Insider Secrets Magazine by ecoMaster

ecoMasterStore.com.au

WELCOME FROM 

ECOMASTER 

OUR INSIDER SECRETS 

CATEGORIES. 

In 2003 my husband Maurice and I set out to do 

something about climate change. Our home was a 

disaster, emitting nearly double the average carbon 

emissions. It was freezing in winter and cost a 

fortune to try to heat it. We could not find anyone 

who we could have a sensible conversation with 

about how to “fix” our home and we could not afford 

to take a stab at something in the hope that it might 

work. 

So we built a cool room and hired a heat chamber, 

then started testing all the insulation and draughtproofing 

products in a model home. From there 

we selected the products that produced the best 

results and started retrofitting! Our 1.5 star home 

was retrofitted to 7.6 stars with no energy bill or 

carbon emissions; the results were extraordinary! 

We then turned out attention to “What next?” We 

understand folks were busy and might not have the 

time or skills to do the same level of research. We 

wanted to share how to achieve these results, so 

ecoMaster was born. 

ecoMaster conducts assessments on people’s 

homes to figure out what the issues are, provide 

advice on how to fix them and, if wanted, installation 

services providing the best quality products 

installed effectively. To date, we have conducted 

“deep retrofits” on over 20,000 homes in Melbourne 

and Sydney; we’ve learnt a thing or two along the 

way! Retrofitting for energy efficiency is 

new for many people, so we are often 

invited to speak at various events 

and seminars. 

One of the questions that I ask is: “Who has 

put that sticky stuff around your door to stop it 

from being draughty?” 

Invariably, the whole room puts up their hands. 

This is great! Sadly, the next question is: “Who 

still has that sticky stuff in place?” There may 

be only one or two hands left up. Everyone 

else was unsuccessful in their first attempt 

at a retrofit for energy efficiency. It’s a crying 

shame!! For want of knowing about solid 

solutions that actually work, Aussies could 

be getting on with great outcomes for their 

homes - warmer in winter, cooler in summer, 

much lower energy bills and a significant 

reduction in carbon emissions. 

We continue to offer assessment and 

installation services but are now working on 

DIY solutions available to a much broader 

community via www.ecoMasterStore.com.au. 

We are passionate about 

sharing our knowledge via 

online magazines, a super 

busy Youtube channel that has 

had an incredible number of 

viewings, and articles to support 

others to achieve a comfortable 

low carbon home much more 

quickly. 

This magazine, “Insider Secrets” 

forms part of our knowledge 

sharing. Whilst we are focused 

on taking positive steps with 

global warming, we also extend 

that care to communities. 

ecoMaster is actively involved in 

fundraising for several Australian 

and overseas charities - mostly 

focused on supporting those in 

challenging circumstances and 

require a hand up. The proceeds 

of the sale of this magazine go 

to those charities. Since 2017, 

the ecoMaster team have raised 

over $28,000. 

Our sincerest thanks go to 

our ecoPartners who have 

subscribed to this magazine for 

their clients. Not only have they 

helped to share the knowledge 

of effectively retrofitting 

homes for energy efficiency, 

they are helping to make the 

world a cleaner, safer and more 

equitable society. 

ENERGY USE 

Laugh at your energy retailer - no energy 

bill shock for you. 

DRAUGHTS 

Biggest bang for your buck. Remove 

sneaky draughts that make your home 

uncomfortable and costly. 

LIGHTING 

Light up your life - sustainably, safely and 

cheaply! 

SEASONS 

A change of season is a great 

time to take advantage of low hanging fruit! 

HOME DESIGN 

And if you happen to be building a new 

home, think about these ideas! 

ecoMasterStore.com.au 

2 ecoMasterStore.com.au 3

TIP 

01 

‘WATT 

In order to kiss your energy bills goodbye: 

Understand how much energy you’re using and 

exactly where it’s going 

Think about possibly replacing the energy-hungry 

appliances 

Consider fuel switching; if you’re using gas, the 

best gas furnace is 90% efficient; but common 

gas furnaces operate around 70% efficient. In 

comparison, split systems operate around 500% 

efficient, so switching to an all-electric home is a 

great way of improving efficiency 

The next step is thermal efficiency. By improving 

the thermal efficiency of your home, you reduce 

the amount of energy you need to heat or cool 

and vastly improve indoor comfort. That is what 

ecoMaster specialises in 

ENERGY USE 

THE...’ ON 

YOUR ENERGY 

BILL! 

youtu.be/hNVXvVvfQ0Y 

Then install solar panels. By 

this stage of the process, you’ve 

will have a good handle on how 

much solar panel capacity you 

actually need to offset your 

home’s energy use. With solar 

panels, you might also think 

about which direction you want 

the solar panels facing 

Finally, store the excess solar 

energy into batteries. 

