This will not only decrease your household’s harmful CO² emissions but can also lower your power bills.

“From 2012, the Federal Government plans to phase out electric water heaters which means households needing to replace an electric hot water system will be required to install an environmentally friendly alternative such as a solar water heater or heat pump, making now the perfect time to go solar.”

The Federal Government is currently offering generous rebates to eligible home-owners who swap their electric water heater for a solar hot water system, however these incentives won’t be around forever so consumers are advised to get in quick.

Call us today to get an obligation free quote on a Solahart.

BP Solar

Sustainable Man is proud to sell BP Solar.  This month BP Solar received the new VDE certification at Intersolar in Munich. VDE is one of the largest technical and scientific associations in Europe and together with the German Fraunhofer Institute has developed a new quality level for testing and certification of PV modules, going well beyond existing standards. BP Solar is among the first PV companies receiving the VDE Quality Tested certificate.

see our BP Solar offering here

Sustainable Man announced Finalist in 2 Telstra Business Award categories!!!

We are so pleased to announce that we have made the finalist list for the 2011 Telstra Business Awards in 2 different categories – the MYOB Small Business Award and the Yellow Pages Social Responsibility Award.  We will find out at the gala ceremony in Brisbane on the 12^th July if we are lucky enough to win either (or both!) of these categories!

For more information please click here:

http://www.telstrabusinessawards.com/news/best-queensland-businesses-put-customers-first-230.aspx

Sustainable Man Home

Family rally to support climate change action

GetUp! are holding a family rally on Saturday 5 June at 1pm at Brisbane Riverstage. The next 3 weeks are crucial in the battle for climate change. All eyes are on the media at the moment and this is your way of showing you care about what happens. Join in to show the policy makers that Australians are worried about the future if better action isn’t taken. For more information seehttp://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/climate-action-now/nda-brisbane/national-day-of-action-brisbane.

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man launches LDK Solar Panels

We are pleased to announce we are now selling the LDK solar power panels. These are a budget solar panel produced in China by the worlds largest vertically integrated manufacturer. In fact LDK have been manufacturing the silicon, ingots and wafers for other solar panel manufacturers like Suntech and Hyundai for years. They are listed in the NASDAQ with a market cap of over $1.7 billion! Sustainable Man is pairing LDK panels with both Samil and SMA inverters to suit all budgets.

Clean Energy Council speaks out about changes in the solar power rebates

Sustainable Man Solar Power

Shortlisted!

We're pleased to announce that we have been shortlisted for the Telstra Business Awards 2011 in two categories. We'll let you know how we go!

Sustainable Man Home

Vote for us!!

We have been nominated in 2 awards which are currently running; the Telstra Business Awards and the Quest Business Achiever Awards. Click on the following links and vote for us:

Telstra Business Awards – for the peoples choice award: http://tinyurl.com/3r7bowq

Quest Business Achievers Award – Commercial and Home Trades category: http://www.questawards.com.au/region/southeast-advertiser/vote

Every vote counts – thanks for your help!

Sustainable Man Home

Telstra Business Awards 2011

Thanks to our happy customers we have been nominated in the Telstra Business Awards 2011!! We look forward to submitting our application for the Small Business Award category and crossing our fingers that we may be recognized!

Sustainable Man Home

Brisbane Home Show

Another successful Brisbane Home Show! Thanks to our team for a big 9 day home show stand.  We met with lots of past, current and future customers.  This year we had even better deals on solar power and pool pumps so give us a call if you are looking for a great deal.

miss us at the show, see our range here

First Solarhart Hot Water System

We installed our first Solahart solar power system this week! We are part of a national Solahart trial for Solahart solar power, in fact we are one of five dealers selected from around about 100 Australian dealers to trial this product. Solahart is number one in the solar hot water market and they are trialling solar power as a second product line.

BP Solar power system winner!

Congratulations to Geoff of Geebung who won our 1.4kw BP Solar power system in our prize draw at the Home Show! Valued at over $11,000, this is a great prize to win and Geoff and his family are suitably excited.

Very successful Home Show Stand Sept 2010

Thanks to all our past and new customers who visited us at the Courier Mail Home Show on 1 - 5 September. Our stand received a lot of attention and our staff all need a holiday now to recover from long days and lots of talking! Thanks team.

miss us at the show, see our range here

BP Solar power system free!

Come and see our newly rebranded look launched at the Brisbane Home Show, RNA showgrounds 1 - 5  September.

We will be giving away a 1.4kw BP Solar power system on our stand!!
Stand 319a, John Reid Pavilion.

Sustainable Man awarded Business Achievers Winner!

We are extremely pleased to announce that we were announced the winners out of 6 finalists last Friday night of the Quest Business Achievers Awards 2010.  We were nominated by our loyal customers, and underwent a business analysis and a mystery shopper before winning our category of Commercial and Home Trades.

Well done Sustainable Man team!!

