Getting smarter

Sustainability's the latest buzzword. But how can consumers make it part of their everyday life?

Most of us want to use energy and water more efficiently, lower the costs of transport, and minimise the amount of waste we throw out.

Now there's a new website - Smarter Homes - to help consumers achieve the benefits of sustainable living.

It covers six key areas of sustainable living: smart design, water use, energy efficiency, landscaping, selecting materials, and types of house construction. It's a way you can reduce your personal carbon footprint.

Smarter Homes was commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment and developed as a collaborative project between Consumer, the Department of Building and Housing, Beacon Pathway Ltd, and the Building Research Association. It complements ConsumerBuild.

Smarter Homes has a companion web site tailored for industry professionals - www.level.org.nz.

Smarter Homes provides sensible and practical advice on making homes more energy efficient, more comfortable, healthier, cheaper to run, and safer to live in. And many of the ideas won't mean sacrificing your lifestyle or quality of living. They range from practical changes to daily life through to incorporating passive heating and cooling design when renovating your existing home or building a new one.

Smart homes - and smart living - is for everyone. A smart home doesn't have to look different but it will definitely feel different by being comfortable and enjoyable to live in. It uses warmth from the sun, natural cooling, and ventilation. Smart homes are also healthier: they prevent damp, mould, and cold rooms in winter. And they minimise toxic emissions.

There's little doubt our future standards of living will depend on how we become smarter in the way we design, build and renovate our homes.

Check out Smarter Homes now!