With these areas all covered, you 

should be able to kiss your energy 

bills goodbye. 

TIP #02 

ENERGY USE 

WATTS AND 

KILO WATT 

HOURS 

EXPLAINED 

SIMPLY 

What is the difference between watts and kilowatt-hours? Kilowatthours 

are actually what your energy retailer charges you for. Let’s 

say they charge you 30 cents per kilowatt-hour. 

Watts on the other can be a little confusing as appliances use 

watts. Electricity can be thought of much like water, so instead of 

electricity coming out of wires, think of it as water coming out of a 

tap - its the same principle. 

Imagine that a jug represents one kilowatt-hour, so when its full of 

water, you owe your energy retailer 30 cents. An LED lamp uses 10 

youtu.be/-yBPC77zukc 

watts, which is the tiniest dribble. 

It’s not much, but we have five 

so that increases somewhat. So 

whilst the dribble has increased, 

it’s going to take some time to fill 

up the jug. The longer we leave 

the lights on, the more jugs we’re 

going to fill over the period of a 

year. 

Now the toaster uses about 600 

watts of electricity, so the water 

will come out of the tap quicker 

but its used for a very short time. 

It won’t fill up the jug as much. 

But a high efficiency, moderatesized 

split system uses the same 

power. So if you use one of those 

to heat your home, and have it for 

a few hours, we are going to fill 

up one or two jugs by doing that. 

The other thing that fills the jug 

is standby power such as the 

internet router and the clocks in 

appliances, These are on 24/7, 

so that will continue to fill jugs 

throughout the year. 

ecoMasterStore.com.au 4 ecoMasterStore.com.au 5

TIP #03 

ENERGY USE 

SEE YOUR 

ENERGY USE 

CLEARLY 

There are a few different ways of making 

energy usage in the home more visible. In 

order to find out what is using all the power 

in our homes, how much power we are using 

and how much solar feeding we are doing. 

The first option is having an in-home display 

that sits, for example, on your kitchen bench 

that you can glance at and find out all kinds 

of great information. There are two types. 

youtu.be/Tz9bHZvtecM 

The first is one that connects directly to your 

smart metre wirelessly. At the moment it is 

unavailable in this country. 

The second type is a two-part device. This display 

comes with a transmitter that is placed around 

the main power cable that brings power to your 

home and a receiver that displays information. 

Whilst this has a few disadvantages like needing 

batteries and an electrician to install it. But the 

advantage is that it’s going to work on any type 

of meter that you’ve got. 

If you have a “Smart Meter” you have access 

to a free online portal provided by your energy 

distributor (or retailer depending upon your 

location). That portal has all of this information 

about your home’s consumption of electricity. 

Another way to track your usage is by appliance, 

by a smart plug which will allow you to control 

the times an appliance is used and how much 

energy is being used. 

ENERGY USE 

GET TO KNOW 

YOUR ENERGY 

BILL BETTER 

In our home, we have what is called a “Time of Use 

Tariff”. That means that we have a Peak Tariff during 

the day from 7 am to 7 pm, and then a cheaper tariff 

called an Off-Peak Tariff that is applied from 11 

pm to 7 am. The Off-Peak Tariff also applies to the 

weekend. 

During the day on a weekday, a kilowatt-hour of 

power costs us about 25 cents, whereas during the 

night and the weekend it only costs about 15 cents. 

By using electricity during the off-peak times you 

youtube.com/watch?v=YGVU1Kr6xhI 

IP #04 

are able to save some money. 

You may have different tariffs called 

“Controlled Load” where the Off-Peak Tariffs 

only applying to electric hot water. In that 

case, the lower tariffs are applied to the hot 

water usage whereas other usage is at a 

higher rate. 

