Buying a home

If you are looking at a specific property and would like to know how energy efficient it is, you can book a pre-purchase Residential Efficiency Scorecard, with permission from the vendor. It's a great way to know what you're getting into in terms of running costs (or savings!).

---

Looking to purchase a home? Buying an energy efficient home or one that has potential for simple upgrades will save you on your energy bills in the long term.

Things to look out for include parts of a building that can’t be changed quickly or at all:

• Good orientation – north facing living areas are ideal as these give access to natural lighting, and free heating in winter.
• Shading trees – these help keep the area around your home cooler, and also reduce sunlight hitting the home. Large shade trees to the North are not ideal though, as they will block the warming winter sunlight
• Overshadowing – avoid it. If there are large buildings, hills or other obstructions to the north of the home they may block out sunlight in winter and perhaps even autumn and spring. This can make the home dark and cold. Overshadowing will also be a problem if you want to install solar PV at a later date.
• Good roof area for solar – as mentioned above – if the roof is overshadowed this will not be ideal for solar. Simpler roof shapes also make it easier to install solar.
• High quality windows. Double glazing – a rare treat! Timber framed single glazed windows in good condition are a better option than single glazed aluminium, as timber does not conduct as much heat.

​This guide from Sustainability Victoria includes some more tips.

If you haven't found a property yet or are just starting your search, we offer a free Phone Consultation discussion so that you can learn more about our services and how we could help you.