Environmental management > Sustainability

Sustainable housing

Given that between 35,000 to 40,000 new dwellings per year have been built in Queensland during recent times, it is important to get sustainability incorporated into the initial design of our built environments, rather than undertake costly renovations/retrofits later on.

A range of information on Sustainable housing and Sustainable urban development is presented here to assist industry and consumers with sustainable design and construction.

Design
Climatic factors
Expert design advice
Display homes
Products
Construction
Rebates/Financial incentives
Education and research
Projects and case studies
Demographic and household projections
Sustainable House Day 2008

Front entry to sustainable home.

Designing or constructing your home to perform more sustainably – be water, energy and waste efficient, safe and secure and cost-effective to operate – to meet your housing needs now and into the future can provide you with greater comfort and lifestyle opportunities, as well as on-going financial savings.

The following links can provide information whether you are buying or building a new house, or renovating/retro-fitting an existing home.

Design

Sustainable Housing – Your Home Buyers Guide
Buying a new home is the biggest decision that most people will make. The impacts of climate change and how we can all help to minimise these changes are also of concern to consumers. Homes contribute 20% of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. There are lots of small things that we can do to reduce these impacts. Designing and building a sustainable home is one of the easiest actions you can take. It will reduce your energy and water use, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and be cost-effective in the long-term. The 'Your Home Buyers Guide’ helps you to plan and build a sustainable home. It gives you tips and checklists to help you through the buying process as well as lots of information on sustainable design features, fixtures, fittings and finishings. Download the guide or call the Environmental Protection Agency on 07 32251999 to get a copy sent to you.
The guide is also available from:
Clarendon Residential Group at http://www.clarendon.com.au/nsw.html from the Australian GreenHouse Office at www.yourhome.gov.au/buyer’s guide and from many project home builders.

Your Home Renovator's Guide – Renovating your home is an exciting process, but it can be daunting too. The Your Home Renovator's Guide (PDF, 2.3MB) is a useful and practical resource for renovators, giving information about ways to incorporate sustainable design and product features throughout the complex and varied renovation process.
The Guide includes tips and checklists to ensure opportunities are recognised along the way for reducing the home's environmental impact, maximising health and comfort, and saving money.

The Guide is also available from www.yourhome.gov.au/renovatorsguide or call the Environmental Protection Agency on 07 32251999 to get a copy sent to you.

Smart Housing – a program promoting a triple-bottom line approach to sustainable housing design that provides a range of technical information and case studies about best practice in Queensland. It also highlights the social aspects of housing design e.g. safety and security, accessibility and adaptability (universal design).

Sustainable Housing Regulations – administered through Building Codes Queensland. From the 1 March 2006 new houses are required to comply with minimum sustainable design measures to ensure they use water and energy more efficiently. These measures cover greenhouse efficient hot water systems, energy efficient lighting, 3 star-rated shower roses, dual-flush toilets and water pressure limiting devices. This will result in new houses using up to 33 per cent less electricity and up to 36 per cent less water, as well as providing financial savings on their running costs to the householder. New residential unit buildings and major renovations to existing homes are also required to address some of these regulatory standards.

Additionally, as from 1 January 2007, all new detached houses in south-east Queensland must aim to achieve savings of 70 kilolitres a year, while terrace houses and townhouses must aim to achieve savings of 42 kilolitres per year. The targets will apply statewide from 1 July 2007 (subject to council endorsement), and are usually expected to be achieved with the installation of rainwater tanks. For a detached house this is a minimum 5000-litre tank and for semi-detached houses (including townhouses and terrace houses) it is a minimum of 3000-litre tank. The tanks must be plumbed internally to supply water to each dwelling’s toilet and washing machine. Devices that supply supplementary water from the reticulated town water supply must also be installed to ensure a continuous supply.

House Energy Rating – in Queensland, all new houses since September 2003 have been required to achieve a minimum 3.5-star rating for thermal performance (energy-efficiency) for their 'building shell' (roof, walls, windows and flooring) under the Building Code of Australia (BCA). This can be achieved either through 'deemed to satisfy' provisions or by using an accepted software packages. AccuRate and BERSPro are second generation software products suitable for providing house thermal energy ratings for Queensland's climate under the National House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) . This regulation is administered through Building Codes Queensland, with design standards confirmed by a private certifier upon completion of construction.

Water run-off stones.

Your Home – explains many aspects of sustainable housing design and case studies, and is operated by the Australian Greenhouse Office (AGO) . The ‘Consumer Guide’ provides a general introduction to sustainable housing issues, whilst the more extensive ‘Technical Manual’ provides individual fact sheets detailing these issues.

