Why own a green residential building?

The benefits of owning a green home

The benefits of green building continue to stack up. There are a wide range of positive benefits for people owning a green home including:

> Saving money
> A healthier home
> A smart investment
> Reduced environmental impact

Save money

Green homes put money in the pockets of home owners by saving on energy and water costs.

Green Star buildings are more energy and water efficient, they are cheaper to operate. The Value of Green Star: A decade of environmental benefits (2013) found that Green Star buildings use 66% less electricity and 51% water than the average Australian building.
Homes that incorporate high efficiency appliances and lighting, increased insulation, water conservation measures and are well ventilated all lead to more dollars in the bank.

The gas-boosted hot water system at Lilyfield Housing Redevelopment in Sydney caters for 60% of hot water consumption and delivers annual savings of $19,000 – or $213 per unit – meaning the annual electricity bill for households are 25% cheaper.

Read our case study.

Healthier homes

Green homes are healthy homes. Focused on good ventilation and indoor environment quality, low-toxic materials and abundant daylight, these factors have been proven to improve the health and wellbeing of residents.

A literature review undertaken by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute in 2011 found that people who live in dwellings that are damp, cold or mouldy are at greater risk of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, and more likely to suffer from mental health issues.
Good indoor environment quality is nothing to be sneezed at! Lung and respiratory diseases – associated with poor indoor environment quality – are three of the top five leading causes of death, according to the World Health Organization.
The National Centre for Healthy Housing in the US has found people experience 63% more symptom-free days from asthma when they live in homes with low-toxicity and good indoor environment quality.

Smart Investment

Many buyers are beginning to see green buildings as a mark of quality when they hunt for a new property and evidence is emerging that a green rating translates into a higher sale price when it comes time to sell.

Energy Efficiency rating and house price in the ACT (2008) examined the relationship between energy efficiency and house prices, finding that each half-star increase in the energy efficiency rating translated into a 2% increase in capital value.

The Value of Green Labels (2012) found that higher returns are not restricted to the commercial market. A pricing analysis of all 1.6 million single-family home sales in California from 2007 – 2012 found that while the average sales price of a non-certified California home was $400,000, a green certification lifted the price by more than $34,800. This translated into a 9% green premium.

With a 4 Star Green Star rating, Convesso 8 Waterside Place in Melbourne uses 65% less heating and cooling energy than similar sized, non-green apartments. It’s also a smart investment.

Read more in our case study.

Reduced environmental impact

Did you know buildings are the single largest contributor to the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, using 40% of global energy and generating around 30% of the carbon emissions? By choosing to own green building you can easily reduce your impact of the environment.

The Value of Green Star: A decade of environmental benefits (2013) finds that, on average, Green Star-certified buildings:
Use 66% less electricity than average Australian buildings
Produce 62% fewer greenhouse gas emissions than average Australian buildings
Use 51% less potable water than average buildings
Recycle 96% of their waste, compared with 58% for the average new construction project.

The Redfern Housing Redevelopment in Sydney features water-efficient fittings and fixtures, as well as the reuse of rainwater and treated greywater, which are saving 4,700 cubic metres of water a year – the equivalent of two Olympic-sized swimming pools or 33,571 bathtubs. The cost savings amount to $7,500 a year across the entire tenancy.

Read our case study.


Central Park in Sydney features a trigeneration plant that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 190,000 tonnes over the 25-year life of the plant – equivalent to removing 2,500 cars from the roads every year for 25 years Case study coming soon.