There’s been some important updates in home design requirements, and in creating a sustainable home.

Learn what you need to know here about these sustainable home updates.

Hello! This is Episode 224, and in it, I’m going to be doing an update to one of Year 3’s most popular episodes and continuing our celebration of 5 years of the “Get it Right” podcast.

In the last episode, I shared a reboot of the most popular episode from Year 3 of the podcast. It was from Season 10, which was called “Industry Insiders”. And the episode was my conversation with Jenny Edwards and Sarah Lebner from Light House Architecture + Science.

In it, we dived into some fantastic and actionable information on how to create a sustainable home in a really pragmatic and straight-forward way.

If you haven’t listened to the reboot of that episode, it’s definitely worth checking it out. You can find it at Episode 223 – Simplifying Sustainable Home Design and Construction and there’s a free downloadable transcript available as well.

Year 3 of the podcast was a varied one, where we covered a huge range of topics. It began with the tail end of Season 8 on the podcast, which is called “A Simple Guide to a Sustainable Home”. 

Season 9 was a special video and audio series called “Keeping it Real” where I dived into some of the commonly held beliefs about renovating and building, especially when it comes to reality TV and online media, and the mindset issues that I see surprise homeowners in their own projects. 

And then Season 10, which was the Industry Insiders season, plus we snuck in a few episodes of Season 11, the Interior Design Basics Season. So many great episodes on such helpful topics and know-how for any project. 

If you are new to the podcast and haven’t familiarised yourself with all of that content, I’d really encourage you to do so. You can find a full index of all our episodes here.

In this episode, I’m going to provide you with some updates on where the industry is at, and specific regulations and help that can support you in achieving greater sustainability in your future home. At the time of recording this episode, it’s late 2021, and there’s some significant changes coming to Australian regulations, and this is happening worldwide, as the urgency of industry change is ever more present.

I also want to remind you, that whilst ‘sustainable’ may be interpreted as environmentally friendly, or ‘green’ in design and construction, it actually incorporates a lot more as a concept. 

So when you think about sustainability, think broadly about all things you can do to create a home that meets your current needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

This episode is going to contain a lot of snippets of information about what’s going on in when it comes to current regulations, accessing help for sustainability in your home, and understanding the various requirements and practices out there – as well as great resources for you to do more research and get more help if you wish to.

At the time of recording this episode, it’s the end of 2021. The National Construction Code, which, in Australia, is our primary set of technical design and construction provisions for buildings, is due to have changes to it published in September, 2022. 

It gets updated every 3 years, and there’s always a big lead-up to the changes, plus it’s open for public comment and input, with a range of education run through all of that time to help the industry understand what the proposed changes will mean for design and construction.

As you can imagine, there are sectors of the industry that are pushing back on these changes, as they always have. 

In my opinion these changes are well overdue. 

However, they will be significant for many to adopt, especially the volume builders and project homes builders who currently have thousands of homes built in display villages around the country, that won’t meet code requirements once these changes are introduced. 

Not to mention all the floor plan designs and construction documentation that will need amendment to adopt these changes as well.

We’re already seeing some states coming out and saying they won’t adopt all the proposed changes. This is the thing about the National Construction Code – it’s a national document, but then there are state variations that can come into play, and supersede any of the national requirements.

I’ll be frank about this. Really frank, and chances are you may not agree with me. I will also say upfront that I’m not across the true and immediate economic impact of these changes. 

However, this is how I feel.

We need these changes. 

Listen to the episode now.

RESOURCES:

Livable Housing Australia >>> Learn more about accessible design

Renew’s information about National Construction Code 2022 Changes >>> Resources on the 2022 National Construction Code

New Zealand and the 4Ds >>> Keeping Homes Weathertight

ABCB Condensation Handbook 2019 >>> View the full PDF here

GreenStar Homes Scheme (GBCA) >>> GreenStar Homes

Hemp House >>> Hemp House, Renew

Comfy Home >>> Comfy Home, Renew

Renew’s YouTube Channel >>> RENEW YOUTUBE

Energy Matrix (Blower Door Tests) >>> Residential Blower Door Tests

Sealing air gaps on an existing home >>> The power of sealing air gaps

Your Home >>> https://www.yourhome.gov.au/

Other helpful resources:

Access the support and guidance you need to be confident and empowered when renovating and building your family home inside my flagship online program >>> HOME METHOD

Learn more about how to get started with your home design with the Happy Home Design mini-course >>> HAPPY HOME DESIGN

Check out how to set + stick to your budget with this mini-course >>> SET + STICK TO YOUR BUDGET

Access my free online workshop “Your Project Plan” >>> YOUR PROJECT PLAN

House Size (CommSec Report)

https://www.commsec.com.au/market-news/the-markets/2021/commsec-home-size-report-2021.html

Water heat pumps

Energy Rating information on Heat Pump Hot Water Units >>>

https://www.energyrating.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/HeatPumpWaterHeaterGuide_toWeb_0.pdf

Review use of heat water pumps based on podcast >>>

​​http://www.cleanenergyregulator.gov.au/DocumentAssets/Pages/Postcode-zones-for-solar-water-heaters-and-heat-pumps.aspx

Zoned map for Solar Water heaters >>>

https://www.energyrating.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/E3-Zoned_Map_for_Solar_Water_Heaters_final_web_0.pdf

Victorian Energy Unit Product Registry (useful for all Australian locations) >>>

http://www.veu-registry.vic.gov.au/public/productregistrysearch.aspx

Energy efficient appliances:https://www.energy.gov.au/households/appliances (contains links to other sites as well)