By JO HARRISON
A CHECKLIST to establish and improve a home’s energy and water efficiency was launched by Armidale Dumaresq Council’s Environmental Sustainability Committee at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM) last Thursday evening.
Council’s Sustainable Home Checklist is a free resource adapted from work by Derek Wrigley OAM and colleagues from the Australian National University. Council’s Director of Sustainable Planning and Living Stephen Gow said the checklist was an important resource that will help existing home owners as well as new homes owners assess the sustainability of a home.
“The launch tonight of the Sustainable Home Checklist is about recognising the importance of providing good consumer information,” Mr Gow said.
“In the New England we have a challenging winter climate and being comfortable, enjoying your home is therefore all the more important.
“These days’ people are concerned about the running costs of the home in an era where energy bills have continued to increase over the last few years.”
Use of the checklist is voluntary and focuses on things that can be upgraded and improved. It aims to address incremental changes residents can make to existing homes as well as new building design principles.
The four-page document also references useful on-line material as well as published resources available through Council’s Library, for further research.
“It covers many topics with a number focusing around the key principles of passive solar housing like good insulation, orientation, thermal mass inside the building envelop and ventilation,” Mr Gow said.
“However it goes beyond these basic principles to deal with appliances, lighting and solar energy.
“Appliances and lighting are interesting because they consume up to 40 per cent of a total household energy bill. Clearly hot water and heating in our climate are very significant contributors to the energy bill but having efficient appliances and using them sensibly are also part of running a sustainable home.”
Guest speaker Cecille Weldon, Head of Sustainability and Knowledge Management at LJ Hooker, spoke at the launch about how such consumer resources were important in helping the community in making more informed investment and lifestyle choices.
Ms Weldon has been responsible for the establishment of the ‘Liveability’ website listed in the checklist (www.liveability.com.au), which brings together home sustainability advice from many expert sources for home owners and tenants.
The checklist can be viewed and downloaded for printing through the Sustainability module on the council’s homepage www.armidale.nsw.gov.au.
Copies are also available from the council’s offices at 135 Rusden Street, Armidale.