Last but not least, when you have solar 

panels and they are in the sun and you use an 

appliance, the usage will not be added on the 

energy bill because the electricity is coming 

from the solar panels. In this case, you may 

have spare capacity, meaning the electricity 

will be added to the grid and you will be paid 

by your electricity retailer. 

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ecoMasterStore.com.au 7

TIP #05 

TIP #06 

youtu.be/YFHaGW6wx8U 

ENERGY USE 

WHAT’S YOUR 

PEAK ENERGY 

EXPENDITURE 

HOUR IN 

YOUR HOME? 

Deciding when to use appliances can be a 

good way of saving money on your energy bills. 

This mostly relates to appliances such as the 

dishwasher, washing machine, and if you have 

a pool, then a pool pump. If you have solar 

panels, and you are on the old tariff of 60 cents 

youtube.com/watch?v=3XUZIMpaIYs 

a kilowatt, it is more advantageous for you to feed 

that energy into the grid rather then using it, as your 

energy retailer will pay you for that power. 

However, if you are on a modest tariff, then it’s best 

for you to use your appliances with the energy coming 

from those solar panels. 

How can we do that? Some modern appliances have 

delay start settings so that you can program when 

these appliances come on. If not then another way of 

doing this is by using a smart plug. This allows you to 

program the appliance to come on at various times 

during the day when the sun will be on the panels. 

You can do this from your phone or smart device and 

you can also see how much power you are using. 

Alternatively, if you have a smart meter with a Time of 

Use Tariff that changes according to the time of day, 

you can decide to run appliances like dishwasher, 

washing machine and pool pump at night. That will 

use the off-peak tariff and will be cheaper to run. 

ENERGY USE 

GET OFF THE GAS... 

AND HERE’S HOW 

AND WHY 

Whilst gas ducted systems are quite common systems for 

heating the home, there are two good reasons for moving to an 

all-electric home. The first reason is an environmental reason. 

Gas is not a renewable energy source, and whilst it’s considered a 

kind of “clean transition fuel”, the significant emission associated 

with getting gas and the pipeline of gas are not. From this 

perspective, it is worth considering switching to all-electric home 

as that can be 100% renewable. 

The second reason is purely from an economic standpoint. When 

comparing ducted gas heating and split system heat in a table: 

for 30 kilowatts outputs, you need 43 kilowatts of input. This 

means that it is only 70% efficient, at 

154 megajoules per hour, and at 2.7 

cent per megajoules means a cost of 

$4.17 an hour. Within this data, there 

is a 20% loss of heat in the ducts. 

Even new ducted heating systems 

that are 95% efficient will cost $3.07 

using the same arithmetic. 

In comparison, a split system with 

350% efficiency is considered 

mediocre. A good split system 

should be upwards of 500% efficient. 

With this in mind, and with 350% 

efficiency, to produce an output of 

24 kilowatts, you would need 9.9 

kilowatts of input. This means 25 

megajoules per hour, at 30c per 

kilowatt-hour is $2.06 an hour to 

produce the same output. 

So for the same output, the gas 

would cost you $3.07 to $4.17 per 

hour versus electric which would 

cost $2.06 per hour. Every hour. 



ENERGY USE 

TIP 

#07 

IMAGINE AN 

EXTRA $50 

PER MONTH IN 

YOUR POCKET 

TIP 

#08 

youtu.be/PKhJ4vGKBKk 

I recently took my own advice and went to 

energymadeeasy.gov.au to get a better electricity 

deal. I entered my postcode that redirected me to 

the Victorian site where I got my $50 bonus just for 

going through this process!! Reviewing my energy 

contract on this site resulted in receiving a bunch 

of offers from energy retailers. 

The best deal was 97 cents a day as the standing 

charge (that is just for being connected to the 

grid), 21.56 cents at Peak (because I’m on a Time 

of Use Tariff), 11.5 cents Off-Peak and 11.3 cents 

Feed-In Tariff. 

Unless you are well set up and very 

efficient, you probably buy electricity 

and possibly gas from an energy 

retailer. Getting the best possible 

deal may save you money. 

There are many energy comparison 

websites that compare tariffs if you 

do a web search for them but all you 

need is energymadeeasy.gov.au. 

