Program 3: Engaged Communities
White Gum Valley (WGV) is a 2.2ha medium density, 80 dwelling residential infill development located in the City of Fremantle. Led by the WA State Government’s land development agency LandCorp, WGV demonstrates design excellence on a number of levels by incorporating diverse building typologies (detached houses, town houses and apartments), climate sensitive considerations, creative urban greening and innovative water management strategies. This Living Laboratory project will follow the development process at WGV from construction, to completion, through to occupancy, with a focus on the mechanism used to achieve low carbon outcomes, their acceptance and uptake, with a view to making them mainstream.
Program
Project leader
Prof Peter Newman and Dr Josh Byrne
Project status
Complete
Project period
07/2015 to 07/2018
- Publications
- Posters
- Partners
- News
CRCLCL Project Reports
RP3033: Final Report: Mainstreaming Low Carbon Residential Precincts: the WGV Living Laboratory
WGV has been the subject of several research projects being led by Curtin University in collaboration with government and industry partners. The development is described as a ‘Living Lab’2 where concepts, technologies and practices are created and tested in a real-life setting. This Report documents the research activities undertaken as part of the Cooperative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) research project RP3033: Mainstreaming Low Carbon Residential Precincts – the WGV Living Laboratory which ran between July 2014 and June 2019.
Mainstreaming Low Carbon Residential Precincts: the WGV Living Laboratory - Final Report (5496255 PDF)
RP3033 & 3033u2: Report: WGV Living Lab: Performance Monitoring Design Report
This report reviews the range of performance monitoring activities at WGV fulfilling different purposes. Some activities are long term, for example where monitoring is required for service provision and end-user billing. Others are likely to be shorter term such as data collection for research purposes. In many cases, the equipment deployed to meet the needs of one activity is utilised to fulfil another for efficiency. A summary of the main monitoring activities is:
- Equipment performance assessment by system managers and/or service providers such as strata scale solar energy systems, or the management of the community bore non-drinking water scheme (long term).
- Internal billing of residents for energy and water use by apartment building strata managers, or billing agents (long term).
- Resident feedback on energy and water use via data dashboards (short to medium term).
- Accessing performance data by researchers and industry (short to medium term).
RP3033 & 3033u2: WGV Living Lab: Performance Monitoring Design Report (3981882 PDF)
Fact sheet
RP3033 FACTSHEET: WGV Living Laboratory
WGV has been selected by the CRC LCL to participate in a four year ‘Living Laboratory’ type research program that will follow the development process from construction through to occupancy. The Living Laboratory concept is a ‘learn-by-doing’ approach to research where innovations are tested in real-life settings with the aim of informing policy and industry outcomes.
WGV demonstrates precinct-scale design excellence on a number of levels by incorporating diverse building typologies, climate sensitive considerations, plus creative urban greening and water management strategies.
Partners on this project:
- LandCorp
- Curtin University
- Josh Byrne & Associates
- City of Fremantle
RP3033 Factsheet: WGV Living Laboratory (372244 PDF)
Peer Reviewed Research Publications
Student Poster 2017: RP3033 - WGV living lab: Community participation in mainstreaming low carbon housing precincts
Tanya Babaeff: Student Poster 2017 - RP3033 (1713933 PDF)
Student poster 2016: RP3033 Governance and community engagement for mainstreaming low carbon housing precincts
Student poster - Participants Annual Forum 2016 - Tanya Babaeff Governance and community engagement for mainstreaming low carbon housing precincts
Tanya Babaeff Student Poster 2016 RP3033 (1613267 PDF)
Partners on this project
- LANDCORP
- JOSH BYRNE & ASSOCIATES
- Curtin University
- City of Fremantle
News articles
CRCLCL in The Fifth Estate: Blockchain comes to Perth and residents trade solar in new energy paradigm
3 August 2018
Residents of the Evermore apartment complex in Perth’s White Gum Valley, one of the CRCLCL's Living Labs, will be able to directly trade solar energy with each other, in what is one of the first examples of peer-to-peer energy trading in the residential space. Read the full piece.
CRCLCL on Sky News: Density by Design - Dr Josh Byrne
1 May 2017
Dr Josh Byrne was interviewed by Sky News about his new web series, Density By Design. In the interview, which aired on 29 April 2017, Dr Byrne talks about medium and high density designs that are livable, affordable and sustainable.
The Density by Design series is part of a broader research project on low-carbon residential precincts being undertaken by Curtin University’s Sustainability Policy Institute and the CRC for Low Carbon Living.
Density by Design explores medium and high density designs that are livable, affordable and sustainable. It's presented by @JoshsHouse10 pic.twitter.com/1TeU9R4fCF
Media Release: Can good design change the great Australian dream?
7 April 2017
Density by Design is a web series hosted by environmental scientist Dr Josh Byrne, exploring how Australia’s housing is evolving. As cities grow and space runs out, the traditional dream of a big house on a large block is giving way to smarter, more sustainable living.
Josh visits innovative residential projects like Christie Walk, The Commons, Bowden, and Central Park, and dives into WGV in Fremantle—a real-life “Living Laboratory” for sustainable design. Alongside expert insights, the series features stunning photography that captures the spirit of these spaces.
Produced by VAM MEDIA, the series is part of a broader research project led by Curtin University and the CRC for Low Carbon Living.
ABC TV’s Catalyst visits Josh's House and WGV
4 February 2016
In this week's episode of ABC TV's Catalyst, Dr Jonica Newby investigated the power revolution that is home batteries. She included a visit to two of the CRCLCL's living laboratories, Josh's House and White Gum Valley (WGV).
As part of the ongoing research activities at Josh’s House, CRCLCL PhD researcher Jemma Green from Curtin University has been testing a new 8kWh LiFePO4 battery unit to see just how effective solar energy storage can be in reducing grid dependence.
Ms Green said, "It's quite amazing what the battery's done. Basically, 53 per cent of the household's electricity needs are now coming from the battery. Forty-four per cent is still coming from their solar panel during the day, and only three per cent from the grid. So it's a really dramatic shift."
Ms Green, under the supervision of Professor Peter Newman, developed the solar storage on strata innovation as part of a CRCLCL research project at Landcorp's WGV.
"They've got 24-hour renewable power, low-carbon electricity and also it provides a revenue stream for investors because the tenants pay their electricity bill to the strata company instead of paying it to the utility," she said.
"I hope we'll see many of these pop up around Australia as a result of this research project."
For more information on the Josh’s House residential solar energy storage trial, visit the Josh's House website. For more information on the Gen Y battery trial, read the latest media release.
To view the Catalyst episode on Battery Powered Homes, visit the Catalyst wesbite.