So you’ve applied for an Energy Report in Victoria. And the result isn’t good: your proposal doesn’t meet the minimum 6-star standard required of all new houses built in Australia.
Getting a high rating for your new home isn’t a simple matter of choosing more energy-efficient appliances for your home - in many cases, the design of the house itself can also contribute to its energy consumption!
This is exactly what energy efficiency reports - the subject of another blog just a short while ago - focus on.
Rather than generating reports about what’s inside your house, they look at what it’s made of and how it’s built, and how these factors change the efficiency equation.
Of course, when we wrote that article, we focused on the Energy Reports themselves. This time though, we want to dive deeper into the types of design choices you can implement to reduce your consumption.
Why Energy Reports only focus on design features
Simple: appliances and fittings can change over the lifetime of your house - design features usually don’t!
You might upgrade to a more efficient tumble dryer after a couple of years, or swap out your fridge for a less energy-hungry model.
Not only that, but many requests for Energy Reports come from homebuyers, who are bringing their own appliances with them.
In short, it’s almost impossible to keep track of appliances within a house.
However, your house layout is static - once you’ve settled on a design and built it, it doesn’t change without a major remodel or renovation.
And that’s why energy efficiency reports focus on these features.
In particular, energy ratings focus on assessing the building’s thermal performance.
Energy reports in Victoria focus specifically on how design and construction choices change your internal temperature. The idea is that as the temperature rises or falls, you’ll rely more on heating and air conditioning to maintain your comfort.
And as we all know, heaters and air conditioning units can use up a lot of energy!
With the right choices in your house design however, you can reduce your reliance on these systems - and that in turn reduces your energy consumption.
Luckily,there are a range of different energy-efficient design choices you can work into your design to start saving power...
Not only that, but many requests for Energy Reports come from homebuyers, who are bringing their own appliances with them.
In short, it’s almost impossible to keep track of appliances within a house.
However, your house layout is static - once you’ve settled on a design and built it, it doesn’t change without a major remodel or renovation.
And that’s why energy efficiency reports focus on these features.
In particular, energy ratings focus on assessing the building’s thermal performance.
Energy reports in Victoria focus specifically on how design and construction choices change your internal temperature. The idea is that as the temperature rises or falls, you’ll rely more on heating and air conditioning to maintain your comfort.
And as we all know, heaters and air conditioning units can use up a lot of energy!
With the right choices in your house design however, you can reduce your reliance on these systems - and that in turn reduces your energy consumption.
Luckily,there are a range of different energy-efficient design choices you can work into your design to start saving power...
Materials
When talking about energy-efficient features within your home’s construction, you can’t ignore materials.
Different materials transfer heat differently. As a result, your choice of materials will directly affect how warm your house gets in the first place, as well as how well it retains that warmth.
Different materials transfer heat differently. As a result, your choice of materials will directly affect how warm your house gets in the first place, as well as how well it retains that warmth.
Roofing material
As the surface that gets the most sun throughout the day, it’s only natural that your roof will have a huge impact on your indoor temperature and the amount of energy you’ll spend maintaining a comfortable home.
In addition to roof insulation, it’s important that you choose a roofing material that reflects heat away.
Contrary to popular belief, metal is a surprisingly good performer in summer!
While it’s true that metal gets hot, it also reflects solar energy. That means that most of the energy that hits it during summer is actually reflected away, reducing your reliance on energy-hungry air conditioning (and resulting in a better energy efficiency report!)
Of course, roof material is only one part of the equation - there’s also the question of what insulation goes under your roof...
In addition to roof insulation, it’s important that you choose a roofing material that reflects heat away.
Contrary to popular belief, metal is a surprisingly good performer in summer!
While it’s true that metal gets hot, it also reflects solar energy. That means that most of the energy that hits it during summer is actually reflected away, reducing your reliance on energy-hungry air conditioning (and resulting in a better energy efficiency report!)
Of course, roof material is only one part of the equation - there’s also the question of what insulation goes under your roof...
Insulation
Our choice of insulation material directly affects how warm your home gets, and in turn, the amount of heating or cooling that you’ll have to use to stay comfortable.
The issue? There are hundreds of different insulation materials out there, each of which perform differently when summer comes around.
Not only that, but they also come in a range of different styles, all of which also perform differently:
- Batt
- Blankets
- Loose fibre
Each of these directly impacts how much heat is transferred into your home, as well as how much energy you’ll use to keep your home cool come summer.
Be sure to talk to your builder about your options when choosing insulation materials for your home.
The issue? There are hundreds of different insulation materials out there, each of which perform differently when summer comes around.
Not only that, but they also come in a range of different styles, all of which also perform differently:
- Batt
- Blankets
- Loose fibre
Each of these directly impacts how much heat is transferred into your home, as well as how much energy you’ll use to keep your home cool come summer.
Be sure to talk to your builder about your options when choosing insulation materials for your home.
House layout
House layout influences how much space you have. In addition to impacting your comfort, this has another side-effect: namely, it also influences how temperature is dissipated throughout your home.
Small rooms
When it comes to thermal and energy efficiency, small rooms have their upsides and their downsides.
Let’s start with the pros - the main one being that small rooms are faster to warm up or cool.
And that means:
- Your heater or air conditioning won’t need to be on as long
- You can use a smaller system
However, it also has a couple of cons - the main one being that during summer, these rooms get hot very quickly, requiring you to turn the A/C on earlier, and potentially for even longer to keep a cool temperature throughout the day.
