Going green and building a sustainable life

Building an eco-friendly and sustainable home can minimise your electricity use, promote a healthier lifestyle and reduce your carbon footprint. Let’s look at how you can build a home that has your neighbours green with envy.

 

Long Bay by GJ Gardener Homes at Yarrabilba Display Village Long Bay by GJ Gardener Homes at Yarrabilba Display Village 

A growing number of Queensland residents are living green, embracing a more sustainable lifestyle by being conscious of their lasting footprint both inside the home and out.

Love the idea of building a sustainable home but not sure what’s involved? Our go-to guide has all the answers!

Designing and building your home to maximise the natural elements and surroundings

G.J. Gardner Homes has opened the doors to its new display home, Long Bay in Yarrabilba, showcasing innovation, luxury and sustainability at every turn.

The Long Bay is designed to encompass indoor outdoor entertaining and embrace natural light into the home to create a warming and relaxing environment to live.  With the use of a raised ceiling in the main living zone allows the use of highlight glazing to really let the light shine in.

“A sustainable home is designed in a way that respects natural resources by optimising energy and water use; a home that includes quality systems that ensure durability and uses low-impact, high-performance materials that are efficient in terms of manufacturing, shipping and installing,” said Buddy Randall GJ Gardner Homes General Manager – Gold Coast North.

“In the early stages of planning a new build, features such as location, size and orientation should be looked at closely.

“For example, a more sustainable design will take advantage of natural light and airflow to heat and cool the home naturally. This consideration will produce long-term benefits for both the household and the environment by reducing the energy consumption of cooling and heating systems.

“Designing and building with a long-term mindset will help you to significantly increase the lifespan of your home. Durable, quality building materials and sustainable design features will ensure your sustainable home is built for the future.”

GJ Gardener High Ceilings for sustainability

 

Incorporating sustainable design into your home

  • Understand your climate region before you start building. The Australian Government Sustainable Homes site breaks down eight climate zones, with different priorities and tips for each. 
  • Consider solar passive design which can warm and cool the home automatically and lets the natural design do all the heavy lifting. Make sure you work with your orientation and take advantage of the natural light.
  • Windows are responsible for more than 50 per cent of lost energy in homes. When building a sustainable house, consider new technologies such as double glazing, special coatings and nonconductive frames.
  • In most Australian homes, appliances and plug loads can account for up to 60 per cent of energy usage. Selecting energy efficient appliances can dramatically reduce your home’s energy use, cut air pollution and can even assist the resale value of your home.
  • Installing doors and windows on both sides of your home will allow natural airflow and cool down the home a lot quicker. You can achieve cross-ventilation by building high ceilings, wide hallways and bi-fold or sliding stacker doors.
  • Solar panels provide one of the most cost-effective forms of renewable energy for a home. 

 

How Lendlease residents are living green

For Lendlease residents John and Alison, sustainability has been at the forefront of their home build journey. We asked the couple about their sustainability secrets.

“In trying to think about how we could ensure the home was as sustainable as possible, we decided to build with a lot of plantation timber, as well as putting a lot of insulation in the walls,” said John.

GJ Gardener Living Green

“We also built the home to feature a lot of windows and doors, helping cross-ventilation and aiding in cooling down the home. This has dramatically reduced the need for air conditioners, especially during the warmer months.

“When selecting the materials for our outdoor decking, we chose manufactured boards that were made from 50 per cent recycled timber and 50 per cent recycled plastic.

“Building our home with sustainability in mind, our electricity bill has gone from around $500 down to $25. This was achieved by firstly considering the orientation of our home on the block of land, being mindful of where the sun rises and sets and where the breezes come from.

“The design and layout of our home means we have limited our use of indoor lighting, the need for fans and air conditioning in summer and we haven’t needed to heat the house in winter.”

Come and visit Yarrabilba’s new display village today!

Yarrabilba’s new Builder Display Village is now open for inspection – located on Prospect Circuit in The Parks precinct.

With innovation, style and inspiration at every turn, the Display Village features 19 stunning homes by 12 renowned Australian builders; Brighton Homes, Coral Homes, Burbank, GJ Gardner, Bella, Hallmark Homes, Domaine, Simonds, Orbit, DR Homes, Metricon and Homecorp.

Situated in the heart of The Parks, Yarrabilba’s newest residential address, this is the ideal place to find the dream home that perfectly suits your lifestyle needs.

14 Prospect Circuit, Yarrabilba

Contact individual builders for opening times.

Download the Yarrabilba Display Village Guide here!