Evaluation of three Greensmart houses : a comparison with current mainstream housing and sustainable housing

Abstract

Greensmart housing is an Australian industry initiative to encourage the uptake of responsible building processes which deliver less impacting houses. Increasing public knowledge is growing demand for better housing and stimulating industry change which is being supported by both government and industry bodies. Greenhouse pollution, reduced rainfall and reliability, ageing population and other changing social trends combined with continuing population growth are all requiring a move towards responsible and sustainable housing. Three Greensmart houses, constructed at Springfield Lakes, 28 kms south west of Brisbane, were analysed and compared to current mainstream (100% impacts) and sustainable housing (zero impacts). The key finding placed the three Greensmart houses about half way between the two through an evaluation of subdivision and passive design, water and energy issues, material selections, site and waste management and social design elements. The other major findings were:-

* when compared to current mainstream housing, the cost impacts averaged over the three houses resulted in a 2.3% increase for passive design elements (extra insulation, higher ceilings, shading and special glazing); 2.3% increase for water saving and efficiency to realise a 75% potable water saving; 1% increase for energy efficiency (50% greenhouse gas saving); almost no increase for superior air quality via planned ventilation and low or non-toxic paints and finishes; 0.2% increase for social design elements but resulting in huge improvements in accessibility, safety and security

* 80% reduction in construction waste to landfill by recycling

* urgent need for clarity and consistency for housing assessment tools on a state and possibly national basis

Details of assessment tools, lessons learnt from the planning, design and construction phases of the houses and other research findings are also presented in this thesis.