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"A home energy audit will help you to understand where you use energy at home and where you may be able to make savings.  You can do your own home energy audit online using the links on this page.  Each section contains questions about how you use energy and should take less than 10 minutes to complete. By the end of the audit you'll know what you can do to reduce your energy use and minimise your bills. "

"Positive Footprints combines Environmentally Sustainable Design and Construction into the one company making high performing sustainable homes easy to achieve. Positive Footprints is honoured to have recently received 2 industry awards: MBAV Excellence in Housing  Best Sustainable Energy Home 2012 Award for Penola House and, National BPN Sustainable New Home of the Year 2012 for Marion House "

"As Australia's leading home show promising an inspiring array of fresh ideas and products, the Master Builders' Building & Home Improvement Expo promises to provide you with all you need to get started on your new build or home improvement project. "

Tired of hearing that sustainable construction has to cost more, Josh and his colleagues want to prove that resource efficient homes can be built at comparable cost and timeframes to regular houses. The homes will be thermally comfortable year round, without the need for air conditioning or additional heating. They will generate more electricity than they use, and will harvest and recycle water. In addition to private garden areas, a common productive garden will supply both houses with fresh food. What sets this project apart from many others is that the building designs have achieved a 10 Star energy efficiency rating*, whilst intentionally using conventional building materials and construction methods so they can easily be replicated by industry and the wider community. The project also demonstrates a more sensitive approach to residential subdivision that has considered maximising effective garden area around the homes to allow for natural shading, children's play spaces and local food production - important health and lifestyle benefits that are rapidly disappearing from our suburbs. Construction started in November 2012 and is scheduled for completion by May 2013.

"When building a green home one chooses to do so to reduce the harmful impact on the environment. Careful thought and consideration must be placed on every aspect of this home design, from the roof to the foundation to everything in between - electrical work, air quality, and affordability. It is important to lessen one's footprint and not to disrupt the existing ecosystem. With all the knowledge and resources available to us today there really is no excuse for not being environmentally conscientious."

"Powerwall is a home battery that charges using electricity generated from solar panels, or when utility rates are low, and powers your home in the evening. It also fortifies your home against power outages by providing a backup electricity supply. Automated, compact and simple to install, Powerwall offers independence from the utility grid and the security of an emergency backup."

Understanding home energy usage - This page helps you get a better understanding of where energy is used in your home and how you can reduce your costs by being more energy efficient."

"The Endeavour Centre is excited to begin the Canada's Greenest Home project, a residential build in Peterborough, Ontario that we are undertaking with the students in our five-month, Sustainable New Construction certificate program. Throughout the design and construction of Canada's Greenest Home, we will make every effort to publicly detail the entire process on this blog, so please follow along. We are sure to have a steep learning curve, and we want this learning to be a legacy of the project."

"Financial services firm Morgan Stanley predicts that up to a million Australian households could adopt home battery storage in the next four years. And, according to the Alternative Technology Association's (ATA) 2015 Household Battery Analysis, grid-connected solar and battery storage systems are likely to become economically attractive for most households by 2020. But there are some situations which may make it a good option before then. We've talked to the experts and combed the research to help you navigate your way into the energy revolution."

"If you're thinking about building green, keep this infographic nearby, as it covers thirteen elements that you'll want to consider in the design and construction of your home. Also keep in mind that this list isn't definitive; it does, however, demonstrate well that building green involves big-picture thinking beyond "Hey, let's put solar panels up.""

Are you excited by insulation? No? Would you like a house with virtually no heating bill? Yes? Have you heard of a passivhaus? They're quite wonderful. A passive house (passivhaus) is a super insulated energy efficient home. The reason why you should want one is they have tiny heating bills, minimal carbon footprints, are flooded with natural light and enjoy superior levels of comfort to normal homes.

"By the end of this century, Earth may be home to 11 billion people, the United Nations has estimated, earlier than previously expected. As part of a week-long series, LiveScience is exploring what reaching this population milestone might mean for our planet, from our ability to feed that many people to our impact on the other species that call Earth home to our efforts to land on other planets. Check back here each day for the next installment."

"Along with being a fun holiday for tricks and treats, Halloween is an opportune time to shine a ghostly light on the evil energy vampires lurking in homes. Those ghoulish fangs - also known as plugs in the wall - suck frightening amounts of electricity all night (and day) long, even when bloodthirsty electronics and appliances are turned off or doing nothing useful. The chilling truth is that as much as one-tenth of the electricity devoured in our homes vanishes as "standby power" - electricity feeding perpetually plugged-in electronics and appliances even when they're idle for long periods of time, like in the dead of night."

"Ideas at home"

AN INDEPENDENT GUIDE TO IMPROVING YOUR HOME"

Designed by Croatian architect Ivica Gjurić, the home is primarily intended as a vacation residence. It is a mere 258 sq ft; this figure can be halved in 5-6 minutes when its two sides fold into each other via hydraulic compressors for easier transport. The house can be operated completely off-grid. Solar panels handle electricity; the builders say it can operate with minimal sun for three days with solar-charged batteries. Water is brought in from rainwater collectors. Heating and the stove are fueled by a propane tank. There is a built-in waste water filtration unit so you won't need to get a septic tank.

Michael Geen is a freelance writer who contributes articles to the Age. This is his Greener Homes section.

I'm a freelance journalist in Melbourne, Australia. I write about environmental, social and community issues. I am often inspired by the people I write about, so I hope you will be too. You can find most of my published articles on this website. I write a weekly column called Greener Homes in the Domain lift-out of the Sunday Age.  

"Positive Footprints combines Environmentally Sustainable Design and Construction into the one company making high performing sustainable homes easy to achieve. Positive Footprints is honoured to have recently received 2 industry awards. This is their YouTube Channel featuring Fly-throughs of their house designs.

"Welcome to the Australia ecobutton™ website ecobutton™ is an award winning retro-fit computer power saving device that can really make a difference to your PC power usage and help you reduce your carbon footprint and save you money on your electricity bills. ecobutton™ is unique in that it rewards you each time you use it, showing you how much you've saved and helping to motivate behavioural change. Evidence is growing that ecobutton™ users are motivated to turn off lights and other electrical items more often in their offices and around their homes. ecobutton™ - one small click, one big change!"