Ecolateral Thinking
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Moving the Goal Posts on Residential Energy Generation and Storage
The Dream More and more grid energy customers dream of being able to take responsibility for their own on-site power generation and storage. While we can rarely get away from the ever-increasing network charges we can substantially reduce our bills by reducing or eliminating the amount of grid supplied energy we use. The last 4-5 years has seen an unprecedented development in battery storage. Following the solar panel model, ...
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Don’t use Solar Panels to off-set poor building practice.
I was recently requested by an architectural practice to meet a client and explain the benefits of including a Photo Voltaic array (Solar Panels) on their new home. While the benefits from including PV’s were obvious, the reason to prioritise them above more fundamental investments proved more difficult to rationalise. The case is simple…. You must look at your consumption as well as your production and determine the ...
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Insider Trading in Adaption and Resilience
Consider this !!!! Here is a chance for all of us to profit from a legal insider trading consortium. If we knew in advance that changes in a particular market were inevitable, driving the demand for a particular product sky-high, would we not buy as many shares as we could in the product manufacturer that services that market or better still begin to supply that market ourselves? ...
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Queensland Government appoints Ecolateral as its Sustainability Advisor to Queens Wharf Project
World Class Precinct in Brisbane The Queensland Government has appointed Ecolateral as its Sustainability Advisor for the prestigious Queen’s Wharf Precinct development in Brisbane. This $3 billion Integrated Resort Development will put Brisbane firmly on the map as a premier, world class, tourism, leisure and entertainment precinct. The development will transform the Queensland capital’s CBD and river edge with its stunning subtropical design. Ecolateral's advice and guidance will ensure that this precinct delivers the highest ...
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Back in Brisbane
You could be forgiven for thinking that Europe had become my permanent home, but in June, after nearly two years to the day, we arrived back in Brisbane and have to say that we are very happy to be back. Thanks to the wonderful efforts of Eliza in my absence, Ecolateral ...
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Building in the European Union…
A European Approach Nearly eight months into my stay in Ireland I have learned a lot about living in Europe. Apart from the economic challenges other changes are also obvious. The following are my observations of the EU's approach to energy conservation in the built environment . German Leadership Germany is without doubt the prime mover in the European Union. ...
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Sustainable luxury @ The Beachmere Project
Luxury and eco friendly are usually considered to be polar opposites in Australian houses. Yet with good design, considered construction processes and attention to detail this doesn't have to be the case. In 2009, Brisbane builder Sovereign Homes began planning the partial demolition and reconstruction of a home at Beachmere, 74 km north of Brisbane. Typical of beachside properties across South East Queensland, the natural tenancy would ...
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Game changer for the existing housing market.
Hot on the heels of the Green Star Performance tool for existing buildings (see our last blog) comes a new initiative by LJ Hooker Real Estate. Since the introduction of sustainable principles and energy efficiency as a consideration in our housing stock, the existing housing market has posed a significant challenge. Representing the majority of our carbon emissions from fossil fuel in the residential sector, the existing housing stock is more difficult to measure and ...
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NEW GREEN STAR TOOL FOR EXISTING BUILDINGS
The Green Building Council of Australia has released a pilot version of its new Performance Tool. The objective of the tool is to assess the performance of existing buildings and map them to the now well establish Green Star scale of recognition. This tool has some fundamental differences from the traditional Green Star suite and some would argue, potentially delivers more measurable results ...
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Focus on Apartment Development in South East Queensland
The increase in approvals published on Brisbane City Council's PD-online and the profusion of gantry cranes on multi-residential sites around the city are an indication that apartment living is a very active sector of the construction industry in Queensland. The draft City Plan talks of densities of up to 300 people per hectare. This increased density will undoubtly put more pressure on the existing infrastructre ...
