Design Matters held a competition to design a home that produces more power than it uses over the year, achieved through energy-efficient design, careful appliance selection, and photovoltaic integration.

Additionally, applicants had to consider & calculate embodied carbon in material selection and add enough extra photovoltaic panels to pay back the home's entire carbon debt by 2050* (based on today's carbon intensity).

Our project

We couldn’t miss an opportunity to participate in such a challenge and master our Zero Carbon management skills.

Frater Consulting Services is now a True Zero Carbon Leader after our team successfully completed the Design Matters National True Zero Carbon Challenge.

A multidisciplinary team teamed up with Woodend Building Design Architect Paul Youngs to create Naarm House. Our team included:

Thermal Performance Assessors - Jacob Edwards, Ibraheem Arja, Briar Gunther and Birwa Thakkar

ESD Consultant – David Guo

DDA Consultant– Joseph Oppedisano

Landscape – Dhene Domingo

Naarm House achieves a NatHERS star rating of 7.8 and would achieve carbon zero in 2033.

Naarm House

Chosen after the Aboriginal name for Melbourne, Naarm House has a 15kw North facing solar PV system and is a modern twist on the common triple-fronted house found in suburban Melbourne.

To keep the embodied carbon low, most of the house is lightweight cladding, and the roof is Colorbond. An internal wall made of recycled bricks provides thermal mass to the living area.

The Thermal Performance Assessors utilised the expertise of the Frater Consulting Services’ ESD, Access and Landscape teams to complete the True Zero Carbon Challenge successfully.

Naarm House is designed to comply with the Australian Standard for Adaptable Housing, while the landscaping is designed with native plants. The front yard is made up almost entirely of plants found indigenous to Victoria’s western basalt plains and are bird and insect-attracting. The backyard consists of edible native plants, a vegetable garden, a dedicated lawn, and a sand pit providing a play area for children or a space for a pet to run around.

Frater Consulting Services is here to help

As a leader in the energy rating industry, Frater Consulting Services is here to help you transition to the more stringent regulations.

We have already helped a number of clients prepare for transition to the Seven Star requirements. Please don’t hesitate to contact Frater Consulting Services to find out how you can better prepare your company transition to the new Seven Star requirements.