Building an Energy Efficient Home
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Building a new home or extending an existing home is an excellent opportunity to include energy efficient and environmentally sustainable design features.
To make your home more comfortable, environmentally friendly and significantly reduce your ongoing energy costs, there are a number of areas to consider with your builder when building or extending.
All new homes and extensions built in South Australia must meet minimum energy efficiency requirements. New homes must also meet additional requirements for efficient lighting and water heaters.
The council or a private certifier will assess the design of your new home or extension for compliance before you are given development approval and construction can begin.
For more information about the minimum energy efficiency requirements or to find a list of registered energy assessors, see the South Australia government’s energy efficiency requirements for new homes.
Some key areas to consider when building or extending are described below, but for more comprehensive information and practical tips on environmentally sustainable home design and construction including questions for your builder and a new home checklist, visit: Your Home
Energy efficiency considerations when building or extending a home
1. North facing living areas:
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2. Internal doors & rooms: |
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3. Thermal mass: |
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4. Insulate & draught proof: |
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5. Windows & shading: |
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6. Heating & cooling appliances: |
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7. Lighting: |
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8. Water heaters & other appliances: |
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Checks after building is completed
Once your building or extension is complete, use the first few months to check that the energy efficiency features of your home have been constructed correctly and are performing as expected. Check, where possible, that insulation is correctly in place after all the various trades have completed their work.
Also look out for unintended gaps in joints between different materials (such as walls, floors, doors, window frames and other fixtures). These can cause ‘air leaks’ that will reduce the energy efficiency of your home. The best way to check for these is to engage a specialist to use thermal imaging cameras, blower door testing equipment and other systems to check on the buildings overall thermal performance.
Discuss any problems you find with your builder, as your building contract is likely to have provisions for correcting defective workmanship.
More information and advice
For more information on energy efficient home design and appliances, visit: sa.gov.au - energy