LOCAL property builders are slowly buying in to the merits of future-proofing their new homes, with an increasing amount looking to implement cutting edge energy-saving design features.
With this Sunday being Sustainable House Day, the Sunraysia Institute of TAFE is having an open day for its Eco Demonstration House, a kind of model house of the future thanks to its nine-star energy rating.
The house is oriented to face true north to capitalise on the motions of the sun, is insulated like an eski through its reverse brick veneer and contains “smart features” such as censor lighting and remote-controlled electronic switches.
According to SuniTAFE environmental sustainability officer Lois Schmidt, who spends every working day in the house, living in a nine-star household has its health benefits as well as environmental and economic ones.
“We’re not recycling the air all the time and breathing germs in from other people, so I do reckon it’s much healthier for us,” Ms Schmidt said.
In reality, a nine-star energy rating is difficult to achieve, but developers across the region are increasingly considering paying a little bit extra to upgrade to an energy rating above the minimum six-star standard that currently applies to new properties in Victoria.
Eco House designer Brent McKnight said just in the last 12 months alone his Kerang-based firm, McKnight & Bray Building Design, has completed 17 houses with energy ratings of seven stars or more across the area — with the highest at 8.5.
Many more still were energy rated between six and seven stars.
For more on this sustainable story pick up a copy of today’s Guardian (Monday, September 7).
