Overview

At ARCOLOGIC everything we do is informed by a strong Sustainability ethos which has seen us scoop multiple Awards in this important space. "Business as usual" is no longer a viable alternative for us or the planet we live in, and since building activities are responsible for 23 % of Greenhouse Gas emissions in Australia, we need to improve our design and construction methods.

Within the home itself, 63 % of Energy used is for space heating and cooling, most of which can be eliminated through good design, orientation and the correct choice of materials. With soaring electricity and gas prices, it makes sense to invest a bit more upfront to avoid a lifetime of ongoing expenses and uncomfortable spaces.

Carbon Footprint

Our home designs are assessed against world benchmarks to achieve extremely low Carbon Footprints, aiming for Carbon Neutrality or even Carbon Positive outcomes. We use locally invented but world leading E-Tool software to perform exhaustive testing to ensure our homes perform at the highest level in both Operational Carbon  and Embodied Energy use. Not only does this save ongoing utility costs for the owner or landlord, but is the future we need to put in place to avoid catastrophic consequences to our fragile planet.

Life Cycle Design and Assessment :

• Ensures a genuinely sustainable and high performance outcome for your project

• Quantifies and measures your design and takes the guess-work out of sustainable building.

• Identifies important areas of improvement for your design.

WHAT IS EMBODIED ENERGY ?

Embodied energy refers to the energy and/or carbon required to construct and maintain a building over its entire design life including :

• Materials- Energy used to extract the raw materials and process them into useable building products available at the gate of the factory.

• Transport- Energy used to transport the building materials from the factory gate to the building site.

• Assembly- Energy used to construct and create the building.

• Recurring - Energy used to maintain and replace certain building elements over the entire life span of the building

• Demolition and Recycling - Energy used to demolish and recycle the building and feed the resultant materials back into the building materials 'food chain'.

Embodied Energy of some typical building materials

Source : My Home Technical Manual.   Illustration : Arcologic

WHAT IS OPERATIONAL ENERGY ?

Operational Energy is the amount of energy required to run the building over its design life and includes appliances such as Air-Conditioners, Hot Water systems, Refrigeration and Lighting.

Energy Efficiency

In Western Australia all new dwellings must comply with minimum Energy Efficiency Standards (the Star Rating System) in which new homes must achieve a 6 Star Rating minimum or equivalent. Our homes score well beyond the minimum, but as the below diagram illustrates the Energy Efficiency Standards focus on just 24 % of the total Carbon Emissions of a new home. That is part of the reason we have  trained in and implemented the eTool LCD system of rating so that we can offer a far more comprehensive and accurate reflection of the true Sustainability of your home. Unlike others, when we claim to design our homes to Sustainable Principles we are looking at the complete picture and not just a snapshot.

Materials

Our materials and products we use are chosen for their low carbon footprint, ease of maintenance, durability and attractiveness. We use Local suppliers wherever feasible to reduce associated transport energy costs and support local industry.

We have years of experience in using various systems and products so have narrowed our searches down to the ones that deliver most in terms of reliability, aeshetics, ease of use, environmental performance and cost effectiveness.