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Sustainable and energy-efficient home builders

Building to run on less — better envelope, better orientation, and in some cases no gas connection at all.

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When this is the right path, and when it is not

Suits you if

You are prepared to spend at design stage on envelope and orientation rather than on appliances later.

Think again if

It goes wrong when performance is bought as equipment at the end, or when the builder has not detailed for airtightness before.

How the job actually runs

01
Start with orientation and envelope
Insulation, glazing, airtightness and which way the living areas face do more than any appliance. They are also nearly impossible to retrofit.
02
Understand your energy rating obligation
New homes must meet a minimum energy rating. Going beyond it is a choice, and the marginal cost falls the earlier you decide.
03
Decide all-electric early
Removing the gas connection changes the appliance schedule, the switchboard and sometimes the solar and battery sizing.
04
Model before you build
Thermal modelling shows what actually moves the number for your design on your block. It routinely contradicts intuition.

Where these jobs go wrong

The four things that most often cost people money on a sustainable homes job specifically.

Buying appliances instead of envelope
Solar on a leaky house is money spent in the wrong order. The envelope comes first, every time.
Treating the minimum rating as a target
The minimum is a floor, not a goal, and the cheapest time to exceed it is at design.
Forgetting summer
Australian designs fail more often on overheating than on winter heating. Shading and cross-ventilation matter as much as insulation.
Choosing a builder without the detail experience
Airtightness and thermal-bridge detailing are craft skills. A builder who has not done it will build to the drawing and miss the performance.

What moves the price

No figures — a number without your site and your specification is a guess. For a sustainable homes job, these are what actually move it.

Insulation and thermal bridging detail
Glazing specification and shading
Airtightness and mechanical ventilation
Solar, battery and switchboard
All-electric appliance schedule
Thermal performance modelling

Where we cover this, and what the planning data says

Mapped constraints is the control that most often decides how a sustainable homes job runs. Read from state planning data.

Suburbs covered for Sustainable homes and their mapped planning controls
Suburb	Council	Mapped constraints
Bowral	Wingecarribee Shire Council	4
Mittagong	Wingecarribee Shire Council	3
Mudgeeraba	City of Gold Coast	8
Palmwoods	Sunshine Coast Council	4
Woombye	Sunshine Coast Council	4
Worongary	City of Gold Coast	5
Cygnet	Huon Valley	7
Gisborne	Macedon Ranges Shire Council	10
Healesville	Yarra Ranges Council	8
Woodend	Macedon Ranges Shire Council	9
Denmark	Shire of Denmark	0

Suburb-level, read from state planning data. Not a report on any individual block.

What to ask a builder about a sustainable homes job

Specific to this kind of job. The general list is in questions to ask a builder.

Have you built to an airtightness target, and do you test it?
How do you detail thermal bridging at slab edge, junctions and openings?
Who does the thermal modelling, and can I see the results before we lock the design?
What is your experience with all-electric — switchboard, appliance schedule, solar and battery?
Can I speak to an owner of a house you built to this standard a year or more ago?

Questions people ask

Does a sustainable home cost more?

Upfront, generally yes; over the life of the house the calculation changes. We will not put a payback figure on it, because it depends on your design, your climate zone and your energy prices.

What is an all-electric home?

One with no gas connection — induction cooking, heat-pump hot water and reverse-cycle heating. It removes the supply charge and pairs well with solar.

Is passive house achievable in Australia?

Yes, and there are certified examples in most states. It is a rigorous standard and it needs a builder who has done it, not one who is willing to try.