NEWS RELEASE
19 October 2001
Energy card
scores top rating for housing design
A
simple point score system is helping South Australians to build homes that
are 30 to 40 per cent more energy efficient than the Australian average.
Developed at the University of South Australia, this innovative approach
is being used successfully at Mawson Lakes and another Adelaide housing
development and will soon be used on a wider scale throughout the state.
This
good news comes at a time when rising energy prices and electricity cuts
during peak demand periods in summer are leaving some householders hot
under the collar and out of pocket.
The
score card system is so easy to use that homebuyers and builders can
assess the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas emission rating of new
houses themselves. Each point on the energy score card represents one per
cent of the overall energy consumption for the average home.
“We
keep progressively refining the score card to make sure that it is easy to
use, understandable and reflects the true energy consumption,” says Associate
Professor Wasim Saman, Director of the University’s Sustainable
Energy Centre (SEC), where the system was developed.
The
card can help buyers make decisions about building design and the
selection of major appliances such as air conditioners and water heaters.
“Design
strategies for buyers considering energy efficient homes should include
orienting the house to take advantage of solar heating, the use of
appropriate shading on windows and designing interiors so that heating and
cooling can be confined to local areas, rather than the whole house,”
Professor Saman says.
The
SEC is working with the Australian Greenhouse office, Mawson Lakes
Development, ETSA Utilities, AGL, Origin Energy and Envestra to monitor
how much energy is being consumed and where it is being used in a number
of individual homes. In addition, the Energy Information Centre is helping
SEC to promote wider use of the system within the whole of South
Australia.
Media
contact: Geraldine Hinter (08) 8302 0963 or 0417 861832 geraldine.hinter@unisa.edu.au
