With the introduction of the mandatory 6 star rating this month to Western Australia, the bar has been raised for energy efficient buildings, but in our minds only just a little…

Contrary to what the average home buyer might think, the star rating only really accounts for the thermal performance of the house, about 25% of the total energy and carbon footprint. At eTool, we think if you’re genuine about intelligent and sustainable design you need to consider the entire picture, from the embodied energy in the construction through to all the operational energy over the design life of the building.

Rather than concentrating on thermal performance alone and ticking a few boxes, we want to see innovative building design that really tackles our energy consumption problem, lowers our carbon emissions and ensures we’re spending our money in the right places. We would love to know what you think too, so tell us on Facebook…