"You know thereīs got to be
something pretty special about a house when a federal minister wants to
visit one week and a state minister is preparing to open it the next" ...Sunday Tasmanian, May 20 2007
So why is there so much interest in a home that looks like any other in the street?
Sunrise
Homes Tasmania has proudly built and officially opened Tasmaniaīs First
Certified GreenSmart Home. The home was opened by The Hon. Paula
Wriedt, Minister for the Environment in Tasmania.
The Hon. Malcolm Turnbull, Federal Minister for the
environment visited the home just one week before the opening. And yes
you can rest assured that both ministers were impressed and very
interested.
What has been achieved in this
apparantly unassuming home built in the fastest growing
municipality in Tasmania is absolutely landmark.
The level of energy efficiency achieved here, once
solely the domain of straw bale houses or for those willing to spend
many tens of thousands of dollars on their home, is now available to
everybody - at the right price.
Four of the simple key elements in the home include:
1. Double your wall insulation! The
insulation system selected for the display home is the concertina foil
batts. 2 layers of these innovative products plus a layer of sarking
paper will give you well over R3 in your walls
2. Solar hot water is the answer For the quickest payback and highest impact on saving greenhouse gas compared to electricity - go solar!
3. Isnīt it time every home had a rainwater tank A
5,000 litre rainwater tank harvesting all of the rainwater off a roof
space of the house will supply almost all of the water needs!
4. Double glazing - feel the difference You
can really feel it! Touch the inside pain of a double glazed unit and
then the inside of a single glazed unit in the same room and it may
help you decide to include double glazing in your new home
There are a raft of other small points that make a big
difference that I will cover later also. And the reality is to make an
immediate and noticeable difference to the energy use in our home we
really need to hit the 2 biggest users of energy in your home:
Hot Water and space heating / cooling.
Look at the figures: Sustainability Victoria tell us that 46% of Greenhouse gas emissions in our home come from hot water and space heating/cooling
The Australia Greenhouse Office tells us that 66% of
energy use in the average Australian home goes towards hot water and
space heating/cooling - 1999 figures
The sustainable energy development office in Western
Australia say that 57% of the energy used in a typical West Australian
home is for hot water and space heating/cooling
In South Australia itīs 59%
The Queensland government in its sustainable energy website explain that:
· The average energy use by Australians is more than twice that of the world average · That 40 per cent of the energy consumed in Queensland homes is used to heat water, and · That 90 per cent of the energy we use in our homes has a harmful effect on the environment
Now, there are still some people that say that you
donīt really need an energy efficient home in Tasmania do you - you
have hydro power down there.
This is a truly valuable example of a
misunderstanding of the facts, that hurts. The dams that hold the
water that supply the power in Tasmania are only at around 20% capacity
- the lowest in nearly 40 years. Last year, Tasmania, through basslink,
has imported from ‘the mainlandī the equivalent to 70% of the total
annual power demand for Tasmania homes. This power is not clean hydro
power!
Its time to make some changes. And the good thing is it
really has never been easier to make a difference - and never more
important.
Keep on the lookout for the next edition and there
will be more answers. until then remember - make yours a home for
living!
Smile...The future is looking great!
TASMANIA´S FIRST CERTIFIED GREENSMART DISPLAY HOME!
Đ 2006-2007 Sunrise Homes Tasmania Pty Ltd
309 Liverpool Street, Tasmania 7000. Phone: 03 6231 4106 Fax: 03 6231 3067 Email: info@sunrisehomes.net.au ABN 62 112 161 958