2023 Good Friday Appeal Charity Home

Published: 14 April 2023
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two storey brown and white modern home with attached garage, driveway, and manicured lawn with paved path to the door 2023 Good Friday Appeal Charity Home (copyright Henley Arch Pty Ltd.).

For the second year in a row, Sustainability Victoria has collaborated with Henley Homes to deliver the Good Friday Appeal Charity Home. This luxurious all-electric, 7 Star home is packed with sustainability features ensuring the home is comfortable, healthy to live in and kinder to the environment, all while saving the new owner 66% on their energy bills.

Snapshot

House Design: Henley Electra 35, featuring the contemporary Novello facade.

NatHERS energy rating: 7 stars.

Energy efficiency achievement: High – all electric, Net Zero Emissions.

Other features: All electric appliances; 6.24kW Solar PV system with 10.08kWh battery, EV Ready.

Size: 274m2 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, 5 living spaces, and 2 car garage.

Annual emissions: -1.74 tonnes CO2-e  

Annual energy cost: $515

Comfort, health, quality and savings

Energy-efficient homes are better for the environment and better for your hip pocket. By including energy efficient features in your new home, you can significantly reduce running costs, improve the quality of your home and ensure it is more comfortable to live in year-round. By choosing to build all-electric with solar PV, you can take control of your energy consumption and protect yourself from the rising cost of energy in the home.

Comfort

More comfortable than a standard build

  • Consistent internal temperature; not too hot and not too cold.
  • Not draughty.
  • Quiet.
  • Full of natural light.

Contributing features

  • Insulation: extra care was taken when insulation was installed, and thickness of insulation is above minimum standard, therefore reducing the transfer of heat. Additional insulation is installed in internal wet area walls and between floors also helps to reduce noise between spaces in the home.
  • Draught seals: these have been installed on all windows and doors, and additional sealing was completed at the plaster stage, helping to minimise air leakage and uncomfortable draughts. The decision to avoid cavity sliding doors also helps to reduce draughts in this home.
  • Orientation and shading: the home’s main living areas face North. This enables the home to take advantage of the winter sun, keeping these rooms light and bright. Shading helps to keep this home cool in Summer while still allowing access to plenty of natural light.
  • Windows: high performance double-glazed low-E windows and doors keep warm air in during winter and hot air out during summer, with up to 70% less heat loss. Double glazing also reduces external noise. Careful decisions about the size and placement of windows also helps contribute to keeping this home comfortable.
  • Thermal mass: tiled floors in the main living areas add thermal mass, absorbing heat from the winter sun and releasing it during the night. Thermal mass helps to maintain a steady internal temperature and reduces the need to use heating systems.
modern kitchen with island with white countertop to the left and induction cooktop and wood cabinets to the right Induction cooktop, 2023 Good Friday Appeal Charity Home (copyright Henley Arch Pty Ltd.).

Health

Promoting improved health and wellbeing

  • Reduced likelihood of mould and mildew.
  • A comfortable temperature inside the home promotes a better night’s sleep.
  • Healthier air.

Contributing features

  • Appliances: all-electric appliances including an induction cooktop contribute to healthier indoor air. Induction cooking avoids the release of harmful pollutants released by burning gas including carbon monoxide and formaldehyde. Gas use in the home has been linked to childhood asthma.
  • Ventilation: all exhaust fans and the kitchen rangehood are vented externally, helping to avoid the build-up of moisture in building cavities and ceiling and reducing the risk of mould forming in the home.
  • Windows: double glazed windows reduce external noise and contribute to ensuring the home maintains a healthy indoor temperature.

Quality

Confidence that the house was constructed to meet the correct standards

  • Minimal insulation gaps, with verified insulation coverage of above 98% in the walls, floors and ceilings.
  • A verified air permeability rate of 7.67 m3/h/m2 @ 50Pa making it less draughty than a minimum standards home.

Contributing features

  • Extra sealing behind the walls: use of additional sealing treatments between the slab and frame, around the windows and fixed services for a more air-tight home.
  • As-built verification: this assessment has been conducted and passed to confirm insulation coverage and airtightness meets or exceeds required standards.

Savings

More money in your pocket and less impact on the environment.

  • Estimated annual dollar savings: $1,016.
  • Estimated annual energy savings: 39,266 MJ.
  • Estimated annual emissions: 1.74 tCO2-e.

Annual energy and utility bill savings of 2023 Good Friday Appeal (GFA) Charity House

GFA House baseline (if it were a standard mixed fuel 7-star home with solar PV and battery) GFA House (actual) (7-star – all electric with solar PV and battery) Savings [%]
Annual energy use 32,760 MJ -6,506 MJ 120%
Annual energy bill $1,531 $515 66%

Annual energy and utility bill savings of 2023 Good Friday Appeal Charity House when compared to the same home if it were mixed fuel. This assessment was conducted using Sustainability Victoria’s Whole-of-Home Pilot Tool.

Contributing features

  • 7 Star NatHERS rating: this home achieves a 7 star NatHERS rating; From October 2023 the minimum rating for new homes will increase from 6 to 7 stars out of a possible 10, making homes cheaper to run, more comfortable to live in and more resilient to extreme weather.
  • Solar PV and battery storage: a 6kW PV system ensures the home generates more energy than it consumes and a 4.98kWh battery means more of the energy generated on site is consumed in the home. The PV and battery storage system result in an annual utility bill savings of $1263
  • Energy-efficient appliances: all-electric energy-efficient appliances paired with solar PV ensures the home offsets its operational emissions, making it net zero. The ducted electric reverse-cycle heating system is 35% cheaper than gas ducted heating and the heat pump hot water system is 37% cheaper than gas instantaneous hot water.

More information

To learn more about the home, visit  Henley Homes and Villawood Properties Charity Home and watch the video.