Building Energy Efficient Housing for NQ

[greenbuild]

Building Energy Efficient Housing for NQ
Extract from Townsville Enterprise 'Building For a Profitable Future'
http://townsvilleenterprise.com.au/Invest/edprojects/Buildingforaprofitablefuture.aspx

The Demand for Energy Efficiency

In the past five years electricity prices have increased by an average of 10.5% per annum. Resultantly, residents are starting to seek out more energy efficient ways of living. In recent times there have been a number of campaigns, energy efficient incentives and a great deal of information pushed onto the consumer about how to change behaviour to reduce energy bills and the carbon footprint. With Generation Y the home buyers of today their attitudes and consumer behaviour is driving the shift towards energy efficiency housing through design and fit out.

Generation Y as todays Home Buyer

Gen Y make up 78% of those intending to purchase property in the next two years
Almost 100% of Gen Y Australians believe our current human behaviour will have a significant impact on Australia’s future
Gen Y see buying property as a way to gain stability and build wealth
Most Gen Y buy property to occupy rather than invest
25% of Gen Y have a mortgage
$226,204 is the average loan of a Gen Y
Source: LJ Hooker (2011), Genworth Financial (2012) and McCrindle (2008)

Future Proofing Residential Housing

Standard QLD Home Electricity Costs = $1643 annually Vs.
Energy Efficient QLD Home Electricity Costs = $873 annually
Integrated Energy Services Corporation (2010)

The Audit: Ergon Energy recently conducted an audit of 19 new homes in Townsville. The audit looked at each of the properties potential energy savings if the following improvements were made:

Light coloured roof
Insulation of R3.5 in the ceiling
Sarking (reflective foil insulation)
Ventilation in the roof space
Medium tinted glass

Results of Audit:

All 19 homes improved their energy rating
Across the houses an average energy saving of 21% could be achieved
The highest performing property would increase its energy star rating from 6 to 8 and experience 37% energy savings!

Resale Value and Energy Efficient Housing

Smart investors can find increased re-sale value in their property when they build with energy efficiency in mind. According to an Australian study undertaken by DEWHA in 2008, for every additional energy efficient star rating the house receives the additional re-sale value is approximately $9,000. Therefore an 8 star property will have $18,000 more resale value than a property which is rated at the minimum 6 star. This result has been reflected by a study undertaken in the USA which also highlighted a positive correlation between energy efficiency and resale value. In America it is estimated that for every $1 the property was able to save on utilities an extra $20 was added to resale value (Nevin and Watson 1998).

References

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008) Australian Social Trends: Renter Households. Viewed: 2 February 2012 http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf ... ter9002008
Australian Government (2010) Save Energy. Viewed 25 January 2012 http://www.livinggreener.gov.au/energy
Australian Government: Office of the Renewable Energy Regulator (2012) What is an STC? Viewed 2 February 2012 http://www.orer.gov.au/Certificates/stcs
Commonwealth of Australia (2011) Buyer’s Guide. Viewed: 30 January 2012 http://www.yourhome.gov.au/buyersguide/index.html
DEWHA (2008) Energy efficiency rating and housing price in the ACT. Canberra, Department of the Environment Water Heritage and the Arts
DEWHA (2008) Energy use in the Australian residential sector 1986 – 2020. Canberra, Department of the Environment Water Heritage and the Arts
Ergon Energy (2011) The Wire: The Energy Efficient Home Issue. Viewed 2 February 2012 http://www.ergon.com.au/__data/assets/p ... ssue13.pdf
Ergon Energy (2011) Energy Sense for Aircon. Viewed 2 February 2012 http://www.ergon.com.au/your-home/save- ... for-aircon
Genworth (2012) Generation Y - Profile of the new generation. Viewed: 25 January 2012. www.genworth.com.au/downloads/4-2-3-Spo ... -gen-y.pdf
Integrated Energy Services Corporation (2010) Energy Efficiency Opportunities in the Residential Sector of Australia, West End QLD
Light World (2012) LED Vs Halogen and Incandescent. Viewed 25 January 2012 http://www.lightworld.com.au/solutions/ ... andescent-
L J Hooker (2011) New research shows Gen Ys choose property over holidays. Viewed: 2 February 2012 http://www.ljhooker.com.au/pr-newslette ... r-holidays
McCrindle M. (2008) Australians on Climate Change: Attitudes and Behaviours. Viewed: 25 January 2011 http://mccrindle.com.au/ResearchSummari ... viours.pdf
Queensland Government: Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation: Office of Clean Energy. Rebate and Incentives. Viewed: 2 February 2012 http://www.brightthing.energy.qld.gov.au/
Queensland Government: Department of Local Government and Planning (2010) 6-star energy equivalence rating requirement for houses and townhouses. Viewed: 2 February 2012 http://www.dlgp.qld.gov.au/sustainable- ... ouses.html