Companies including Carter Holt Harvey and CSR are reportedly looking for technology they can use for developing carbon-neutral houses and apartment blocks.
David Waldren from Grocon pointed out that large building product companies were interested in projects Grocon’s ‘passive house’ timber apartment building within the Carlton Brewery in Melbourne (image below).
He was reported on Sky News saying: “That whole conversation about a carbon tax and the impact of a carbon tax on how much is coming out of your hip pocket, suddenly you are quarantined from all of that — forever.”
“I am quite convinced that the Australian community will buy and pay for a premium (of 10 to 15 per cent) on residential if at the end of the day it is quarantining them from the risks of increased electricity and water costs.”
The passive house concept has been used on a wide range of residential buildings in Europe, and Waldren was confident carbon-neutral timber housing will catch on in Australia, where radiata pine, a sustainably grown soft wood, could be used.
