Visit the Suburban Land Agency’s Display Village in Whitlam to see innovative design and building practices to inspire more environmentally conscious living.
18 April 2024
Living in a more sustainable home can help you save money, lower emissions and make your home more comfortable.
Whether you’re buying, building or renovating, the Suburban Land Agency (SLA) Innovation Precinct at the Display Village in Whitlam can give you ideas for sustainable living specific to Canberra’s climate.
The Precinct includes three sustainable homes to showcase innovative design and building practices to inspire more environmentally conscience living.
SLA Acting Director of Sustainability and Innovation, Bec Kaye, shared her top tips for sustainable living in Canberra homes.
Build a smaller home
If you’re building a home, the number one thing you can do to build more sustainably is to build a smaller footprint home.
“That will save you money upfront because obviously you use less materials, but it also saves you a lot of embodied carbon.”
Bec says when people visit the Precinct, they’re surprised by the look and feel of the smaller homes.
“People are shocked that a smaller house can be designed so well to feel open, and to feel like there’s more space than there is,” she said.
Think about orientation
“The second most important thing to do is to orient your home correctly,” Bec said.
When it comes to orienting a home in Canberra, you need to consider:
- warm sun from the north
- hot summer winds from the west
- cool summer breezes from the east
- cold winter winds from the south.
Orienting your home to the north means that in winter, you’ll maximise the warmth and light from the sun.
“Think about how you can minimise getting heat into the western-facing part of your home during hot summer days,” Bec said.
That can include things like:
- getting thick curtains
- installing double-glazed windows
- having smaller windows on western-facing walls
- planting trees or climbers outside for shade.
Pay attention to insulation and sealing
Regardless of whether you’re building or renovating, insulating your walls is very important for Canberra homes.
It’s also important to seal up the gaps in between where windows connect with the walls during your build or renovation. These gaps allow air to get through, bringing the cool in during winter and the heat in through summer.
“Your builder can use things like building tape and silicone to seal up those gaps and help improve the thermal comfort,” Bec said.
Consider your garden
Another environmentally conscious choice you can make is to couple your sustainable home with a climate resilient garden.
“Allowing space in your backyard to grow a garden is not only a way to add amenity to your home and create a place for the birds and the bees, but it also creates a cooler microclimate within which your house is situated.”
If you have shade trees in your garden, the temperature around your home will be cooler. That means your house will stay cooler in summer, and you won’t need to use your cooling system as often.
Download the SLA Climate Wise Garden Designs booklet.
Optimise energy efficiency
Choosing energy efficient appliances can reduce the amount of electricity you use, helping to reduce your electricity bill.
“If you want to make your electricity cost even lower, installing a solar panel system is the best way to go,” Bec said.
“If you couple a solar panel system with a battery for your house, that battery will store energy that’s generated by the sun during the day so that you can use it at night.”
Some other tips for sustainable homes include:
- using recycled materials like Canberra red bricks or recycled timber
- choosing materials that have a recycled component
- using more durable materials that need to be replaced less frequently, or can be recycled in the future
- using permeable pavers to reduce the risk of flood damage
- decorating your home with second-hand furniture.
Find more tips in the Your Resilient Home Guide.
You can see all of these sustainable living choices in action at the SLA Innovation Precinct in the Display Village in Whitlam.
Learn more about the Precinct.
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