To get the most out of this website 

you only need three things: 

youtu.be/SkkuOxqIygY 

1. Have some energy bills at hand 

2. Find out if you’re in a contract 

3. Know what type of electricity meter you have 

Figuring out what type of electricity metre is quite 

simple when looking at the metre box. If it is a 

traditional old metre box and has a spinning disc, 

then it is not a smart meter. 

If you live in Victoria, you can enter your postcode 

into energymadeeasy.gov.au and it will redirect you 

to a Victoria Government website that does this for 

you. They’ll even give you $50 to get the best deal. 

ENERGY USE 

SAVE MONEY 

OR SAVE THE 

PLANET ON 

YOUR ENERGY 

CONSUMPTION? 

YOU CAN DO 

BOTH 

Now my current deal is 35.91 cents for Peak Tariff, 

which compared to 21.56 cents. This is a 40% 

improvement. Not only that, but my current Off- 

Peak Tariff is 15.96 cents compared to the new 

deal of 11.6 cents, which is a 26% improvement 

and another 14% improvement on the Feed-In 

Tariff. 

Now whilst the daily charge goes up by 4%, you 

can see when comparing the tariffs, the peak tariff 

is cheaper. 

This is a great process to go through, and I would 

suggest reviewing energy retailers every year 

or two because even this new offer is going to 

become the current deal and in two years they’re 

going to start inching up the tariffs on me just like 

the current guys did when I wasn’t paying attention. 



TIP 

09 

It is common to detect 

draughts coming out from 

around dishwashers. This 

can be explained when taking 

a closer look at kitchen 

construction. When you 

have a look at a new kitchen 

from a draught viewpoint, 

there are a number of factors 

at play: what type of kickers, 

whether there is skirting, 

penetrations through the 

walls and the floor, and the 

level of adjustment required 

to screw the cupboards to 

the walls. 

DRAUGHTS 

WHO KNEW THAT 

YOUR DISHWASHER 

SOAKS YOUR DISHES 

AND SOAKS YOUR 

ENERGY COSTS 

youtu.be/347VHk1-AAw 

This means that between all of these holes and gaps there is 

airflow around, underneath and behind the cupboards. Similarly 

in European style kitchens, because there are adjustable legs 

under the cupboards, there is unrestricted airflow underneath 

the cupboards. 

So when investigating a dishwasher draught, make sure that the 

cupboards are sealed (caulked) against the wall, if there is no 

skirting then check that the gap between the floor and wall is 

sealed, that the kickers are well-sealed on each side and all the 

pipe penetrations are sealed. 

If it’s a European style kitchen, you may need to fill under the 

cupboards as well. This is a little more tricky, but a “Chimney 

Draught Stopper” is a great way to stop the draught from 

underneath the cupboards and the dishwasher recess. 

TIP #10 

DRAUGHTS 

DID YOU 

REALLY MEAN 

TO HAVE 

YOUR FLOORS 

SO COLD? 

If you have got gas ducted heating with outlets in a timber floor, 

then this Insider Secret is for you. 

Sometimes there are gaps you’re not aware of inside the heating 

duct that you can locate by lifting the register off the outlet. 

Underneath that is what is called the “boot”. The boot fits into 

the register and adapts the round ducting under the floor into the 

rectangular opening that the register fits into. 

How well the boot fits the register opening is important. If there are 

significant gaps between the boot and the floor, heating can be lost 

youtu.be/CZq89C48H-Y 

into the subfloor. Furthermore, 

when the heating is off, there can 

be a draught coming into your 

home. 

But there is a way to treat this. 

If the boot is loose, then you 

need to secure it. You can do 

this by putting a screw through 

it, into the side of the floor so 

that it won’t fall out. The next 

step is to seal the gaps between 

the boots and the floor. This can 

be done using a sealant. Unless 

it is a massive gap, I would 

suggest HB Fuller’s UltraClear or 

FulaSeal which you can use with 

a caulking gun. 

That will seal up the boot to the 

floor so no more leakage of your 

heating and no more draughts 

from your underfloor heating 

system! 



