Make Your New Home Resilient & Get Ready For Change! (November 2023)
A sustainable and resilient home means a future-ready home that stands the test of time; it‘s designed for a changing climate, has lower ongoing energy and water needs and therefore lower on-going costs.
In order to achieve this there are 3 important aspects to consider and choices you should make before you design, build, renovate and even prior to buying a home.
1. Make it Resilient
Your home can be optimized to resist impacts from our changing climate; making it withstand extreme weather, more liveable and able to last longer over time.
To enhance the longevity of your home you should:
A. Optimise your orientation and ventilation (particularly solar access to main living rooms) so it’s comfortable and healthy to live in all year round. When renovating or extending your existing home, you can re-zone your main living rooms to face North so that the best place in the house is where you live! Consider the sun and where it will be at the Peak of Winter (Winter Solstice) and the Peak of Summer (Summer Solstice),
B. Optimise the thermal performance of your building and choose better materials to increase the base-minimum energy efficiency standard from 6 Star NatHERS Energy Rating to 7 or 8 Star efficiencies. This helpful info brochure from NatHERS provides an overview of some considerations on how to get there!
Source: NatHERS. Nathers.com.au. Fact Sheets www.nathers.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets
C. Choose appropriate insulation levels to roof and walls (in Perth, a min total R-Value R4.1 for roof/ceiling (depending on roof colour), plus a min of R2.8 for external walls);
D. Choose to optimise window size and placement with high U-value and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient range (see NCC Energy Efficiency 3.12). The Window Energy Rating Scheme (WERS) is an industry initiative that rates the energy and energy-related performance of windows, skylights and glazed doors. WERS provides the system U-value and SHGC values as well as air infiltration and visible light transmittance. It also provides a star rating of glazing units according to their heating and cooling performance. It includes thousands of specific products from most manufacturers, listed according to the types of frame and glazing. For more information, visit www.wers.net for more information.
E. Allow more air movement and ventilation (i.e. choose fans) to help move air inside the home and flush out hot air;
F. Ensure air-tightness to reduce heat gain and loss in order to maintain comfortable internal temperature 18-26deg (ie plug up those gaps!).
2. Make it Positively Efficient+
Your new home can easily be fully electric with the choice of efficient appliances charged by renewable energy that also charges your electric car.
This means you should consider:
- An electric hot water system that suits the size of the home; a Heat Pump water heater with a Co-efficient of Performance (COP) of 4.0 and lower than 10 GWP Refrigerants is considered the most effective and affordable option today for most homes.
- Choosing an appropriate Solar PV system and size from a retailer who is registered with the Clean Energy Council and who works with a certified installer to ensure quality control and warranties.
- Battery storage capabilities that match your needs to ensure the benefits outweigh the cost. Keep in mind, future Bi-directional Electric Vehicles will enable you to discharge the EV battery energy back into your home at night.
- Taking control of your energy use through smart metering, automation, and monitoring. You can’t manage and optimize your energy use if you don’t measure it!
3. Go Native
You can choose water wise, native gardens that are strategically placed to effectively shade your building.
You can simply choose;
- evergreen and deciduous vegetation that can be positioned to shade your home in summer and allow full solar access in winter.
- native trees and vegetation that will result in less water used to maintain them and support local native birds and bees.
- drip reticulation systems to allow water to be delivered directly to plants through holes or outlets in the piping. Pipes in the reticulation system are buried to ensure that water is used effectively and efficiently, with little to no waste.
- participating in your local council Sustainable Verge Program to obtain free native plants or trees available for property owners in order to enhance street verges and build up tree canopy cover to reduce the heat island effect.
For more information and a friendly chat please reach out to:
Media contact: Chiara Pacifici (Author)
0419 953 079
info@communitywestre.com.au
*Infographics courtesy of Green Gurus thanks to Sid Thoo. Sid Thoo Architects.