Zero Emission Home

A family of four will soon have the opportunity to road-test a zero emission house - the first of its kind to be constructed in Australia.

The AusZEH home sets a precedent for sustainable living and building practices and is expected to use up to 70 per cent less energy than a traditional home of similar size.

Designed and constructed by leading Australian builder Henley Property Group in consultation with CSIRO, Delfin Lend Lease and Sustainability Victoria, the home will be able to produce enough 'zero-emission' renewable energy on-site to supply all the operating needs of the household so its total  greenhouse gas emissions is  zero.

Zero emissions is achieved through a combination of energy efficiency and demand reduction measures, on-site renewable energy supply and the application of a home energy management system.

Currently open as a display home, the search is on for a family to occupy the home for 12 months while CSIRO monitors the home's emissions. The ZEH's performance will be evaluated against other homes within the development to gauge the success of the project and help identify key areas for further improvement.

About half of the total annual CO2 emissions attributed to buildings if from energy usage in residential buildings. This is about 13 per cent of total CO2 emissions from all sectors in Australia, so while not the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, it is one of the fastest growing sources.

Home energy management system

An energy management and monitoring system will enable the household to make the right decisions to reduce their energy consumption and consequently their greenhouse gas emissions. A single touch screen inside the home illustrates energy usage in real time with easy-to-follow diagrams, figures and graphs.

The householder can click on a particular area of the house to see a colour-coded guide to how much energy is being used, as well as figures showing usage in kWh, dollars and kgCO2 - for the day as well as for the month. Click on these figures to drill down into more detail, with graphs showing detailed aspects of energy consumption.

For a quick overview, the home page of the touch screen uses coloured icons to show water consumption from the mains and rainwater tank, as well as a comparison of how much energy is being generated by the solar system and how much is being consumed.

Another glance view shows where the energy is going in the house, such as from the airconditioner or water heater. Click on this icon and you are taken to a graph outlining at what period of the day the energy usage is at its highest.

The touch screen incorporates a 'standby switch' that allows the household to turn off all their appliances when they go to bed. There is also the functionality to be able to connect to the energy management system from your office or mobile phone, with the ability to remotely switch off lights or put the house in standby mode.