5 Ways to Shrink Your Carbon Footprint on Your Home Build

The landscape of the construction and building industry continues to evolve in their contributions to reducing the risks made to the planet. By adopting green building practices, new building structures are able to utilise more durable construction materials produced from smart design solutions – significantly reducing a build’s greenhouse gas emissions and helping combat climate change. 

While you might think real answers for climate change require action on a worldwide scale, by making smart choices on your home build or renovation project, you can lessen your personal impact on the environment.

1. Designing for the Local Climate

Design your home to suit the local climate. Optimise your home’s orientation and incorporate passive solar design principles, such as adequate ventilation and shade. A healthy home is designed to minimise condensation and be well ventilated to prevent the growth of mould. Bricks and roof tiles breathe and allow moisture to escape, ensuring the structure’s design longevity holds a lifetime guarantee. Bricks and roof tiles are maintenance-free and do not rot, fade or rust. With the country’s history of turbulent

2. Reducing heating and cooling costs

Homes built from thermal mass building products such as bricks and roof tiles can reduce heating and cooling bills by up to 40% each year. This is achieved through cavity brick construction, rather than lightweight construction materials and processes. Bricks act like thermal batteries, absorbing heat during the day and releasing it to the environment when the temperature drops.

3. Energy Efficient Materials

Roof tiles improve energy efficiency throughout a structure. Through a series of tests on the overall performance of similar coloured roofing products, roof tiles proved to transfer less heat and reduce cooling costs. Look to generate or use renewable energy to balance annual energy use with products such as Bristile Solar roofing and energy management systems. 

4. Carbon neutral products

Use carbon neutral products to offset carbon emissions from homes. Brickworks has a carbon-neutral range of more than 70 types of bricks and pavers that are certified under the Australian Government’s Climate Active Program.

5. Homes that last

Ensure your home design is durable for the long term. A resilient home – built to withstand the harshest conditions and environmental changes such as bushfires, flooding and heat stress – as well as a functional, adaptable and multi-faceted home is crucial in creating a residential environment that stands the test of time. Creating a home that ticks all the boxes, both environmentally and in design style, is better for you and the future of the planet.

“While you might think real answers for climate change require action on a worldwide scale, by making smart choices on your home build or renovation project, you can lessen your personal impact on the environment.”

“While you might think real answers for climate change require action on a worldwide scale, by making smart choices on your home build or renovation project, you can lessen your personal impact on the environment.”