Energy ratings: From planning to finance
August 28, 2020
Energy Ratings are not only be used for National Construction Code compliance: Bank Australia has recently launched the nation’s first Clean Energy Home Loan. Partnering with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Bank Australia have offered up to a 0.5% discount over five years on homes built with a minimum 7-star NatHERS rating. The discount also […]
Building Simulation Assessment & Communication cluster update
August 28, 2020
Anthony Wright – Cluster Leader What a start to the year! When we sent out our last newsletter fires were raging across south eastern Australia and smoke circled the globe. Now I’m writing from my (uninsulated) study during one of the wettest winters I can remember. And there seems to be some sort of global […]
After the vicious cold snap, here are our tips to warm up while keeping your environmental footprint down
August 5, 2020
Peter Osman, CSIRO and Peta Ashworth, The University of Queensland Yesterday, Australia’s eastern states felt a vicious cold snap, and these wintry blasts make hunkering down in isolation at home a little easier. But as the temperature rises at home, so does our carbon footprint and energy bills. Heating and cooling often accounts for up […]
Renovation rescue: 6 ways to ensure HomeBuilder helps consumers, the climate and the economy
June 30, 2020
Peter M Graham, Monash University; John Thwaites, Monash University, and Michael Li, Monash University The federal government’s new HomeBuilder scheme offers eligible Australians money to renovate or build a home. While it’s attracted controversy, HomeBuilder does offer a much-needed opportunity to make old homes more energy-efficient. Research released in March showed the energy performance of […]
Why zero-carbon homes must lead the green recovery from COVID-19
June 23, 2020
Ranald Boydell, Heriot-Watt University Living in a house that doesn’t fully meet your needs might have been tolerable when you spent more of your time elsewhere, but a third of the world has been stuck indoors at one time during the pandemic. A lack of space, poor soundproofing, inadequate ventilation and no outdoor access, even […]
Spruiking the stars: some home builders are misleading consumers about energy ratings
May 8, 2020
Spruiking the stars: some home builders are misleading consumers about energy ratings Georgia Warren-Myers, University of Melbourne; Erika Bartak, University of Melbourne, and Lucy Cradduck, Queensland University of Technology Australia’s competitive volume housing construction sector is busy spruiking various upgrades and packages to sell the appealing notions of lifestyle and luxury on a budget. Along […]
MODERN GREEN HOMES
March 10, 2020
A short history of energy-efficient housing in Australia WORDS Anthony Wright Originally published in Sanctuary In 2010, working with industry partners, CSIRO designed and built Australia’s first zero-emission demonstration house in Doreen, Victoria: the Australian Zero Emission House (AusZEH) built by Henley Homes. The home rated 8 Stars and incorporated low energy appliances and a […]
New ceiling fans dashboard
February 18, 2020
We have added a new dashboard to the portal that looks at ceiling fans. The dashboard shows the distribution of the number of ceiling fans in a dwelling and is organised by NCC climate zone and also by State and Territory. Have a look here!
Home energy efficiency could be improved significantly through simple tweaks like roof colour
January 24, 2020
Link to article on ABC Radio Perth by Emma Wynne