Home Design: Air-conditioning verses sustainable living

Building your next home for lower bills & energy use is still important, even though free ducted air conditioning offer abound

With the current floods and cooler than normal summer we are currently experiencing in Brisbane and the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia at the moment, it is important that we don’t lose sight of the fact that we need, as a Nation, to be focused on building more energy efficient and healthier homes more than ever, and reducing our carbon footprint.

Is Climate Change Real?

After all, if we believe that climate change is real, [and even if we don't it would be prudent to err on the side on caution] then we would need to reduce our use of energy resources that create the “Greenhouse gases” that trap heat in the atmosphere, that is said to be a major cause in the rise of mean temperatures, and from that, the sort of severe weather patterns we seem to be experiencing now, and have been over the past 100 years according to the experts. And according to major reinsurance corporations, [those that insure your insurance company] this has lead to the tripling of major weather events over the past 30 years.

Yes but…… I don’t believe in Climate Change, because…..

A dwindling number of people don’t buy the climate change thing. Here’s my take.

Even if climate change was a load of hot air, it would make sense to build a more energy efficient home, simply on the future energy cost savings to you and the reductions in your maintenance work and expenses of things like air-conditioners, cleaning and repainting costs due to mould infestation.

In short, in Queensland we have different weather and climate conditions to deal with than in the cooler Southern States like South Australia and Victoria, and we therefore should not be building hot boxes, and homes that create and trap a lot of hot air too.

The take away for home buyers

The point I am trying to make here is that just because you are insulating and air-conditioning your home, its still important to design and construct an energy efficient home, that allows for airflow through your home. This is so important for comfort levels in the sub-tropical humid conditions that we can experience in Queensland, especially in the Gold Coast and Brisbane where I help people design and construct better, more livable homes.

The Six Star Energy Rating Solution

I am mindful about people’s concerns about saving money and saving the planet, and can build your home to a six star energy rating. That’s a given in todays home construction reality. We believe that this is important for you to consider before building your next home.

We can also tweak your home design to ensure that you get the kind of airflow through your home that is so important to remove hot air, and moisture laden air that can cause humid, restless and sweaty nights and even mould infestations throughout your home that can cause health problems down the track.

If you don’t want to build a hot box, and would like a home that pumps more fresh air through the home free, and get get free ducted air conditioning installed, you might want to call Rick Adlam on 0413 268 166 now.