eco friendly materials

When you’re trying to create a sustainable new home or renovation understanding the science of green building is essential. In this section you’ll find information on:

• Embodied energy
• Energy efficiency
• Building efficiency
• Site sensitivity
• Indoor air quality
• Maintenance
• Eco friendly building materials.

Green building explained.

Increasing the energy efficiency of Australian homes is important but it’s not the only aspect of sustainability that we should consider. Another is the impact of the building materials that we choose to build with.

A desire to explore green building and create a home that could be defined as sustainable architecture will not only consider energy efficiency but also:

• The impact on the environment of the building materials we choose – and this is commonly assessed by looking at the embodied energy of those materials
• The impact on the actual site of the type of construction method we choose – the degree to which a site is left intact, or cut into and filled to make way for concrete slabs for example
• The impact on the environment as a result of all the repair and maintenance that might need to be done to it over its life
• The impact on our health from living with the materials and the unseen chemicals they might emit or the mould they may allow to flourish