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Key points

• Buying a home off the plan means buying a property that has not yet been built. You choose your design from a small range of options provided by a developer, agent or builder.
• Buying off the plan can be a cheaper way to buy your own home. However, your design options may be limited.

New home using reverse brick veneer and insulation.

New build, using the 3-bedroom Banksia Design For Place home plan with minor adjustments.

Our free Design For Place home designs will help you create an energy-efficient, sustainable home that suits your climate and lifestyle.

Design For Place designs:

Key points

• Having a healthy home that also has good thermal performance requires both reliable ventilation and good airtightness.
• Ventilation is the intentional introduction of outdoor air into a building to maintain good air quality. Ventilation methods can be either natural (for example, windows) or mechanical (for example, fans).

Case studies in this section are specific to Australian Climate Zones 1, 2, 3, 4.

Key points

• Buying an apartment is an increasingly popular way to own your own home, especially in cities.
• Buying an apartment can mean you are more limited in your design choices than for a freestanding house, but knowing the sustainable design features to look for will help ensure your home will be thermally comfortable and efficient.

Key points

• A regular maintenance schedule will help you to prevent or identify problems early.
• Develop an annual schedule to check and maintain the inside and outside of your home.
• Get expert advice and services where needed, especially for specific problems such as leaks, cracks and settlement, damp, salt, or termites.

Key points

• Green roofs and walls incorporate a growing medium (soil, a growing mat) and vegetation.
• Extensive green roofs have a thin layer of growing medium, and are best suited to hardy groundcovers and other plants with shallow root systems.

Finding the information you need in Your Home

Every journey to a sustainable home is unique and Your Home has been designed to help you find the right information at the time you need it most.

Key points

• Sources of energy are regarded as renewable if their use does not cause them to be depleted. Solar, wind, geothermal, marine, bioenergy, and hydropower are all types of renewable energy.

Key points

• Landscaping and garden design can improve your home’s amenity, thermal performance, and value, and can reduce your environmental footprint.

Key points

• Good lighting design combines opportunities for using natural light (daylighting) with well-designed electric lighting, to provide energy-efficient lighting for rooms and tasks.

Key points

• Over a quarter of the average household’s energy is used to heat water for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry. In some homes, it may be much more.
• Hot water systems may use gas, electricity, or the sun as an energy source, and many different systems are available.