Could Your Home Use Less Energy?
How much energy does your home consume? How much energy is wasted by your property through poor property design or poor maintenance? Often when people build or buy a home, they think about the initial purchase cost and the cost of finishing the home in the way that they want, but they pay less attention to the ongoing running costs. Understanding the energy performance of your home can help you to better control the running costs of your home, save money and protect the environment. The best way to understand how your home could be more energy efficient is to commission a house energy report. House energy reports can set out the current and future running costs and explain how you could make changes to lower your costs.
How does your home perform?
In Australia, the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) is used to assess how much energy is needed to maintain the temperature of the property at a reasonable level. The lower the amount of energy needed, the higher the star rating your home will receive. In most cases, a NatHERS energy rating of at least six stars will be needed for your home to be issued with a building permit for both a new build property and a property renovation. Commissioning house energy reports is always the first step in determining the performance of your property and working out what changes need to be made.
Home design matters
Many people fail to appreciate the importance of home design in maintaining a high energy rating. House energy reports will explain that when planning your home design, or the way you use an existing property, you must consider both the size of each room and its location within the property. The larger the room, the more difficult it will be to maintain a high energy ranking. To enable your home temperature to remain comfortable without using energy, consider placing your bedrooms towards the south of your home while keeping living areas on the northern side of the property.
How can you make your home compliant?
Having a home that is rated at a minimum of six stars improves the quality of your life by allowing you to enjoy home temperatures that are naturally cooler in the summer and warmer in the colder months. To gain the rating you need, you must arrange for a professionally certified assessor to review your home or home plans. They will have the needed experience in the production of house energy reports and can explain to you what changes need to be made.