Healthy Homes: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality in the Home – a booklet for designers, builders, buyers and renovators about the various air pollutants and potential health conditions associated with volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), pesticides, lead, asbestos, fungi and moulds etc that can be found in and around the home. As health issues can be associated with poor indoor air quality from building products, such as paints, adhesives, finishes and carpets etc, this guide presents appropriate planning, design and maintenance measures.

Building a Sustainable Home: Design Process – this flow chart identifies the key steps to guide you through the complex building process. Incorporating sustainable housing design elements to the conventional building process can sometimes be challenging. Some builders, contractors, local councils and finance organisations are more receptive to sustainable design than others. It is important to understand the building process to better communicate your design needs at all stages to ensure you get the sustainability features you want in your home.

EnergyWise in the Home and Garden – booklet.

Passive Design for Queensland's Climate Zones – fact sheet.

Landscaping for Energy Efficiency – fact sheet.

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Climatic factors

Climate Zones – presents Queensland’s regional climatic zones as designated under the BCA.

Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) apart from the regional climatic differences across Queensland under the BCA (above), a site’s local climatic conditions or its ‘microclimate’ can differ significantly even within a geographic region. Houses are recommended to account for these conditions through climate sensitive design. Research into local climate influences is recommended, and the BoM provides average daily and seasonal temperatures (minimums and maximums), humidity, rainfall (monthly and annual); and wind direction and speed throughout the year. This data is recorded at numerous local weather stations across Queensland, and is provided in summary form.

Sun path diagram – provides assistance with finding your home’s best orientation for passive design, and are available for all locations across Queensland.

Climate Change Predictions– the CSIRO's research and modelling of what to expect with climate change, including your region of interest for the latest climate change projections which may assist with 'future-proofing' the design of your home.

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Expert design advice

Ceiling fan.

Both architects and building designers (previously known as 'draftsman') can provide you with sustainable housing design advice through the following services:

Archicentre – offered through the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA), this service provides professional advice and building inspections for sustainable housing design across Queensland. Call: 1300 134 513

Ecodesign Smart Building Design – offered through the Building Designers’ Association of Queensland (BDAQ), this service can be used to source designers experienced with sustainable design.
Call: 07 3889 9119.

Association of Building Sustainability Assessors (ABSA) – represents building and design professionals who specialise in assessing the environmental impact of buildings. Call: 1300 760 012.
Glass and Window Toolbox – to assist industry practitioners with sourcing and specification of windows with regulatory requirements..

Energy Advisory Service – provides impartial, free advice on energy efficiency and renewable energy systems for householders. Call: 1300 369 388

Display homes

Sustainable Homes Program – is providing communities throughout Queensland with 23 display homes so visitors can experience what ‘sustainable housing’ looks like in practical terms. The homes use Smart Housing’s Design Objectives as minimum design criteria.

Virtual Sustainable Home – take a tour around Brisbane City Council's sustainable house.

Sanctuary Magazine – a magazine that features case studies of contemporary sustainable homes.

Kidsafe House – situated adjacent to the Royal Children's Hospital, has extensive displays on all a spects of child injury prevention in the home. There is a fully working kitchen and bathroom as well as a poisonous plants garden. Call: 07 3854 1829.

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Products

Rainwater Tanks – fact sheet.

Greywater – information on greywater systems, and its safe use around the home and garden.

Solar Hot Water Systems – fact sheet.

Insulation – fact sheet (PDF 89KB).

Air-Conditioners – fact sheet on how to purchase and reduce its running cost (PDF 84KB).

Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand – (ICANZ) for detailed information on effective insulation to improve comfort and health in the home. Call: 1300 363 742.

Gas in the Home – the features and benefits of using gas for hot water systems, cooking appliances and home heating.

Energy Star Rating Labelling for Appliances – energy star-rating scheme for appliances e.g. refrigerators, freezers, washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers and air-conditioners.

Water Efficiency Labelling and Standards – WELS is the water star-rating scheme for appliances and fixtures e.g. washing machines, dishwashers, toilets, showerheads and water fittings.
Call: 1800 803 772.

Window Energy Rating Scheme – WERS is a star-rating system that provides information on the features and benefits of energy-efficient windows (glass and frame), window films and skylights relevant to Queensland’s climate zones. Call: 02 9498 2768.

Lighting – energy-efficient lighting – fact sheet (PDF 89KB).