When designing your house, it’s important to consider how large your rooms are going to be, as well as the implications this will have on your energy efficiency report.
Let’s start with the pros - the main one being that small rooms are faster to warm up or cool.
And that means:
- Your heater or air conditioning won’t need to be on as long
- You can use a smaller system
However, it also has a couple of cons - the main one being that during summer, these rooms get hot very quickly, requiring you to turn the A/C on earlier, and potentially for even longer to keep a cool temperature throughout the day.
When designing your house, it’s important to consider how large your rooms are going to be, as well as the implications this will have on your energy efficiency report.
Open-plan design
Of course, going for the complete opposite approach - that is to say, large, open-plan areas - comes with its own issues!
The thing with open-plan designs is that instead of several smaller rooms, you essentially have the one large area that needs heating or cooling.
And with a larger area, it takes longer for your heating or cooling to take effect. It needs to be on for longer to keep you comfortable - and that in turn means higher energy consumption.
Now, this isn’t to say that you can’t go for an open-plan home - however, it does mean that you may have to compensate for the increased energy used to heat or cool an open-plan design.
That can mean:
- Choosing better quality materials
- Opting for more effective insulation
- Reorienting your home
Some of the utilities identified in your DBYD report such as underground electrical wiring are dangerous, after all.
Luckily, once you know where these utilities are located, you can isolate and leave them for specialists to take care of, reducing the risk to the rest of your team.
The thing with open-plan designs is that instead of several smaller rooms, you essentially have the one large area that needs heating or cooling.
And with a larger area, it takes longer for your heating or cooling to take effect. It needs to be on for longer to keep you comfortable - and that in turn means higher energy consumption.
Now, this isn’t to say that you can’t go for an open-plan home - however, it does mean that you may have to compensate for the increased energy used to heat or cool an open-plan design.
That can mean:
- Choosing better quality materials
- Opting for more effective insulation
- Reorienting your home
Some of the utilities identified in your DBYD report such as underground electrical wiring are dangerous, after all.
Luckily, once you know where these utilities are located, you can isolate and leave them for specialists to take care of, reducing the risk to the rest of your team.
Orientation
Did you know? The direction your house faces will influence how warm it gets.
In particular, north-facing rooms are prone to getting hot very quickly in summer, as they’re being hit with more sun throughout the day.
And that in turn means more air conditioning and higher energy usage.
One way of compensating for this is by taking other measures to offset the effects that orientation can have on home temperature, such as by choosing a higher-performing insulation for north-facing rooms.
Another is to play with your house layout.
For example, it isn’t unheard of for builders to orient larger, more open spaces to the north. Since larger areas take longer to warm up, this can reduce the impact that orientation can have.
Another is to minimise the amount of windows in north-facing rooms in order to reduce the amount of solar heat that transfers into these rooms.
In particular, north-facing rooms are prone to getting hot very quickly in summer, as they’re being hit with more sun throughout the day.
And that in turn means more air conditioning and higher energy usage.
One way of compensating for this is by taking other measures to offset the effects that orientation can have on home temperature, such as by choosing a higher-performing insulation for north-facing rooms.
Another is to play with your house layout.
For example, it isn’t unheard of for builders to orient larger, more open spaces to the north. Since larger areas take longer to warm up, this can reduce the impact that orientation can have.
Another is to minimise the amount of windows in north-facing rooms in order to reduce the amount of solar heat that transfers into these rooms.
Extra features
While materials and layout are the focus of energy-efficiency reports, they aren’t the only ones - these reports also take into consideration extra features.
One of these is window shades.
While they aren’t as popular now, window shades and rollers can stop a lot of solar energy from entering your home in the first place, helping to keep the inside of your home cool - especially in the vulnerable, north-facing rooms of your home.
Using metal rollers in particular can reflect away a lot of the heat that would otherwise enter your house and drive up your energy bills.
One of these is window shades.
While they aren’t as popular now, window shades and rollers can stop a lot of solar energy from entering your home in the first place, helping to keep the inside of your home cool - especially in the vulnerable, north-facing rooms of your home.
Using metal rollers in particular can reflect away a lot of the heat that would otherwise enter your house and drive up your energy bills.
Get your Energy Report with PSI Global
You probably think getting your Energy Report is a long, arduous process - but with PSI, it isn’t!
Getting your energy report is a little different from other requests - however, our property information system can still help with it.
Send through the plans to us - we’ll get in touch with a qualified assessor to have it checked and provide communication between the two of you, making the process of getting recommendations easier and quicker than if you went off on your own.
And that’s on top of our other property information services like our automated document search, which helps take the work off your hands.
In just a few clicks, you’re on your way to getting all the information you need through PSI!
Get started now - begin your search with a street address, lot & plan, or crown allotment.
Have questions about our process? Give us a call on (03) 8527 6300 or click here to get in touch online.
Getting your energy report is a little different from other requests - however, our property information system can still help with it.
Send through the plans to us - we’ll get in touch with a qualified assessor to have it checked and provide communication between the two of you, making the process of getting recommendations easier and quicker than if you went off on your own.
And that’s on top of our other property information services like our automated document search, which helps take the work off your hands.
In just a few clicks, you’re on your way to getting all the information you need through PSI!
Get started now - begin your search with a street address, lot & plan, or crown allotment.
Have questions about our process? Give us a call on (03) 8527 6300 or click here to get in touch online.
The information in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. As with all things property, we strongly recommend consulting a professional to ensure that all stages of your building project (including the Title search) go smoothly.