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New carbon measures may prove a waste of energy
Media Release
For immediate release
April 1, 2009:
A new report released today warns that the Government’s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) could lead to less energy efficient housing unless the current Building Code of Australia (BCA) is amended.
The “Wasting Energy” report examines the unintended consequences of the CPRS and BCA interacting and concludes that without changes to the BCA, the CPRS will make energy inefficient houses cheaper and therefore more appealing to the market.
The report is based on the interim findings of an eight-year research program undertaken by the University of Newcastle. The study, which is the first of its kind in Australia, measures the energy efficiency of Australian housing construction styles in real climate conditions.
The research has concluded that thermal mass is critical in increasing energy efficiency, demonstrating that the incorporation of thermal mass into a home can reduce heating and cooling energy consumption by up to 22%.
The CPRS will increase the cost of materials with inherent thermal mass, such as bricks and concrete, relative to lightweight materials (timber, fibre cement), making the most energy efficient materials the least affordable.
“Increased household energy consumption is expected because the CPRS only taxes production emissions and makes no allowance for life cycle emission savings. The CPRS will distort the building materials market in favour of lightweight materials because they require less energy to meet current BCA regulations. Under Australia’s climate change strategy this is a bad outcome because houses made with lightweight materials are less efficient over the life cycle of the building” explains Ross Maher, Sustainability Manager for Think Brick Australia, who commissioned the report.
“The research is timely given the current national debate on energy efficiency and COAG’s agreement to introduce minimum 6-star ratings for new houses.
“No one should under-estimate the challenge required to update the BCA to reflect this agreement because market responses to legislation are always hard to predict."
The ‘Wasting Energy’ Report outlines some of the current market dynamics and helps clarify some of these challenges. It provides options – such as alternative metrics – that have not previously been available that will help mitigate unintended consequences.
“It also shows that we can’t just focus on increasing minimum energy efficiency standards to reduce energy consumption, but rather we should also be considering if we are actually measuring energy efficiency correctly and in the right way” says Maher.
The report recommends that the Federal Government:
- Review current energy efficiency metrics to ensure they provide the best possible signals to guide the market in building energy efficient houses
- Complement the CPRS with life cycle analysis to ensure long-term, efficient houses are always built;
For further information or to arrange an interview please contact:
Reservoir Network on 02 9955 8000 / Kate Wearne on 0403 135 672
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