Eco-Friendly Floorplans: Designing an Energy Efficient Home
Whilst all of our home designs meet energy-efficient standards, there is the opportunity when you build to further reduce your environmental footprint as well as your energy bills. Take a look at some recommendations to consider when building your home.
Smart use of space.
Smaller houses are inherently more efficient. They use less materials and require less energy to heat and cool. If you don’t want to sacrifice having a large, luxurious home, you can also consider using your space wisely by creating zones. By grouping areas of your home with similar uses – such as the bedrooms and theatre room, or the laundry and bathroom, you can more efficiently manage the temperature of your rooms. If you’re thinking of an open-plan, high-ceiling design, creative solutions like well-placed doors, room dividing screens and cross ventilation can reduce the amount of energy you use in your space.
Orientate your house for natural light and heat
When the weather varies dramatically, it’s important to consider the orientation of your house to maximise your coolness in summer and warmness in winter. The most ideal placement of your living areas is facing north, to soak up the winter sun. If you’re planning on having large windows, we recommend shading them well so that when summer hits, your house won’t heat up too much.
Champion local materials
Using local materials to build your new home will reduce the need for shipping as well as your carbon footprint. Aussie made and local materials we recommend considering are:
- Timber doors from Corinthian Doors
- Tiles and bath ware from Crosby Tiles
- Surfaces from Laminex covering high-pressure laminate, compact laminate, wet-area paneling, MDF, and raw particleboard
Smart building switches
There are always modern building selections you can make to continually reduce your footprint, add energy efficiency, and decrease the maintenance of your home. These include:
- Additional insulation, for the house and for areas such as skylights
- Solar hot water and solar power
- Rainwater tanks and greywater for toilets and laundries
- Water-saving taps and shower heads
- Low-energy lighting, such as LED lights
- Installing ceiling fans as well as air conditioning
