TIPS FOR BUILDING A MORE SUSTAINABLE HOME
Green, Environmentally Friendly, Carbon Neutral, Energy Efficient
These are the buzzwords that every company and product are attaching themselves to as they want to be seen as sustainable. Most are doing it for the right reasons, others because they have either been forced to or it looks great from a marketing perspective, whilst some are just greenwashing and misleading the average person.
We constantly get asked by potential clients, current clients, and even friends "how can we build more sustainably?" It's a really hard question to answer because everyone has different needs and budgets. Sometimes it does require deep pockets and can be time-consuming as you can go as far as having a crack at the Living Building Challenge, which is one deep rabbit hole!
However, it doesn't need to be this way. We have identified 10 items that we will list over two blogs that you can implement in your build to ensure you are creating a home that has a positive environmental impact along with one that is healthy and comfortable.
Choose the right designer
Just like your house requires sound foundations to support the building, a home needs a great designer. It's the classic case of you pay for what you get, and in this case, from a builder's perspective, it does show. We see so many sets of plans that we lose track of them. Unfortunately, there is a huge gap between the great designers and even the good ones (we really could have a separate blog on this).
Look for designers and architects who don't just preach sustainable design, but implement it. Do they take on any job and put a few north-facing windows along with some shading and brand it 'passive solar'? Or are they passionate about it and have non-negotiables when it comes to being sustainable.
We recently engaged a designer to design our future home in Yarraville. We were quite specific in what we were after and wanted someone who could design us a Certified Passive House but also deliver an extremely sustainable home. We wanted someone who will deliver us a home that takes into account
Reducing the impact on the environment
Selecting the correct building materials that don't require large amounts of energy to produce and are from a renewable source
Designing a house that lowers running costs based on proven methods, not hypotheticals
Designing for the future by not just meeting the minimum standards but going above and beyond
Incorporating biophilic design
That bigger does not mean better - forget about resale value and build for what you need, not what others might need
Designing adaptable spaces made from natural materials that can be repurposed, renewed, and broken down in the future
The health and comfort of the internal setting in the home
Not just NatHERS, the government tool for rating the energy performance of a house, but looks at using better rating methods (such as LEED, PHPP and even the Green Star Program). There are some major problems with the NatHERS assessment that fails to address
energy and water consumption
thermal bridging
airtightness
inability to check the final product of the home along with the ongoing performance.
These are just the starting points for discussion. From here conversation should flow where the designer or architect can showcase what they are about!
Say no to gas
We wrote about this a while ago in our blog - Why you should ditch gas on your build, but we want to make a point of referencing it again. Currently, our government is still looking to invest in gas technologies whilst other countries are looking to remove it as an option. It's becoming very expensive to use and with so many great and better electric options, it makes no sense to keep gas on a property.
Here are some electric substitutions for common gas appliances.
Gas Heating/Cooling < Electric Heating - if our homes were designed correctly by designers, the need for heating and cooling would be a lot less and a simple 5kw split system would be more than enough to condition a whole single-story home. Hydronic Heating is the only obstacle to removing gas heating from a home. There are electric boilers however, they are very expensive. Hopefully, as the technology improves and the market becomes more competitive we will see a reduction in the price of these units making it easier to convince those to ditch gas.
Gas Hot Water Tank < Electric Heat Pump. These are up to 80% (5 times) more efficient compared to a standard gas water heater. Heat pumps are quiet with an average noise level of 37db which is the equivalent of someone whispering. They are also designed to use excess PV generation rather than export to the grid. We generally don't care where our hot water comes from, as long as it's hot, so going electric here shouldn't be a problem.
Gas Cook Top < Induction Cook Top. It's far more efficient to cook your food using an induction cooktop as roughly 80-90% of the energy is transferred to the food in the pan, compared to gas which transfers 38% of its energy. This means your induction cooktop will provide you with far superior control and precise cooking. Unfortunately, it's a myth that gas is more precise and we only think that it has more control because you can visually see the flame.
Gas has been somewhat of a hot topic recently in the papers. Volume builders are even transitioning away from gas on the property and moving to fully electric homes powered by renewables as there have been rumblings that new homes very soon may be required to be fully electric. This means those homes that decide to still stick with gas could be left behind shortly!
Net Positive Energy
We all know this one, but it's still so important. Reducing your energy consumption means less reliance on grid power and ultimately reducing the need for coal.
Having a solar PV system doesn't automatically mean you're going to offset all of the energy used in your home. It's a great start and is one of the major factors in working towards having net-positive energy.
