Shooting for zero

Maroondah Leader
Tuesday 10/7/2007 Page: 72

GREATER use of airconditioning will cause blackouts by 2030, warns the latest report commissioned by the State Government from the CSIRO. If all Australian houses are built to zero emission standards-not requiring airconditioning - by 2016, this will lessen the effects of more severe weather forecast from human forced global warming.

Companies from Britain and elsewhere are already building houses compliant with the 2016 code, some with cost increases of only 2 per cent more than similar traditionally built houses. Now passed into law, the code sets minimum standards for both energy and water efficiency. In addition, the British government has agreed that any home achieving Level 6 sustainability rating will be exempt from stamp duty.

One type of zero emissions house is warmed and cooled with the help of Energain coated panels installed on interior walls and ceilings that absorb and release heat depending on the temperature. Another type contains a mechanical heat recovery system that removes moist, stale air from rooms and passes it over cool, fresh air from outside to regulate constant comfortable air temperatures.

With the addition of solar panels (pictured) and wind turbines, houses will soon be entirely self sufficient, generating electricity on-site, says Matthew Wright, spokesman for Beyond Zero Emissions, based in Brunswick St, Fitzroy.

Details: www.beyondzeroemissions.org.