The Age: Green homes and cheaper to run, cheaper to build  

Peter Hannam, environmental editor for The Age, has published an article highlighting the benefits of green living.

Citing research conducted on 414 households in Melbourne and Adelaide by the CSIRO, a number of home owners believe they are more energy efficient than they actually are.

Despite three-quarters of the home owners believing they were using energy efficient lighting, 81% were actually using energy sapping halogens. Almost one-third claimed they had double-glazed windows, more than twice the actual rate.

One resident even bemoaned to lackluster performance of their solar PV panels, only to be informed they actually had a solar hot water system installed.

Glen Platt, head of the CSIRO’s energy efficiency unit, said the research had some surprises but the biggest take away was the validation that green houses are most cost effective.

“We’ve known for a long time that more efficient houses cost less to run,” said Platt. “What we’ve seen in this report is that they’re cheaper to build and to run, and that’s fantastic news.”

Upgrading new homes from a four-star to a five-star rating left owners better off by $7,500 in Brisbane, $5,700 in Adelaide and $5,000 in Melbourne. Sydney, operating under its own rating system, but Dr Platt believes the findings to be applicable for all homes across the country.

Homes with a rating of five-star or higher were also 7 per cent lower in annual Greenhouse has emissions.

Building costs were lower for energy efficient housing because they tended to be rectangular rather than unconventional shapes. Designing homes with less windows on the south and east facing walls, and large windows on the north and west facing sides provided warm and light thus reducing heating and lighting costs.

Homes build since 2006 were required to meet a five-star energy rating, but in 2010 the requirement was lifted to six-stars. Along with other energy saving measures, this requires new homes to be fitted with either a water tank or a solar hot water system.

If, like the person in this survey, you don’t know a solar PV system from a solar hot water system never fear! Solar Sunwerx is only a phone-call away.