Green Power – is government accredited, clean and renewable energy sourced from the sun, wind, water or waste (via landfill sites). You can off-set your home’s greenhouse gas emissions from its electricity supply through a Green Power arrangement, which is purchased on your behalf by your electricity company at a self-nominated amount. Call: 07 3224 7596.

Solar-powered Chlorination for Swimming Pools – fact sheet.

Ecospecifier – is a national on-line database of over 3000 environmentally-preferable building products, materials, technologies and resources. Each item is independently assessed for its features before being registered. Call: 1300 669 997

Living Smart Noosa – is a Sunshine Coast orientated database of environmentally-preferable building products and services. Call: 07 5449 9650.

LifeTec Queensland (formerly Independent Living Centre) – provides assistive technology solutions and expert services for individuals to live independently in their community. Call: 1300 885 886.

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Construction

GreenSmart Builders – a list of Queensland’s builders who have gained accreditation for designing and constructing environmentally-friendly houses through the Housing Industry Association’s (HIA) GreenSmart training program. Call: 07 3846 1298

GreenPlumbers - a list of Queensland’s plumbers who have gained accreditation in various courses for water related products and installation e.g. solar hot water, rainwater tanks and water conservation. Call: 1300 368 519

Clean Site program - Keep Australia Beautiful Queensland's Clean Site program promotes cleaner site practices during building and construction. It offers practical demonstration days and information sessions for industry, as well as a range of fact sheets for tradespeople and the home renovator.
Call: 07 3252 2886

Business Council for Sustainable Energy – provides listings for accredited renewable energy installers.
Call: 03 9349 3077.

Water tanks under deck.

Rebates/Financial incentives

Home WaterWise Rebate Scheme (Queensland-wide) – is a package of separate incentives offered by the Queensland Government to assist householders save on purchase and installation costs for water saving items like rainwater tanks and piping, washing machines, dishwashers, pool covers, showerheads, dual flush toilets, greywater systems and Home WaterWise packages. Call: 1800 243 585.

Council Water Rebates – some councils also offer separate water saving rebates which can be added to the above State Government rebates. Check with your local council customer service centre if it offers water saving rebates for householders.

Home Garden WaterWise Rebate Scheme offers all Queensland householders rebates for defined garden products to obtain a one-off rebate of 50% of the total purchase cost up to a maximum rebate of $50 (only one claim per household). The garden products cover native or drought resistant plants (excludes annuals, seeds, vegetables, fruit trees, edible herbs, turf and indoor plants), soils and mulches that may be either organic (e.g. bark chips, sugar cane) or inorganic (e.g. pebbles), compost bins or worm farms and water crystals/soil wetting agents. Call: 1800 243 585.

Photovoltaic (Solar) Energy Supply – fact sheet. This Federally funded, state administered rebate offers financial assistance for Queensland households, schools, community use buildings and development sites for the installation of a PV system.

Financial Institutions – A ‘green loan’ can offer between 0.5-1.0% reduced interest rate on a new sustainable house, home renovation or to purchase an environmentally-friendly household product. As sustainability features will also provide savings through their annual running costs for water and energy use, these savings can be potentially be re-invested back into your mortgage. The following institutions offer green loans:

Bendigo Bank – or call: 1300 366 666

mecu – or call: 13 2888

Maleny Credit Union – or call: 07 5494 2144

Eco Rebate Home Loans – or call: 1300 653 795

Westpac – or call: 13 1900

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Education and research

Towards Sustainable Housing in Queensland: A Discussion Paper – released for public comment in 2004, it presents a triple-bottom line definition for ‘sustainable housing’ as adapted by the Queensland Government, as well as presenting a range of issues relating to sustainable housing.

EnergyWise Calculator – assists in estimating the costs of your household electricity use to see where you are using it most, as well as being able to find out ways to save money on your energy bills.

WaterWise at Home – provides information on how you can save water around your home and garden.

WaterWise Shower Calculator – estimates the volume and costs of shower water used in your household.

Healthy Home Project – was a collaborative research project that practically demonstrated how to build a healthy living environment in the home using existing off-the-shelf sustainable technologies, materials and design. The home is located at Broadbeach on Queensland's Gold Coast (but is now closed for public inspection). This link showcases the home's people-friendly and environmentally-friendly features, as well as its operational cost-savings and a virtual tour.

Designing for Sustainable Living: Learning Object – developed as a Year of the Built Environment (YBE) 2004 project, this online curriculum resource is for Middle and Senior Years of schooling. Built by Education Queensland’s Distance Learning Unit in consultation with the Department of Public Works’ Built Environment Research Unit and the Department of Housing’s Smart Housing project team, the learning object addresses sustainability in the home environment through a range of sustainable housing issues.

