Design for Where You Live

Australia’s a big country with a wide range of climate types, so it’s important to design your home to suit the region where you live to make it comfortable and cost effective to run.

For example, in southern parts of the country that experience cold winters, designing a home to be warm during cold weather is normally the key consideration, whereas in norther regions, with mild winters and hot summers, the focus is on keeping a home cool. Areas in between are known as temperate climates, and include cities like Sydney, Perth and Adelaide where design for winter and summer comfort is of equal consideration.

Australian building regulations set standards for design and materials based on climate zone to ensure suitable outcomes from region to region, however these are minimum requirements and often result in missed opportunities for better performance.

The best way to ensure your home is designed for your climate is to request a home energy rating above the minimum requirement.   The higher the rating to more comfortable your home will be – we recommend aiming for 7 stars or better.