The Green House
There has been a lot of attention and publicity given to energy efficiency in new homes, but little to renovations, which comprise more than 80% of building activity in Australia.
SEREG decided that it was time something was done to help people who wanted to invest in energy and water efficiency when they renovated their existing home.
The Green House project was designed to help residents change the way that they think about their house and their role in reducing the Greenhouse Effect and combating Climate Change.
The Green House is a 1970s double brick and tile home representative of many in the region. The house was built with little consideration of environmental performance. As a result, the house was uncomfortably hot in summer and unbearably cold in winter. Electricity and gas use and costs to heat and cool the house were a drain on the household budget, but also cost the Earth through greenhouse gas emissions.
The Green House was retrofitted specifically for this project by local contractors and, wherever possible, with local products to demonstrate that sustainable energy and water efficient house retrofits are easy, affordable, and attractive.
Retrofitting of The Green House was kept mainstream and practical, so as to be easily replicated with the emphasis on the promotion and display of the energy and water efficient, and waste reduction features. Specifically the project demonstrated that any style of home, regardless of age and location, can be successfully retrofitted with energy efficient and waterwise features - which in turn will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from household energy use.
The orientation of the block and the sun's seasonal impact on the house, and the existing layout of the house were factored into the retrofit, with a focus on improving comfort levels and reducing the need for artificial heating and cooling.
The Green House was open to the public for 12-months (1/7/06 - 30/6/07) as an educational tool and source of information on affordable, sustainable retrofitting, and was the first of its kind in the Perth metropolitan area. The project was a huge success with approximately 3,000 visitors filing through the doors, including residents, schools, community groups, other Councils, politicians, academics, and TV stations, seeking practical ideas on how to make peoples homes more sustainable.
Download the special Green House Lift-Off which highlights energy, water and waste efficient products and services and lists companies that can provide them.
After the TGH closed in July 2007, SEREG, in partnership with the Department of Housing & Works and Murdoch University, commenced phase two of the project - home occupancy. The occupancy phase enabled SEREG to gather some hard data on the home's financial and environmental performance.
The occupancy phase of TGH project demonstrated that affordable, sustainable retrofits can successfully deliver significant financial and environmental savings, with TGH saving over $1,250 on energy and water bills and 5.67 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over a 12-month period, when compared to a non-retrofitted home of similar size and occupancy rate.
Download the full Phase 2 (Home Occupancy) Report.
