What Does It Take to Have A 10 Star Home?

All new homes, renovations and alterations in Australia must be built to a minimum 6 Star Rating. The 6 Star Standard applies to the thermal performance of a home and includes the installation of either a solar hot water system or a rainwater tank. Being the minimum this doesn’t always translate to a comfortable home when the extremes of summer or winter hits. This results in spike of energy usage during these periods.

On the other hand, A10 Star homes require no heating or cooling to keep homeowners comfortable all year-round.

The more energy stars your home has, the more comfortable it is, with minimum need for heating or cooling. A 10 Star home should need no heating or cooling whatsoever.

In particularly cold areas such as Victoria, achieving a 10-star rating may seem impossible. But that’s exactly what Martin Builders proved doable in Victorias’ Bass Coast at The Cape. The team were able to design and build a three-bedroom house that doesn’t require any heating or cooling.

The 10 star home features a high performance ‘sealed envelope’ around its exterior, dramatically reducing unwanted and unnecessary excessive air exchange, as well as thermal mass industrial concrete floors that absorb the sun’s heat –  slowly releasing the heat and warming up the house in winter and assisting to cool it down in summer. Combined with reverse brick veneer construction and highly insulated slab, walls and ceiling that utilise innovative “phase change material”  advance insulation technology, this doesn’t require heating or cooling appliances resulting in zero energy bills. The north orientation of the home allows it to absorb the sun’s rays. The latest and most advanced water and energy efficient appliance were installed. A sizeable array of solar panels on the roof will provide the home’s all electric energy requirements.

 One of the main products that immensely helped with this rating is the newly installed Sanden Eco Heat Pump Hot Water by NewGen Solar & Heat Pumps. Average residential houses will use 25% of their energy bills on hot water. With the Sanden Eco Heat Pump, the most advanced hot water system  using a unique Co2 refrigerant, the energy usage will be extremely low. To know more about this product, visit the Sanden Eco Heat Pump page.