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First carbon-neutral apartments coming

Australia's first carbon-neutral apartments will be on the market this year, with the Melbourne dwellings expected to fetch about $1 million.

brought to you by AAP (03/01/2011)

The 10-storey Delta complex, to include 50 apartments, is part of the $600 million Carlton Brewery development to be completed in 2014.

The apartments will conform to the Passive House standard, which is the highest in Europe for energy efficiency.

About 20,000 houses - mainly in Austria, Germany and Scandinavia - have been built to this standard, including the Stadthaus in London, which is the world's highest residential timber building.

Melbourne's prefabricated structure, to be imported from Europe, will be made out of very thick plywood that is described as being safer than traditional materials in a fire or earthquake.

The building will be airtight, have triple-glazed timber-framed windows and be insulated with shredded newspaper treated with fire retardant.

David Waldren, from developer Grocon, says the building will be resistant to external temperature fluctuations.

"In winter it doesn't get as cold inside, in summer it doesn't get as hot inside so you need to use less energy to be comfortable inside the building," Mr Waldren told reporters on Monday.

The building will use its own power generated through a process called gasification, which was used in World War II to power cars when fuel was limited.

This means no power bills for residents.

"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," Mr Waldren said.

Cooling and heating will be driven by an electrical generator powered by gasification, involving turning waste timber into gas using extreme pressure and temperature.

Mr Waldren said he was confident carbon-neutral timber housing will catch on in Australia, where radiata pine, a sustainably grown soft wood, could be used.

He said companies such as Carter Holt Harvey and CSR had expressed interest in developing the technology for single-unit dwellings as well as apartment blocks.

"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," Mr Waldren said.

The technology has been used in Europe on a range of residential buildings from social housing to expensive villas.

"If we can deliver ... a building solution that provides high quality and at a level that enables affordable housing right through to premium housing to be made, there is a whole new way of building coming out of this exercise," Mr Waldren said.

Car parks, retail and other apartment buildings are also being developed on the former Carlton Brewery site, which includes the Portrait apartment tower bearing a digital image of the face of Aboriginal leader and artist William Barak.