New home buyers in the future should receive a housing performance manual which will provide them with information to maximise the environmental management of their new home.

Commenting on the Federal Government's move to introduce ten star environmental labelling on all housing appliances such as air conditioners, washing machines and plasma screens, Robert Caulfield Managing Director of Archicentre said, "the success of any code will largely depend on behavioural change by Australian home owners.

Image right: Robert Caulfield, Managing Director of Archicentre

Mr Caulfield said, the introduction of the Home Owners Green Manual for every new home would provide builders with a major marketing opportunity to stress the environmental advantages of their home design and provide maintenance tips to protect the home owners' asset.

Every household in Australia on average produces 14 tonnes of carbon emissions a year, which is almost a fifth of Australia's total greenhouse gases.

Mr Caulfield said that one of the major problems in cutting green house gas emissions is to upgrade existing homes to a minimum standard and this could be done by mandating the compulsory fitting of water efficient shower heads, dual flush toilets and energy efficient light bulbs before a home could be sold.

"As houses are sold on average of every seven years this would lead to the continual upgrading of Australia's existing housing stock of some 3.5 million homes."

Media Enquiries:
Robert Caulfield, Managing Director of Archicentre Mobile: 0412 381 306
Ron Smith Corporate Media Communications Archicentre (03) 9818 5700 Mobile: 0417 329 201