Increasing the Energy Efficiency of Your Home

Why You Need to Consider Solar Before You Even Buy a Plot of Land for Your New Home

In this day and age, you have to carefully consider the environmental impact whenever you build a new home. If you're in the market to do so and are looking for a plot of land, why is it important to think about your plans ahead of time if you want to reduce your energy usage as much as possible?

Early Thoughts

As you live in Australia, you really should take full advantage of the power of the sun. This means that you should use solar power to reduce your dependence on fossil fuels. The design and orientation of your home will be critical if you're going to maximise your savings here, and thus you should think carefully before you even buy a plot of land.

Choosing the Right Type of Plot

For example, if a plot of land has a considerable amount of undulation or is surrounded by some hills, then consider how this may affect your solar power. If that elevation is on the eastern or northern side, then you won't be able to take as much advantage of the sun as you would if the land was flat or the elevation was on the opposite side. In short, the sun will not have the opportunity to "hit" those solar panels until a lot later in the day, and this will cut down on your power generation capability.

What About the Neighbours?

Likewise, consider any natural or man-made objects that may get in the way both now and in the future. Is it possible for your immediate neighbours to build a tall structure that could completely block out your solar panels for much of the day? You may live next to a "green belt," but what type of trees are to be found in there? Remember, they could grow significantly in only a few years, and you may not get the opportunity to trim them back at all.

Clutter-Free

If you're happy with the surroundings, ensure that you design the home so that it has an unhindered roof where at all possible. Try not to include any features that will compromise the efficiency of the solar panels, such as chimneys, air conditioning systems or satellite TV dishes.

Pre-Wiring

Talk with your architect, builder and electrician about wiring solar panel capability into the walls before they are completed. This will make it a lot easier when the panels themselves are installed, leading to money and time savings.

Making Sure of Your Position

With plenty of forethought, you can ensure that your new home will place you as a model citizen in your community. Have a word with solar installers at the planning stage so that you can be as prepared as possible.


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