Rainwater harvesting.

Research Report for Springfield Lakes Demonstration Homes – prepared by Dave Luxmoore (2005), this report provides practical examples of actual costs, experiences and recommendations from incorporating innovative design into the three sustainable homes at Springfield Lakes (Ipswich City) that were open for public display.

Research House – undertaken by the Department of Public Works and located in Rockhampton, Research House was built in 2002 as one of the first dwellings in Queensland to test and demonstrate new and innovative technologies, building practices and products in a single, sub-tropical living environment. It involves the design, construction and monitoring of an inhabited 4-bedroom house which practically demonstrates the elements of Smart Housing.

Energy Efficient Design for Tropical Queensland – a report summarising leading stakeholder issues from a workshop conducted in Townsville in February 2005 to gain a better understanding of appropriate passive design for Queensland’s tropical environment.

Sustainable Housing for the Tropics – Townsville City Council provides information and case studies to urban developers, builders, buyers and renovators about sustainable housing relevant for Queensland's Dry Tropical region.

Cairns Style Design Guide – has been developed to encourage those designing new buildings or renovations and extensions to existing buildings, to consider including elements of ‘Cairns Style’, and have their development contribute to strengthening the City’s image.

Centre for Subtropical Design – based at QUT, the Centre researches and promotes high quality planning, design and development in the built environment to respond to Brisbane and South East Queensland region’s cultural identity, landscape and climatic characteristics.

Centre for Excellence in Tropical Design – has been formed to promote hubs of learning, innovation and business development on sustainable design and living specifically for North Queensland’s tropical environment.

Sustainable Home Retrofit – 'Bellis' is an example of a suburban residence located in Brisbane that has been extensively retro-fitted to perform more sustainable (both house & garden).

Australian Conservation Foundation's "GreenHome" – a nationwide program that provides information to improve the sustainable performance of housing stock.

Green Choice Gardening – provides information on good green gardening practices for sub-tropical regions (as produced by Brisbane City Council).

Northey Street City Farm – provides advice, courses and plants promoting sustainable gardening and landscaping.

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Sustainable urban development

Louvres to fern garden.

Sustainable urban development is about planning, designing and constructing our built environments so that they minimise their environmental, social and economic impacts, create healthy, safe and secure communities for residents and conserve and use water and energy wisely.

Sustainable Design Principles for Improved Residential Developments – fact sheet.

Pre-design conferencing – EPA advisory service for urban developers that intend to incorporate significant sustainable design features with their projects and guiding them through the Planning system.

Sustainable Urban Development Program – summary booklet profiling sustainability features from leading projects under EPA-UDIA’s Sustainable Urban Development Program partnership (2002-2004).

Energy-Efficient Design for Sub-divisions – report to industry (2005) prepared by the CRC for Construction Innovation, which describes the relationship between sub-divisional layout and the dwelling’s energy efficiency.

Sustainable Sub-divisions: Review of Technologies for Integrated Water Services – (pdf 1.7MB) report to industry (2007) prepared by the CRC for Construction Innovation, which presents the benefits and issues concerning the implementation of technical solutions in an integrated water system using case study sites from South-east Queensland.

Your Development – is a national website for sustainable and innovative urban developments which allows those involved in the creation of new neighbourhoods to access the latest information on sustainability issues. It is developed by CSIRO in partnership with the Australian Greenhouse Office.

Sustainable Office Retrofit – Pike Mirls McKnoulty (PMM), Fortitude Valley (2003):

2 minute video [wmv 3MB] - (short version only. A 10 minute CD-ROM version is available upon request).

fact sheet (PDF 174Kb)

Brisbane City Council’s Sustainable Development – information on incentives, policies, guidelines and processes concerning sustainable urban development, multi-unit residential and office buildings.

Sustainable design at industrial centre.

Industrial Development - Rockcote Design Centre – a sustainably designed industrial centre at Nerang on the Gold Coast that demonstrates excellence in integrating energy, water and waste efficiencies, and how such design can achieve multiple benefits, including financial, improved productivity and greater natural comfort.

Local Biodiversity – private landholders can play a vital role in providing valuable habitat and sharing their properties with our native wildlife and vegetation through either a Voluntary Conservation Agreement or Land for Wildlife schemes. Check with your council or Greening Australia as they coordinate/administer these programs with landholders. The programs have differing degrees of legal obligations as Land for Wildlife is a non-binding commitment by landowners to manage their land for conservation purposes, while Voluntary Conservation Agreements may entail a longer-term commitment by the landholder for the property. Each agreement is tailored to suit the management needs of the particular site and the needs of the landholder, and can cover part or all of a property thereby contributing to the conservation and protection of Queensland’s biodiversity.

