A cost-efficient home is not necessarily the one with the flashiest features.
Increasingly, the homes that perform best may be the ones quietly doing the fundamentals well: staying comfortable without constant heating and cooling, keeping energy bills down, and coping better with seasonal extremes.
That idea is at the heart of Sustainable House Day, an annual event run by Renew that opens real homes across Australia on May 17, offering the public a chance to see practical examples of properties designed or retrofitted for better performance.
The design phase is a great time to build cost-efficiencies into your home, but there are also great opportunities to retrofit certain aspects, like awnings, insulation and appliaces.
Ahead of this year’s event, Renew CEO Helen Oakey said asking a few simple questions could reveal a lot about how a home actually functions – something that, in today’s climate, can be just as important as its location or appearance.
“These questions matter more than ever because Australian households are facing rising energy costs, more extreme weather, and increasing pressure to keep homes comfortable during heatwaves and cold snaps,” Ms Oakey said.
“The good news is that many of the things that make a home more climate-ready also make it cheaper to run and more pleasant to live in year-round.”
Improving a home’s thermal performance – how it behaves in relation to heat and cold – is “often more achievable than people assume,” Ms Oakey said.
Simple home inclusions or upgrades “such as draught sealing, insulation, outside shading and efficient electric appliances like reverse cycle split systems can make a noticeable difference without requiring a full renovation,” she said.
So, before building, buying or upgrading a home, here are five questions worth asking.
1. Is the home well insulated?
Insulation is one of the biggest unseen fundamentals that can shape how comfortable a home feels throughout the year – and how well it performs over time.
A well-insulated home is easier and cheaper to heat and cool because it helps keep indoor temperatures more stable.
Ms Oakey said buyers who are building or looking in the existing market should check assess the insulation of the ceiling, walls and floors. If it’s an existing home, it’s worth checking whether that insulation has been updated recently.
In many older homes, insulation may be missing altogether or no longer adequate.
![house insulation](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 800 450"%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Good insulation is integral to ensuring your home stays cool in summer and warm in winer. Image: Getty
2. Which direction do the windows face?
A home’s window orientation can have a major impact on how much energy it takes to keep it comfortable.
In Australia, north-facing windows can provide valuable warmth in winter, while large west-facing windows can increase summer heat through harsh afternoon sun.
That does not necessarily make west-facing windows a problem, but it does make shading important. Both built-in and natural shading – from eaves and blinds to trees and awnings – can help reduce overheating and lower cooling costs during summer.
When looking at a property or designing a new one, it is worth paying attention to the window placement and not only much natural light comes in, but where it comes from and whether the home has been designed to manage it across the seasons.
Window placement in the home is essential for heating and cooling efficiency, but elements like curtains and awnings can help maximise their effect. Image: Getty
3. Is the home draughty or well-sealed?
Even the most efficient heating and cooling system will struggle in a leaky house.
Gaps around doors, windows, floorboards, vents and exhaust fans can allow warm air to escape in winter and hot air to enter in summer. Old homes are notorious for draughts, and even new homes don’t necessarily come with small details like gap-stops around the doorways.
The result is a home that is harder to keep comfortable and more expensive to run.
The good news is that draught-proofing can often be one of the simpler and more achievable upgrades. Windows and doors are a key place to check for draughts, with many options for fixing the issue readily available from hardware stores.
Drought-proofing is essential for your comfort at home. Image: Getty
4. Does the home have efficient heating and cooling?
Heating and cooling are often among the biggest contributors to household energy bills, so the type, age and condition of a system matters.
Reverse-cycle air conditioners are considered one of the most efficient options because they can both heat and cool a home using electricity efficiently.
It is also worth checking whether the system is appropriately sized for the space and in good condition.
Gas heating, by comparison, is generally more expensive to run and produces emissions inside the home, as well as relying on fossil fuels.
For new home builders, setting your home up with an efficient system from the outset is an essential cost-management measure. For existing homes, this can be an upgrade that leads to significant savings.
Reverse-cycle air conditioners are some of the most efficient options on the market. Image: Getty
5. Does the home make and store energy from the sun?
Solar panels can significantly reduce electricity bills, particularly when paired with an efficient all-electric home.
For buyers, it is worth asking about the size and age of the solar system, how much electricity it generates, and what the current owners’ bills look like across the year.
For new home buyers, a solar system is one of the most popular inclusions that many major builders are now offering as standard, or as an upgrade package.
Even if a home does not yet have solar, buyers may want to consider whether it is ready for future electrification, including electric vehicle charging.
Are you interested in buying or building new? Check out our dedicated New Homes section.
