Timber floors and 5 Star? - no worries
06/Jul/2006
The Insulation Council of Australia & New Zealand (ICANZ) today reaffirmed that timber floors are entirely compatible with the new 5 Star energy efficiency provisions of the Building Code of Australia.
Responding to a call for a moratorium on the implementation of 5 Star by Senator Eric Abetz (Canberra Times, 4 July, p.11), ICANZ President Dennis D'Arcy said that the 5 Star provisions flexibly accommodated a wide range of building materials, including suspended timber floors.
"Senator Abetz can be assured that timber floors are easily accommodated under 5 Star and home buyers and architects can still take full advantage of their aesthetic and structural appeal. In most cases it only takes the addition of a few hundred dollars of additional floor insulation to achieve 5 Star compliance. 5 Star is a very flexible system and needs to be supported by governments for the benefits it gives home buyers and the environment," Mr D'Arcy said.
Sen. Abetz called for a halt to 5 Star until the results of study into the economic advantages of building energy efficiency standards are completed, and until a measure of embodied energy (ie. energy consumed during manufacture of building materials) is incorporated into the models upon which building regulations are based.
"5 Star is standard international practice. We and the rest of the world are at least a decade away from seeing viable regulations based on the embodied energy of building materials. A major impediment is that much of the data required by governments is commercially confidential information that remains closely guarded by material suppliers to the building industry. Delaying 5 Star for ten years would needlessly add a further 1 million energy inefficient homes to the housing stock of Australia, and will put Australia even further behind the rest of world," Mr D'Arcy said."
A recent report by Climate Institute Australia shows that Australia is the least prepared for climate change of all western nations. The report said that, "As the US moves forward on climate, it leaves Australia politically and economically isolated as the least prepared developed country in the world on the issue." (Top Ten Tipping Points on Climate Change, Climate Institute Australia, July 2006).
"The levels of thermal insulation for buildings in the US are much very higher than in Australia for equivalent climate zones." Mr D'Arcy said.
5 Star has already been thoroughly researched and assessed over a long period and is widely regarded as a vital and practical step towards reducing energy waste in Australian buildings. Governments must now move quickly to adopt and implement its provisions and avoid further delays which will deny home buyers of lower energy running costs, and the environment of lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Mr D'Arcy also refuted unfounded claims that 5 Star will add $20,000 to the cost of a new home.
"Several independent surveys have shown 5 Star to be a low cost initiative. A detailed study by the Victorian Building Commission found that the direct cost of achieving a 5-Star House Energy Rating for an average 250sq.m house is just $1,500. This is equivalent to 0.6 per cent the cost of the average new house, or 0.4 per cent of the cost of the average house-and-land package. And according to architects and designers, 5 Star may add nothing to the cost of a new home if sensible design features are adopted at the planning stage," Mr D'Arcy said.
A recent Victorian government survey found that almost 90 per cent of householders living in a 5 Star home for 12 months or more would definitely recommend a 5 Star rating home to others.
In spite of the low cost of 5 Star, a recent consumer survey reported in Money Magazine (March 2006) showed that home buyers not only want greater comfort levels and reduced water and energy costs, but are prepared to pay up to 8 per cent more to get it. Almost half those surveryed said they would be willing to pay up to $10,000 extra to buy a dwelling with environmentally sustainable features, a further 25 per cent would be willing to pay up to $5,000, and 21 per cent would be willing to pay whatever it costs.
Mr D'Arcy also refuted media reports that "a rush to beat" the introduction of 5 Star regulations in the ACT had caused home approvals to jump from 121 in April to 245 in May (Canberra Times, 4 July, p.2).
"To the contrary, people want energy efficient homes. The May rise in ACT housing approvals was a predictable part of the housing cycle, as figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show. Last year housing approvals in the ACT rose from 136 in April to 206 in May, and that was long before 5 Star was introduced," Mr D'Arcy said.
