South Australia’s first 8-star energy efficient and environmentally sustainable green home, The Master Builders Green Living Charity Home, officially opened on the 22 July. Created by Eden Living, the building opened to the public as a demonstration home and highlights the latest and most innovative products, materials and building techniques associated with environmentally sustainable building.

BlueScope Steel supported the project by donating a COLORBOND® steel roof that features Thermatech® technology. Thermatech helps to improve the thermal efficiency of a building by reflecting more of the sun’s heat and keeping the roof space cooler. In hot weather, Thermatech can keep buildings up to 5C cooler depending upon the level of insulation already installed, reducing the need for air conditioning, and ultimately reducing annual energy consumption by up to 20%.

The Master Builders Green Living Charity Home promotes all aspects associated with ‘Green Living’ and will be an excellent example of what can be achieved when various building techniques, products and services are combined. The integration of water saving and re-use techniques, the use of solar energy and the orientation of the home on the block all contributed to achieving the 8-star rating.

At present, new houses built in South Australia must meet a 5 star energy requirement. The star rating summarises the energy efficiency of a building, referring to the success of its design in terms of how much energy is needed to heat and cool the building to a comfortable level all year round - the higher the star rating, the better the thermal performance of the building. A higher star ranking deems a building more thermally comfortable without the need for artificial heating and cooling.

Peter Van Loggem, Business Development Manager SA/NT of BlueScope Steel said the Master Builders ‘Green Living Home’ concept is one that BlueScope is proud to be associated with, while the Master Builders Association CEO Rob Stewart said the initiative is likely to have a significant impact on the building industry.

The proceeds from the eventual sale of the Green Living Charity Home go directly to the Australian Craniofacial Foundation.