What will 2016 bring to the housing industry? How will battery storage affect the way we build? What effects will renewable energy have on society? 2016 will be the year battery storage hits the Australian market HARD! Australians have begun pre-ordering the Tesla Powerwall, but Australian manufacturers such as Zen Energy and Allgrid Energy have raised their game and are welcoming the competition from the international giant!

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Since the release of the Tesla Powerwall, prices from other manufacturers have decreased by up to 50%. One thing’s for sure that the real winners from the price war will be the consumers! :)

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What will also be a driving change to the way houses are built is micro-grids. There are new housing estates popping up over the next few years that will incorporate independent micro-grids. Pioneering this technology is the proposed Brookfield development near Newcastle. Entire towns are also considering the move of connecting to their very own micro-grid such as Tyalgum, NSW. This inevitable change to the energy sector will see far more efficient homes built to limit, to ensure energy use isn’t wasted.

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Furthermore as we see the ACT continue to move closer and closer toward their Renewable Energy Target-100% renewables by 2025. But what the ACT also has in place is mandatory disclosure of a home’s performance prior to sale. This is waiting to happen to the rest of Australia and will likely be the driving force behind producing higher performing homes. The introduction of mandatory disclosure will make a huge difference to the way we view homes when looking to buy and of course the end $$$ for the seller.

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Melburnians will understand more than most what it’s like to live through the cold of winter and heat of summer in such poorly insulated and drafty homes! Whether it’s summer or winter most Melbourne houses suck!And we haven’t even mentioned the new Energy Coalition including the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson!!!

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‍Onward and upward for Renewables………… Happy 2016!!