Technology
First zero-
adds value to
emission home
buildings
In a first for CSIRO, the City of Perth is trialing new CSIRO-developed smart energy management software in the
historic Council House building with the aim of significantly
reducing energy usage.
The software targets energy savings, improves
tenant comfort and cuts greenhouse gas emissions.
Called BuildingIQ, the energy optimisation system
uses sophisticated technology to optimise a building’s
heating ventilation and airconditioning systems (HVAC).
It incorporates weather updates from the Bureau of
Meteorology and energy tariffs to maximise energy
efficiency inside the building.
“Smart building owners want energy management
solutions with strong near-term return on investment
and limited capital requirements,” says BuildingIQ Chief
Executive Officer Michael Zimmerman.
BuildingIQ has the potential to cut Council House’s
operating expenses and improve the heritage listed
building’s official National Australian Built Environment
Rating System (“NABERS”) star rating.
Designed to fit the Australian climate – and the pocket of a
typical middle-income family – Australia’s first Zero Emission
House (AusZEH) was recently opened in Victoria.
Working with industry partners Delfin-Lend Lease and
the Henley Property Group, and supported by the AusZEH
consortium, CSIRO designed and built the demonstration
house at Laurimar in Doreen, 30km north of Melbourne.
The eight-star energy-efficiency rated AusZEH showcases
off-the-shelf building and renewable energy-generation
technologies, and future-ready energy management systems.
Nearly 13 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions
are due to home energy use.
The AusZEH is designed to produce enough “zero-emission”
electricity from 6k W solar panels to supply all the operating
energy needs of the household so that its net total emission of
CO2 or other greenhouse gas is zero.
Dr Alex Wonhas is Director of CSIRO’s Energy Transformed
Flagship, one of 10 Flagships within CSIRO forming
multidisciplinary teams with industry and researchers.
“The uptake of zero-emission housing in Australia could have
a significant impact on reducing emissions nationwide,” he
says. “CSIRO scientists estimate that if all the new housing built
in Australia between 2011 and 2020 were zero-emission houses,
63 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions would be saved.
“This would be equivalent to taking all of Australia’s private
cars off the road for two years and 237 days, or closing all
Australia’s power stations for up to 100 days.”
suits existing buildings
Council House was opened by the Queen in 1963. The
BuildingIQ system can be easily installed in buildings of
varying ages with existing building management systems
without increasing risk of system failure.
Peter Martino of Western Power, a major sponsor of the
project, is interested in BuildingIQ because of its potential
to reduce peak electricity demand on the electricity grid:
“Demand management is a key issue and Western Power
is eager to support innovations that will help customers.”
BuildingIQ is compatible with building management
systems designed after 1995. A trial of the system at the
CSIRO’s Newcastle Energy Centre achieved cost and energy
savings of up to 30 per cent. n
The “living” house
For 12 months, the AusZEH demonstration house will become
a home for an Australian family and a laboratory for CSIRO.
The house has been fitted with a unique energy
management system developed by La Trobe University in
partnership with CSIRO, which tracks energy use in the house
and provides feedback via customised reports to household
members. This information on the “living” house will help
improve the design of future zero and low-emission houses. n
AusZeH, the zero-emission house.
