A day in the life of an energy advisor - Lynn Brady

So, a day in the life of an energy advisor – a bit of history first!

I’ve been an energy advisor for 13 years starting off as a volunteer. This has been a passion of mine, I suppose probably because I hate making people pay for things they don’t have to, and I’m a passionate environmentalist. Nowadays, I find I do client appointments, visits and collaborate on events, presentations and workshops. I believe that education is key to exploring the impacts of behaviour changes within the home and being aware is prominent.

I have found throughout the years that when giving a presentation or workshop the best way to get my point across is to use props rather than to just read out slides from a projector. Props allow me to engage with the audience directly, letting them interject with their concerns and guiding me with which direction they need me to concentrate my advice and resources on. Of course, there is a need to ensure that every topic gets covered, so there is a presentation, but by having extra props it is a good way to meet the specific needs of clients, without scrimping on any other resources available. I had one presentation recently where one area had problems with their smart meters, and we were able to spend time discussing this. In another rural location the audience focused on ‘off grid’ fuel sources. It can be so varied!

In a day generally, I can do 2 presentations/workshops, while events tend to be a full day affair. This means every day is different but always very rewarding, especially due to the audience interactions I have! Its great getting asked questions about various aspects of the talks and presentations I provide, and great hearing different solutions to these problems that people come across too as it means there is a great pool of shared knowledge. Feedback is of course always useful for helping me plan future events and discussions, and I am always very grateful for it.