Chilly winters and searing summers in the Blue Mountains and Western Sydney can often mean big bills for heating and cooling.  If you are building a new home you should look at ways to maximise the energy efficiency to help reduce your heating, cooling and water bills.

Three things to keep in mind to make your home a comfortable and improve the energy efficiency  year round:

• Thermal mass – Thermal mass is a measure of how efficiently materials absorb and store heat energy. High-density materials like concrete, cavity brick walls and tiles have a high thermal mass, which means it takes a lot of heat energy to change their temperature. In summer these high-density materials gradually absorb heat, storing it until the evening when the air is cooler outside. In winter they absorb the heat from north facing windows and release it back into the building as the overnight temperature drops. By combining these materials with more lightweight materials inside the home (like timber and plasterboard) the room will be able to warm up and reduce the temperature quicker and more efficiently.

• Windows – In winter up to 40% of heat in your home can escape through your windows. In order to make the most of your energy spend look for the WERS energy rating on windows. This rating provides useful information about how well these windows retain heat as well blocking external heat from entering. Skylights are terrific for brightening up dark spaces in your home however they can turn a room into a greenhouse in summertime. Try to build into your budget money for skylights that open to release heat from the room in the hot months of the year. Double-glazing has been used in European countries and the UK for many years and is very effective at helping to reduce the amount of heat that disappears through the window.

• Window coverings can play a large part in keeping heating/cooling costs to a minimum. When ordering curtains and blinds look for those that will keep your rooms cool in summer and help to retain heat in winter. External awnings and shutters can also provide a good way to regulate the amount of heat entering a home in summer and allowing the sunshine in to warm the house in winter.

If you are looking to build in Blue Mountains, Penrith and surrounding areas contact the staff at Woodford Homes to discuss your building needs, contact us here for a free enquiry or call us on: 02 4751 9577.

Autumn and winter are lovely seasons in the Blue Mountains and Penrith areas with beautiful displays of autumn foliage and crisp weather. As the weather cools down we love to come home to a cosy house – unfortunately this is where we can hit with large power bills. This can be significantly improved for those building a new home. There are so many opportunities with a new build to design a homes to maximise energy efficiency, reduce your bills and create less of a drain on the environment.

Size isn’t everything! Obviously the larger the home, the more energy will be required to heat and cool your living areas. While there is no need to resort to squeezing your family into a ‘tiny home,’ it does make good sense to spend some time looking at your lifestyle and which layout will best suit you and your family over time. What rooms do you need now and is it likely that your situation will change over the next few years as children leave home or elderly relatives move in. It really is worth thinking hard about the costs involved with heating rooms with very high ceilings. Open plan areas can also be problematic for heating and cooling. Again, it comes down to lifestyle – maybe open plan is best for your family but perhaps you might re-think the height of ceilings in your home.

It’s amazing how much difference can be made to energy consumption by paying close attention to the layout of your new home. Keeping cool in summer and taking advantage of sunlight in winter is important when considering a design for your new home. Wherever possible it’s best to locate bedrooms on the eastern or southern sides of the house. It’s also wise to position the main living areas on the northern side of your house. As areas like the garage, bathrooms and the laundry don’t require heating or air conditioning and are best built on the southern or western side of the house.

Zoning rooms can also make a difference to energy efficiency. Your kitchen, bathroom and laundry all use hot water and by positioning them in the same area you will help to reduce the heat loss in pipes. It also makes sense to group together rooms that have similar use (once again this comes down to your lifestyle). An example could be to position the dining area next to the kitchen and living room separated by doors. This way you can heat the rooms that are in heavy use.

Ring Woodford Homes today to discuss how to make your new home more energy efficient in the Blue Mountains, Penrith and surrounding areas.

For all you New Homes needs, contact us here for a free enquiry or call us on: 02 4751 9577.

Design your home, your way. Woodford Homes, your custom home design builders

Why should you look at using custom home design builders for your new home?  With so many home builders in the market it is hard to know which way to go. Should you go for Project Home builders or a Custom home design builders? Some argue that project home builders offer more “bang for buck” but unfortunately when comparing actual pricing the results may differ.

At the design stage a custom builder visit you at home and take a comprehensive brief and in consultation with you, design a house to suit your budget, lifestyle and property type. They will take your every idea and suggestion and try to make it work whilst offering constructive suggestions to give you optimal result. 3D designs will be shown to you so you can see what the home will look like at completion.

Project home builders have stock plans and although they may make small internal changes (for a price) they will not deviate from the stock plan and will not change the façade without huge extra costs. Project home builders will not offer such a personalised service and will not come to your home for the consultation process. Most Project builders will not build on difficult or sloping sites as the stock plans do not make allowances for such a build. (That leaves out the majority of the Blue Mountains)

Custom Builders are able to obtain fixtures and fittings that match the look you are after and are not limited by offered packages. This means if you like a particular colour scheme for a room, you can choose it to create your desired look.

Project Home Builders are bound by the offered packages. They make deals with certain suppliers and buy products in bulk at a reduced price if you as the customer want to veer outside the offered package the builder will either not be able to do it, leaving you to organise tradesmen after the fact or will charge you a significant variation amount to do it.

Custom home design builders have a greater control of the projects they are undertaking. Due to not having 20,30,40 or more homes being built at one time they have a dedicated smaller group of tradesmen usually full time staff not contractors who take great pride in their work and strive to build a rapport with customers. This equates to a more personalised experience and a quality product delivered.

Due to the huge amounts of jobs being undertaken at one time by project home builders they have no choice but to employ a multitude of Sub-contractors who generally need to complete jobs quickly to make a profit. It is impossible to be in full control of all these workers all the time and so quality suffers. These homes are built to standard and are not unsafe but it is the small finishing standards that are missed.

When you compare the 2 methods of building and consider that the final costings for both may well be on par, but it is evident Custom Home Building far outweighs the Project Home method. Trust your future home with Woodford Homes – the custom home design builders in the Blue Mountains & Penrith areas. Call us today to find out how we can bring your new home to life.

For all you New Homes Blue Mountains needs, contact us here for a free enquiry or call us on: 02 4751 9577.