Easy ways to work towards being net positive include
Air sealing - this will reduce the reliance on your heating and cooling system. 40% of the average household's energy use and greenhouse gas emissions are from heating and cooling
Insulate - the more insulation the better. The amount of insulation you put in a home is what you can afford. Insulation is cheap so always increase it where possible. An easy way to do this is to move away from using 90mm studs and use 140mm studs
Chose efficient appliances such as washing machines, cooktops, and fridges
Install LED lighting throughout the house and don't overdo the amount of artificial lighting
Don't over-build - a family of 4 doesn't need 7 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, and 3 living spaces! These spaces you don't use still need to be conditioned
Utilise the sun - your designer should ensure effective orientation and use high-performing windows!
Lifestyle - your behaviour can reduce your energy use
Solar Panels - speak to an expert in this field that can design the correct system to compliment your home. Use quality pannels and install solar on as much of the feasible roof space
Looking to the future is also important. Since batteries are still expensive and technology is rapidly advancing in this area, it's important to pre-install wiring and connections for both electric vehicle charging and future installations of renewable energy systems. It's also worth discussing with your builder and electrician upgrading to a three-phase incoming line to ensure you can charge your future car at a faster rate!
Net Positive Water
We all know what net positive electricity is, but what about net positive water. What if we could supply more water than needed to run the house, or at worst, limit the use of water supplied from the meter? I don't think it's too long before we start to realign how we value water in a residential home. It's time to start treating water like the precious resource it is.
Some of us use rainwater to water the garden or even hook up our tanks to flush the toilets. But why can't we take it one step further? Some ways to move towards net positive water include:
Respect clean water - reduce using possible potable water in areas that don't require it as much as possible
Treat rainwater that enters the tank through a carbon filter and UV filter where it will be safe to consume for drinking water. We would suggest engaging someone who can design this for you to ensure the water is safe to drink
Have a tank that collects the wastewater from your washing machine, some basins and even potentially showers where it can be treated and reused as greywater safe enough to water the plants or hook it back up to the toilets!
Optimise your consumption by selecting efficient appliances and plumbing fixtures. Look for products that have restrictive valves but also maintain a strong pressure
Whenever we turn on a hot tap, we have to wait a certain amount of time before it turns warm. This can result in a lot of wasted water. Use a Redwater diverter system that will distribute the cold water back into the cold water lines for re-use. These are cheap and easy ways to save potable water
For those who want to push things to the next level, you could install a septic tank to treat all black water. Check-in with your local council and water supplier for further information on this specific to your home
Recycle
This doesn't just mean finding old pieces of timber and re-using them - this one is asking your builder to make sure materials are recycled on-site. A lot of the time, a big skip bin will be sorted through once it leaves the site as it's very expensive to send rubbish to landfills. Here is just a quick list of building materials that can be very easily recycled
Timber - old timber can be turned into furniture, repurposed, or sent to a recycling facility where it can be turned into woodchips, mulch, particleboard, or composts. If you're worried about the energy required to recycle it, renewable timber is considered to emit 50 times fewer greenhouse emissions than the combustion of black coal and 30 times than natural gas.
Bricks/Tiles/Ceramics - Whilst bricks can be cleaned and reused, they can also be crushed to be used as brick chips, drainage materials, manufacturing road base or constructing new bricks
Plaster - plasterboard is 100% recyclable. If it's free of glue and nails, it can be turned into new plasterboard or for use as soil conditioners in the agricultural industry.
Metals - one of the easiest items onsite to recycle. Not only is it easy, but you also get paid for each tonne of metal waste!!!
Paint - Most scrap metal recyclers will accept paint cans if it does not contain lead. The paint can be heated until it boils where it can be converted into a powder. Once cooled the solvent drips into a collection tank to be reused and reformulated into new quality paint coatings.
Other products that can be recycled are concrete, cardboard, EPS Foams, plastic wraps, plastic pipes such as uPVC and glass.
In the demolition phase, rather than throw out materials, attempt to sell them, or even give them away so they can be repurposed (giving something away for free is also cheaper than throwing it out!) You could even look into having your home relocated if you're carrying out a new build. It's also important to make sure you're correctly disposing of hazardous materials such as lead-based paints, asbestos, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
Most of these items listed above shouldn't be hard to implement into your build. Whilst some might challenge your designers or builders, it's you who can begin to drive change. The more clients we have pushing designers to be better will only filter down into builders. Whilst it is change, it is a great change and only going to benefit you in the long run.
This is just the beginning and we will touch on five other ways you can build more sustainably next week. If you would like to know more or have a chat please reach out by giving us a call or emailing us.