Sustainable, energy efficient homes the way of the future in Toowoomba: Businessman

A local builder has found a way to save big on electricity bills and it’s all in the construction of the house. But some in the industry are fighting back against the idea.

If you had the chance to reduce your energy costs by $100,000, would you do it?

What about if you could reduce your bill, and have a more positive long term impact on the environment?

Business owner and director Geoff Gibson has made major steps forward in improving the sustainability and energy efficiency of the homes he builds, but says many other builders in the industry have turned a blind eye to the contemporary construction style.

Mr Gibson began dabbling in the world of sustainable building 12 years ago and has developed what he says are “revolutionary” homes in Toowoomba due to their sustainability and environmental friendliness.

Mr Gibson said the first step to sustainable living comes down to one simple, but crucial factor: making sure the house is facing the correct way.

“The general part of where we start from is trying to orientate the house correctly and then everything else works so much easier from that point,” he said.

He said the general perception of sustainable living among builders and consumers had become tarnished, viewed as expensive and “too difficult”.

Geoff Gibson pictured. Sustainable house built in Price Lane by Geoff Gibson Homes. Thursday 3rd Nov 2020

“It’s more from my industry itself not offering that alternative, and just doing what you’ve always done,” he said.

“Not really wanting to do it because it was difficult, and it wasn’t generally offered.

“It was portrayed as a very expensive exercise.

“Pointing the house in the right direction doesn’t cost anything extra.”

One of Mr Gibson’s latest projects on Price Lane, in the Mort Estate, is set to undergo a test next week to demonstrate its energy efficiency.

Sustainable house built in Price Lane by Geoff Gibson Homes. Thursday 3rd Nov 2020

The home has an eight star energy rating and has a polished concrete floor through the living areas of the home to access the thermal properties of the concrete, and even out the temperature.

The windows that have been used are double glassed with Argon gas in between the panes of glass and have a thermal break between the aluminium external frames and the timber internal frames.

Geoff Gibson pictured. Sustainable house built in Price Lane by Geoff Gibson Homes. Thursday 3rd Nov 2020

The entire envelope of the home has had a maximum amount of insulation fitted.

Mr Gibson said sustainability came down to many different factors, from having no steps in the house to building bigger showers to constructing wider doorways.

Sustainability is simply building a house that can stand the test of time, and will live through the generations.

This is why the industry’s reluctance to try these new methods is shocking to Mr Gibson.

He said building a sustainable house would only cost 1.5 per cent more than a normal house, but it’s a force of habit and the result of companies being stuck in their ways that this type of construction is not used more widely.

Sustainable house built in Price Lane by Geoff Gibson Homes. Thursday 3rd Nov 2020

“If you’re in a comfortable rut and you’re doing quite well, why change?,” he said.

“If it’s not broke, why fix it?

“But I think, why not make it better?

“I’ve taken my houses to a point where we’re not accepting the house unless we’re pushing the energy outcome to the best we can out of every site.

“Not just the energy efficiency of the houses, but making sure the products we’re using in the house are sustainable.”

Mr Gibson said lobbying to the local, state, and federal governments needs to become a priority to change the certification under which houses are approved.

He said the current standard has too many “outs” where builders are able to find loopholes in maintaining the sustainability of homes – simply putting a fan outside or insulating the houses to a sufficient standard is enough to class a home as “sustainable”.

But Mr Gibson is hopeful that one day, sustainable building and construction will be the way of the world, for Toowoomba included.

“If they knew about it and understood it, I’m sure most builders would embrace it,” he said.