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man at Morningside Festival again this year!

The theme this year was sustainable living and the threatening clouds couldn’t keep the crowds away!  A great day had by all. We love to support our local community.

miss us at the show, see our range here

New tanks installed at Lourdes Hill College, Hawthorne

Sustainable Man has just completed three new water tank sites at Lourdes Hill College. One of the tank sites was difficult and we had to crane the tanks over a building, float them across a pool and then install them next to the pool. Heres a photo of the crane bringing a tank over!

View our rainwater tanks

We are finalists in the Business Achievers Awards!

Thanks to all our customers who voted for us, we made it to the finals! Now
we have some judging and mystery shopping to wow before finding out if we
made it all the way.!

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man Supports Local School

Last Sunday we support local school Cannon Hill Anglican College by
sponsoring a stand and picnic rug at their Wetlands Festival. It was a
fantastic day and Sustainable Man was well supported by the CHAC community!

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man's New Solar Power Packages

Click here to view our New Solar Power Packages.

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man in Newspaper for Business Achiever Awards

26 May 2010, Quest South East Advertiser

Click here to download a copy of the article (.pdf)

Sustainable Man Home

Vote for Sustainable Man in the Quest Business Achiever Awards

Vote now for Sustainable Man in the Quest Business Achiever Awards for 2010.
Click here to vote for us: www.questawards.com.au

Sustainable Man Home

Launch of Low Carbon Diet program Thursday 13 May, 6pm
Sts Peter and Paul’s parish hall, Main Ave, Balmoral

The Morningside Tennis Centre has received State government funding to start a Low Carbon Diet Community Program, and is looking for local people to take part.

The funding will support the tennis centre to teach local families how they can reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint, by cutting their household carbon emissions by 2000 kilos.

1. Buy a bin from your local hardware shop, we suggest a 75 litre Willow Dome bin with lid. 
2. Remove the lid from the bin and place bin upside down.

Lachlan & Lisa climb Mt Warning, northern NSW on Sunday.

Climbing the mountain in the dark with torches and plenty of glow worms, to watch the sunrise. 5 hours and a 9 km round trip, was it worth it? Absolutely!! It's a hard climb but unreal when you get to the top and are on top of the world. Thank goodness we took our Solahart rain jackets up, they were very handy in the cool clouds at the top!

Some advice on “how to have an eco – friendly Christmas!

Sustainable Man Moves Premises!

This week we have moved from our shop at Seven Hills into a much bigger office with warehouse in Morningside! The whole team is very excited about our new (did we mention bigger?) office area. Our new address is 4/59 Riverside Place, Morningside.

Sustainable Man Home

Sustainable Man at Mt Gravatt Plaza this week!

We have a stand at Mt Gravatt Plaza this week so pop in and say hi! We are promoting our $300 Westfield shopping vouchers for Solahart sales this month. Thanks Angela for handing out lots and lots of lollypops!

Sustainable Man Home

Our wonderful Sales Assistant, Hollie, decided during our Melbourne Cup Celebrations this week to make a fascinator for our Office

Are you an urban greenie?

Are you an urban greenie?

Do you qualify as an Urban Greenie? Check your status below!

Do you shower with a bucket?
Do you have less that 4 minute showers?
Have you installed a rainwater tank?
Do you catch public transport more than you used to?
Do you Reduce, Reuse, Recycle ?
Do you pick up litter or make sure all rubbish ends up in the bin?
Do you have native plants in your garden, which may use less water than a traditional garden?
Have you swapped to energy saving globes and turn off lights when you leave the room?
Do you bucket out the kids baths onto the garden?
Have you purchased energy or water saving electrical appliances?

If you answered yes to a lot of these, you are officially an Urban Greenie and you’re on your way to saving the planet.

Want to learn how to become an urban greenie? Follow Sustainable Man’s blog!

Sustainable Man Home

Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to be dramatically cut with new research showing one in every two households in Queensland is considering making the switch to solar water heating over the next two years, probably due to a combination of the generous federal government rebate, the financial squeeze of rising electricity prices and concerns about the environment.

We all know that Brisbane is one of Australia’s most liveable cities but it is also the city that the sun shines very brightly on. A device known as the Cambell-Stokes Recorder has been measuring the daily sunshine of Australian cities for well over 2 decades.

The topic surrounding the cause of global warming is constantly debated in corporate and government circles, but there are also simple measures that homeowners can do to reduce their impact on the environment.

If anyone tells you that batts are the best, they’re wrong. After being in business long enough and researching the latest and greatest products, my pick is cellulose fibre as being the best ceiling insulation product on the market.

A customer came to me this week with a question about solar heating. I thought it was an excellent question – one for the R&D departments out there to invent.

Raise your hand if you’re guilty of belittling the tree huggers in days gone by. Shame on us for dismissing their concerns as quackery! These people were the visionaries and now we’re feeling mighty guilty and paying the price for ignorance.