There needs to be a greater emphasis on insulation and energy efficiency in Australia’s net zero plan, according to the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ).
In a statement welcoming the government’s $1 billion in funding to support solar PV manufacturing, ICANZ said a multi-pronged approach must be taken to reach net zero.
ICANZ CEO, Janine Strachan said cheap forms of energy like solar are important but the cheapest form of energy is the energy not used.
“Everyone wants to reach net zero and that means the only approach we can take is multi-pronged, which starts by recognising that the energy not used by consumers is the cheapest form of energy,” Strachan said.
“At ICANZ we want to see the building fabric of existing Australian homes made more comfortable for their occupants, so they can have improved health outcomes, and reduce their heating and cooling needs and ultimately save on reduced energy costs.”
Strachan said this means improving the thermal building envelope such as walls, ceiling, roof and floor.
“These improvements once installed will provide ongoing savings for the life of the build,” she said.
“We look forward to seeing how the Australian Government can support the local insulation manufacturing industry by supporting initiatives that have far reaching benefits in saving energy use and improving the health and comfort of Australians in their homes.”
Strachan said when a home is designed for the climate and sized appropriately it requires little or no artificial heating or cooling.
“I am not talking about passive house design, where people avoid opening windows and add a heat recovery system to ventilate the house,” she said.
“We want to see state and federal governments introduce broad ranging programs for insulating existing homes to help reduce the heating and cooling energy used by occupiers.”
Last year a report released by RMIT University recommended thermal efficiency improvements to help Australia reach its goal of net zero by 2050.
The report said Australia has more than 10 million homes with poor energy and thermal performance.
“Government assistance is urgently needed in designing and rolling out an affordable thermal performance assessment program necessary to start the retrofitting process of existing homes,” the report said.