ENERGY EFFICIENCY

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

We often get asked 'Do you design homes that are energy efficient?'. The simple answer to that is yes. All new builds must meet a 6 star energy rating. The formular is simple -

- Keep windows on the east and west to a minimum
- Have living areas facing north and well shaded
- Incorporate small windows on the south to allow sea breezes

Anything outside of these basic rules will start to change the properties on how your design performs in summer and winter. Ultimately this starts to reduce the star rating which then forces you to add other measures to combat the drop in stars. For instance if you have ocen views and the side of your house faces west, then the heat load on these windows will significantly reduce the star rating. This leads to upgrading the glass to tinted or even double glazing. This of course starts to add further costs to your home. We work closely with energy asessors and have become familiar with the 'do's and don'ts' of solar design. Ultimately it comes down to the individual if they prefer not to adopt these basic rules, all it means is higher costs in upgrades.

A 6 Star Energy Assessment can only be carried out by an accredited assessor and the assessment must be submitted at Building License stage, it is not required at Planning stage. Unfortuntately, the outcome of how your home stacks up and how many stars it receives is not known until the design has been finalised. This service attracts a fee and any changes made to your design after an assessment has been carried out will incur additional charges by the assessor each time the design is changed. It is a legal document and therefore must marry up against the final design.

For more in depth detail on energy efficiency, follow this link.

http://www.seaaus.com.au/files/sea-6-star-booklet-240511.pdf

URBAN RESIDENCE

architectural drafting - building design