Mirvac, one of the biggest development will commence development of it "House with No Bill's in Melbourne this year and will be completed by mid to late 2017. The development is set to be a $130 million Jack Rd development in Cheltenham. The development will provide houses based on a standard family home, that consist of 3 bedroom & 2.5 bathroom and a single garage.
The basis of the development is to address and reduce the environmental and also considers social impact. On Mirvac's website, it also address the affordability and climate change are key issues in Australia, and the "House with No Bill's aims to address these challenges through market based solution.
The "No Bills" only refers to energy and gas bills, excluding water bills.
Some of the sustainable technologies/equipment they will adopt are:
- Passive design to reduce impact and gains from nature
- increased roof insulation
- Solar PV panels and batteries requiring little maintenance requirements
- Energy efficient appliances
- No gas consumption
- Efficient lighting layout
- Smart meter and monitoring system so the homeowner can keep an eye on consumption
- Battery to store energy generated when there is a surplus - the battery system will likely have the capability of isolating from the grid during blackouts so that the home will still have electricity supply
- Excess energy is sold back to the grid, which offsets the costs when electricity is required, resulting in a net $0.00 bill over the year.
Phase 1 - Zero Cost Electricity & Gas
Phase 2 - Zero Cost Water & Waste
Although designing with sustainability has been around for some years, but it's not seen in a large development in Australia. It is to be said achievable - no electrical bills. I also think it's very unnecessary to mention about no gas bill, as it is not intended to be used. That being said, I think it's a great initiative for developers to be more responsible for the environmental, social and economic outcomes for their customers and users. It's definitely beneficial for the environment in the future, powering the house using sustainable energy.
Reference
http://www.mirvac.com/Sustainability/House-with-No-Bills/
http://www.mirvac.com/uploadedFiles/Main/Content/Sustainability/House_With_No_Bills/16-05-11%20House%20With%20No%20Bills%20Media%20Release%20FINAL.pdf
http://www.afr.com/real-estate/mirvac-plans-a-low-energy-house-with-no-bills-20160511-gosgcs
Update on thoughts- 03/06/16
I think it's a great step for Australia development, but to be critical, I have to compare with the Amsterdam model. They are not just marketing solar energy, but also tackles other elements of sustainability such as processing organic waste and urban farming. So I think the Amsterdam model is a much better, advance and thought out model compared to the Melbourne model. But then again, both of the them are yet to be built and evaluated - so I can't really judge or comment on it's potential performance and application. That being said, I really look forward to following up on its performance.
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