Program 3: Engaged Communities
Residential housing is a major contributor of greenhouse gas emissions with most emissions being generated during the operation of buildings.
Josh's House has shown that High Performance (HP), Zero Emissions Homes (ZEH) are accessible to the volume market, with the learnings being widely shared with industry and the broader community. The challenge is to now translate that into mainstream development and construction industry practice. This will be achieved in this project by:
- Developing an agreed position on cost barriers that are currently put forward by the volume housing industry as barriers to mainstream adoption of HP ZEH homes.
- Assessing consumer interest in HP ZEH features comparative to more typical value add items.
- Informing the development and construction industry of the market potential through coordinated end user engagement and communications.
Each of these elements will be enabled by data-gathering and information sharing around delivery of HP ZEH volume market homes in display villages in new residential developments around Australia in partnership with land developers.
Program
Project leader
Dr Josh Byrne and Prof Peter Newman
Project status
Complete
Project period
1/2017 to 12/2018
- Publications
- News
- Partners
Peer Reviewed Research Publications
RP3009e1: Mainstreaming Net Zero Energy Housing: Cost Analysis Report
This report is the second of a series of three following on from the Net Zero Energy Home (NZEH) Design Review Report and explores the costing and financial payback of the NZEH upgrades for each of the four case study designs.
Based on energy modelling conducted in the design review process and retail costings provided by the buildings, initial installation costs and annual savings were calculated. The costing analysis was then condicuted across a 25-year lifespaan, aligning with previous research on high performance buildings, as well as placing the analysis over a similar time period to a standard mortgage. The analysis used energy prices for each of the four case study locations and accounted for maintenance and replacement cost of appliances. Analysis was conducted across five different electricity prices continuatin of feed-in tariffs, and elimination of feed-in tariffs.
Mainstreaming Net Zero Energy Housing: Cost Analysis Report (5968433 PDF)
RP3009e1: Net Zero Energy Housing: Design Review Report
This report explores cost-efficient approaches for the participating volumes builders to transition ‘business-as-usual’ house design to a ‘net zero energy’ house design.
The methodology involved firstly a workshop, where the concepts of net zero energy housing (NZEH) design were discussed amongst stakeholders and different design and technology scenarios were brainstormed. The second step was to model the chosen scenarios with the use of the CSIRO AusZEH Design Tool, and cost these to identify the most cost-effective solutions. Finally, an adequate PV system was sized to cover the annual energy needs of a typical Australian household in order to achieve NZEH.
Net Zero Energy Housing: Design Review Report (9575865 PDF)
News articles
Net Zero Energy Homes the way of the future but market slow
23 July 2019
New research has validated Net Zero Energy Homes in Melbourne, Townsville, Canberra and Perth housing developments as achievable and affordable, but highlighted a market slow to pick up on easy opportunities for improved energy efficiency and thermal comfort.
CRCLCL Living Lab Josh's House gets solar upgrade
22 November 2018
One of the CRCLCL's 16 Living Laboratories has had a solar electric upgrade. This is at Josh's House in Perth, Western Australia where the upgrades were documented via video, fact sheet and online.
The electrical upgrades include an electric vehicle (EV), the replacement of the original gas boosted solar hot water system with an electric heat pump, and the gas stove with an induction cooktop, making the house completely solar-electric. The new appliances are metered, along with the EV charging point, with the data providing valuable insights into the impact of car charging on a solar-electric home.
For more details watch the Josh's House video, read the factsheet or go to the Josh's House website for the news article.