Biodiversity-Friendly Urban Development Report – a Brisbane City Council commissioned research report investigating the features and benefits of ‘Nature Smart Suburbs’ in the design and construction of new suburbs using 4 case studies in South-east Queensland.

Water Sensitive Urban Design Guidelines – South-east Queensland’s ‘Healthy Waterways’ program has developed various tools, technical guidelines and fact sheets to assist in the planning, design and construction of water sensitive urban design elements of sustainable urban developments, such as swales, sediment basins, stormwater wetlands, sand filters and plant selection etc.

Australian Green Development Forum – AGDF is a forum that seeks to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices in the building and development industry by working in partnership with interested stakeholders.

Urban Development Institute of Australia EnviroDevelopment – a scientifically-based incentives tool to rate new urban developments for their individual design elements promoting sustainability.

Urban Design – prepared by the Urban Design Alliance Queensland (UDAL), 'An agenda for Urban Quality in Queensland' (2003) booklet sets out guiding design principles to improve the sustainability and liveability of our towns and cities.

Green Star – The Green Building Council of Australia’s (GBCA) ‘Green Star’ initiative is a voluntary, performance-based star-rating tool that can assist the property industry to reduce a building’s environmental impact using a range of assessment criteria (energy, water, materials, management practices, ecology etc). Separate Green Star rating tools can be applied to either new or existing buildings, which evaluate their performance over the design, construction and operational phases. A good star-rating can improve occupant health and well-being, as well as increase staff productivity, provide operational cost savings and also gain a premium on tenancy leases. By the end of 2006, there will be Green Star tools for retail, health, education, convention and multi-unit residential buildings. The GBCA only certifies buildings rated from four (4) to six (6) stars (being the highest).

Australian Building Greenhouse Rating – The Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) is a voluntary, performance-based star-rating scheme that can assist building owners, managers or tenants benchmark their building’s greenhouse performance. The ABGR encourages best practice in the design, operation and maintenance of a building to minimise its greenhouse emissions. It only applies to commercial offices, but can be used for the base building (central services), whole building or individual tenancies in a new or existing building. Using 12 months of energy-related data, the scheme can assist with the promotion of a building’s greenhouse performance and energy-efficiency. With a good star-rating, developers or building owners can gain a competitive market advantage. By undertaking a Commitment Agreement, proponents can ensure that their projects meet high levels of greenhouse performance, and gain a 4, 4.5 or 5 star-rating (being the highest).

Your Building – is the key online resource about sustainable commercial buildings in Australia. It provides information for all those involved across the building life cycle - from investors, owners, and occupiers to developers, builders, designers, and facility managers.

Projects and case studies

The following links provide detailed case studies about sustainable urban development projects, including houses, residential estates and office buildings in Queensland.

Australian Green Development Forum
Aussies Sustaining Australia (PDF, 2.3 MB)

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Demographic and household projections

Latest population and housing projections for Queensland prepared by the Planning Information & Forecasting Unit (PIFU) at Department of Local Government and Planning show that Queensland is forecasted to maintain significant growth with 2.4 million households by 2026 — an increase of more than 1 million since 2001. As shown in these reports, its household formation is also changing as traditional ‘couple with children’ household will no longer be the dominant household type and it will be superseded individually by both ‘couple without children’ and ‘lone person household’. Queensland’s ageing ‘baby boomer’ population will continue to increase, and within 20 years 1 in 5 people will be 65+ years (currently, it’s around 1 in 10). These statistics will have significant sustainability implications upon the design & diversity of Queensland’s natural resources, housing stock & urban developments.

Household Projections Queensland by Local Government Areas 2007

Queensland Population Update including Regional Population Trends

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Sustainable House Day 2008

The 2008 Sustainable House Day will be on the 13th and 14th September 2008. Sustainable homes across the Queensland will open so others can see the benefits of all aspects of sustainable living. The Sustainable House Day is an opportunity to talk to the owners and learn from their own experiences. There will be a range of information on display at each home and resources to take home. Tickets are available at each open home – no booking is required. Ticket prices are $5 per house visited and children are free.

Come along and be inspired. Click here for a list of open houses in your neighbourhood.

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Last updated: 29 July 2008

Sustainability

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