This winter’s icy start has reignited the debate about the energy efficiency of Aussie homes and their ability to maintain warmth during our coldest months.
With many forecasters predicting the 2024 winter will be one of the coldest in decades, many Aussies are already feeling the freeze from within the should-be comfort of their homes.
The chilly temperatures combined with our poorly insulated, draughty, and inefficiently heated homes have led many to call for a universal fast-tracking of future National Construction Code changes and rental regulations slowly being introduced nationwide.
Add a cost-of-living crisis to the fire (or lack of one), and many vulnerable Australians risk their health in favour of more affordable energy bills.
It’s a choice no Aussie should have to make in 2024.
Building regulations warm up to change
New building code changes are slowly being rolled out to help keep newly built homes warmer in winter and cooler during the hot summer months.
Home construction companies will now need to comply with new energy efficiency standards, and new homes must meet a minimum 7-star Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) rating.
Such improvements will require home builders to improve window glazing, ceiling, wall, and underfloor insulation to help reach the new mandatory benchmark.
But the speed of change feels like it’s virtually frozen to a standstill in some states. The latest NCC updates will be introduced in South Australia in October, while Western Australians will have to rug up until next year before things change.
Metricon Homes design director Adrian Popple said they had updated their home designs to be more energy-efficient and comfortable while meeting the new NCC standards.
To alleviate the burden of increased costs on customers, Mr Popple says the company was ensuring homes remained affordable and resilient against future energy costs.
“We understand that these changes may result in slightly higher upfront costs for buyers,” he said.
Despite the slow rollout and the potential to further increase home costs, senior analyst and author of the PropTrack Origin Energy-Efficient Housing Report Karen Dellow says more Aussies are interested in seeing energy efficiency improve as increased power bills and concerns about climate change weigh on their minds.
“Features such as double-glazed windows and good insulation can help retain more warmth, reducing the need to rely on heating appliances,” Ms Dellow said.
At the same time, Victoria has recently strengthened renters’ rights to improve thermal standards in rental properties across the state.
What about rentals?
Renters may feel the brunt of this winter’s cold snap, as poorly built homes and rising rents leave many families struggling to keep warm this winter.
Gold Coast renter Dustin Parker told Build-it that the cost of living crisis meant his family had cut back on using heaters in hopes of cooling down their energy bills.
“I refuse to turn them on unless it’s below 15 C in here,” he said.
“We’ve turned to other strategies such as keeping doors closed and ensuring we sleep in more layers to stay warm through the coldest parts of the night.”
For those living in Victoria, where newly proposed minimum rental standards for ceiling insulation and draughtproofing were recently introduced, hot water efficiency could provide some respite. However, it won’t come into effect until November 2025.
Landlords will need to boost their rental properties’ energy efficiency by meeting minimum ceiling insulation standards, having draught sealing and swapping hot water and heating systems with energy-efficient electric appliances when they need replacing.
Dr Trivess Moore from the School of Property, Construction, and Project Management at RMIT University said the new standards would greatly improve the quality and comfort of rental housing and make it cheaper to live in.
“It’s the most far-reaching response by any Australian government to the huge and well-documented problems of affordability and poor conditions in our rental housing,” he said.
