Sustainable home upgrades for every budget
September 24, 2020
Article in The Guardian by Josh Byrne outlining simple actions that can be adopted in the retrofitting of your house or apartment to use less energy. Go to article
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 […]
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
Australia’s still building 4 in every 5 new houses to no more than the minimum energy standard
January 23, 2020
Australia’s still building 4 in every 5 new houses to no more than the minimum energy standard Trivess Moore, RMIT University; Michael Ambrose, CSIRO, and Stephen Berry, University of South Australia New housing in Australia must meet minimum energy performance requirements. We wondered how many buildings exceeded the minimum standard. What our analysis found is […]
Homes with higher energy ratings sell for more. Here’s how Australian owners could cash in
January 23, 2020
Homes with higher energy ratings sell for more. Here’s how Australian owners could cash in Daniel Daly, University of Wollongong Everybody wants an energy-efficient home. After all, an energy-efficient home is comfortable to live in, without large energy bills. These can be important factors for prospective home owners or renters. Our review of international research found […]