New zero-emission home for Australian families

23rd of September 2008 - 2:57 PM

Thirty kilometres north of Melbourne CBD, in the community of Laurimar, a new type of house – the first of its kind in Australia – is about to be constructed.

The four-bedroom, detached house, will blend with the streetscape of
the new development but will embody a completely new vision – a
zero-emissions house that Australian families can afford.

CSIRO
project leader, Dr Greg Foliente, said that the Zero Emission House
(ZEH) project involves CSIRO and a consortium of government and
industry partners, including Sustainability Victoria, Delfin Lend Lease
and Henley Property Group, in designing and building a carbon-neutral
Australian home.

“The goal is a home that does not release any CO₂,
or other greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere as a result of producing
or consuming energy on the entire site,” Dr Foliente said.

“The
first step is to reduce energy consumption to the lowest level possible
through careful building design, considering the climate, the hot water
system, how the building is heated and cooled ,as well as the
appliances which will be used. This new house is expected to use up to
70 per cent less energy than a traditional home of similar size.”

The
demonstration house, which will incorporate an energy management
system, will be built by the Henley Property Group in the Delfin Lend
Lease Laurimar community. It will be occupied by tenants for a year and
energy use and greenhouse gas emissions will be monitored over this
time.

The ZEH’s performance will be evaluated against other
homes within the development to gauge the success of the project and
help identify key areas for further improvement.

Victoria’s
Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Innovation, The Hon
Gavin Jennings, launched the project at the World Sustainable Building
2008 Conference (SB08) in Melbourne on Monday.

Designed by
Henley Property Group in consultation with CSIRO and Delfin Lend Lease
the ZEH features innovative materials and leading-edge energy-saving
technologies. 

Henley Property Group’s Managing Director, Peter
Hayes, said Henley’s involvement provides the Group with an opportunity
to once again be at the forefront of affordable sustainable housing. 
“Back in 2000, Henley led the way with five-star energy rated homes,
five years before mandatory requirements, and now offers six-star
across the range. We expect the results of this project will help us to
further reduce the greenhouse footprint of our product range,” he said.

Chief
Operating Officer for Delfin Lend Lease, Bryce Moore, said the ZEH
project is an opportunity to extend the commitment to sustainability at
Laurimar – which is targeting a significant reduction of local
greenhouse gas emissions – to other communities. “Our involvement in
this project is a reflection of this commitment,” he said.

The demonstration house is due to be completed in late 2009.

The
project is being undertaken as part of CSIRO Energy Transformed
Flagship’s Low Emission Distributed Energy research program, which
focuses on developing low-emission technologies and solutions for a
rapid response to climate change.