Analysis of 5,500 apartment developments reveals your new home may not be as energy efficient as you think
May 12, 2022
Michael Ambrose, CSIRO Apartment living is booming in Australia. Many people choose apartments for their good energy efficiency, which reduces the need for heating and cooling and leads to lower power bills. But not every apartment is as energy efficient as the development advertises. All proposed new dwellings, including apartments, require an energy rating certificate. […]
Tents to Castles: Building energy efficient, cost saving Aussie homes
April 21, 2022
The Climate Council’s new report Tents to Castles: Building energy efficient, cost saving Aussie homes has found living in a 7-Star, all-electric house in any capital city in Australia would save occupants on average $450 per year on heating and cooling costs compared to the current building standard of 6-Stars. Low energy efficiency standards have […]
One million energy rating certificates on Australian Housing Data portal
December 1, 2021
By Kate Cranney The Australian Housing Data portal has now collected one million energy rating certificates from Australian homes, giving researchers, regulators, and industry associations an unprecedented snapshot of the energy efficiency of the nation’s housing stock. How do we know whether new homes in Australia are becoming more energy efficient? Every new home in […]
Updated Your Home guide now available
November 12, 2021
The latest edition of Your Home – Australia’s guide to environmentally sustainable homes – is out now! Your Home is Australia’s most comprehensive guide on how to achieve a more energy efficient and comfortable home with lower energy bills. Your Home is the result of a 20-year partnership between the Australian Government and the building, […]
COP26: cities create over 70% of energy-related emissions. Here’s what must change
November 12, 2021
Anna Hurlimann, The University of Melbourne; Georgia Warren-Myers, The University of Melbourne, and Judy Bush, The University of Melbourne Cities are responsible for 71-76% of energy-related CO₂ emissions. Today, the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow will convene to discuss this urgent global problem. Carbon emissions in cities are generated through activities including the construction […]
Better building standards are good for the climate, your health, and your wallet. Here’s what the National Construction Code could do better
October 4, 2021
Trivess Moore, RMIT University; Alan Pears, RMIT University; Erika Bartak, The University of Melbourne, and Nicola Willand, RMIT University The recent IPCC report highlighted we must urgently transition to a low carbon future. One low hanging fruit is to improve the sustainability of new and existing housing. Minimum performance and quality requirements for new housing […]
The science of talking about sustainability
September 29, 2021
https://player.vimeo.com/video/615646040?h=fd03d6c9d6&title=0&byline=0&portrait=0 The science of talking about sustainability from CSIRO on Vimeo. Video Transcript: csiro.au/CorporateAffairs/Vimeo/The-science-of-talking-about-sustainability/video-transcript What comes first, the zero carbon housing product, or consumer demand? Builders often say that there is no mainstream demand for sustainable housing, but if you ask consumers, they will tell you there isn’t enough product on the market to choose from. […]
What is dust? And where does it all come from?
September 28, 2021
Mark Patrick Taylor, Macquarie University; Cynthia Faye Isley, Macquarie University; Kara Fry, Macquarie University, and Max M Gillings, Macquarie University Everything in our homes gathers dust. But what exactly is it? Where does it come from, and why does it keep coming back? Is it from outside? Is it fibres from our clothes and cells […]
Conference and Webcasts
September 19, 2021
In light of our 2020 ARER Conference postponement, CSIRO’s Australian Housing Data team remained committed to providing you, our community, with cutting-edge tools, trends, and the most up-to-date research. Last year we launched the AER Webcast and we have since run 7 Webcasts on various topics- enabling over 1500 people to hear from and engage […]
Cluster Update
September 19, 2021
Anthony Wright Even without COVID it’s been a big six months in the Building Simulation, Assessment and Communication Cluster here at CSIRO. We’ve met one of our major milestones and delivered our cloud version of the tool AccuRate Enterprise in beta version. Stay tuned for your free license if you’re already an AccuRate user. The […]