Considerations for Renovating and Building
Are you planning to build or renovate? With the changing climate, sensible planning for the future has become a paramount consideration, and many people are wondering what they should consider for a new building project.
For most appliances, we recommend making a residence all-electric, as the days of reticulated gas are becoming numbered.
For heating, it makes best sense to use solar panels to provide energy to warm any newly built home. This energy can be transferred into the home via reverse-cycle air conditioning, or electric radiant heaters.
Owners planning to build can install 'in-slab' heating. This has the advantage of storing energy overnight within the 'thermal mass'. (See our In-Slab page for more info).
Renovators still have a window of opportunity to retrofit heating elements under tiles, carpets, or floating / batten-fixed wooden flooring. Another option to consider is the installation of heating foils over the ceiling, which are then covered with mineral fibre insulation. A huge advantage to these 'demand' systems is that they can now be fully controlled via apps on your phone — turn your heaters on before you leave work in the evening, and come home to a warm house.
And how about when the time comes to buy an electric vehicle? Your EV can become your backup battery for your roof solar panel system. To do this, a two-way charger is fitted to enable energy from the panels to charge the car battery, and for the car battery to provide power for the home during the evening. This reverses soon as the solar system recommences energy production the next morning. Because a lithium car battery has a defined lifespan (unrelated to the number of recharges), this is worth thinking about for the future!