TIP #11 

youtube.com/watch?v=yV-9q_Gst-Q 

youtu.be/QzBjru29yh0 

IP #12 

DRAUGHTS 

LIGHTING 

CHECK YOUR 

PIPES - “OUT OF 

SIGHT” SHOULD 

NOT MEAN 

“OUT OF MIND” 

Pipe penetrations can be found in cupboards, 

bathroom and ensuite vanities and possibly in your 

laundry cupboard. They are usually large holes 

to accommodate the pipes, which have been cut 

oversized leaving large gaps even after the pipes have 

been fitted. 

Traditionally the “household way” is to 

stuff the gap with steel wool to keep 

out rodents. This is mildly effective in 

terms of draught-proofing but it does 

tend to rust of time. 

A better way to seal these pipe 

penetration gaps is with a sealant. For 

a smaller hole, I’d suggest HB Fullers 

Ultraclear (also known as Fulaseal). It 

is very easy to use and you can clean it 

up with water. But for massive holes, 

you need something more flexible, 

so I would suggest silicone. Silicone 

can be used with a silicone spreader, 

which is not very expensive, and you 

can clean up with some tissues or 

newspaper. 

NOT ALL 

DOWNLIGHTS 

ARE CREATED 

EQUAL 

There are multiple reasons why halogen is not 

a good idea, the first being the degradation of 

insulation. When you’ve got quite a few halogen 

downlights, you’re going to be missing between 7% 

and 10% of the insulation, whilst you only need to be 

missing 5% to half the effective insulation level. 

The second reason is they’re 

quite dangerous to your home. 

When we see downlights hard 

up against paper insulation, we 

can see that it has singed the 

paper which is actually how some 

houses burn down. 

Last but not least, uncontrolled 

ventilation. When you look at 

downlights that can tilt but haven’t 

been tilted, there is a quite a gap 

around it, and when you have 

multiple downlights in a home, 

that’s quite a big gap. 



TIP #13 

TIP #14 

youtu.be/cRRuLk260bE 

youtube.com/watch?v=HX9p7lIPLws 

LIGHTING 

UPGRADE 

YOUR 

DOWNLIGHTS 

TODAY 

In part 2 of the downlight segment, we are going 

to discuss what we might do in order to fix the 

issues with LED lamps. The best outcome is to 

get rid of all the downlights, fix the ceiling, and 

only have surface-mounted lighting. There are a 

couple of ways we can achieve this. 

The first way to get rid of downlights is to replace 

them with surface-mounted lighting that might 

look like pendants or an oyster light that fits 

onto the ceiling itself, and there are a lot of LEDs 

available now that fit up against the ceiling. 

Another option, if you want to keep the downlight 

look, is to replace them with the newer options 

such as downlight LEDs that produce better light 

than the old halogen lamps. 

Something worth noting is that these light fittings 

are sealed units so there’s no ventilation. They also 

have the driver built into the light meaning there’s 

nothing hanging out. Newer LED lights are rated 

“IC” which stands for Insulation Contact which 

means you can insulate right over the top of them. 

So if you like the downlight look, but don’t want 

the disadvantages, replace your existing halogen 

downlights with IC-rated downlights. 

LIGHTING 

LIGHTING 

UP OUTSIDE 

RESPONSIBLY 

Exterior floodlights, especially those with a 

movement sensor, can come with light globes of 

150 watts. As there are generally two lights per 

outdoor unit, 300 watts of light comes on whenever 

there is movement. 

Not only that but it is easy to accidentally turn on 

the lights all night if you fiddle with the light switch. 

Many people don’t realise that by turning the light 

switch on, then off and back on again within 10 

seconds, the lights stay on. That 

means you are burning 300 watts of 

light all night. 

The best thing to do is to get rid of the 

150-watt globes and replace them 

with LED globes that are only 14-20 

watts. This will cost around $25. It is 

just a simple unscrew the old fitting, 

and screw in the new replacement 

and that’s it. 

Job done. 



TIP 

#16 

youtu.be/-wd7dISxHAs 

SEASONS 

GET MORE 

SHADE WHEN 

YOU NEED IT 

TIP 

#15 

Split systems can be amazingly efficient 

heaters and coolers, but one thing that makes 

them less efficient is when they get dirty; as 

they’re continuously pumping air, they can 

get choked up with dust and then have the 

potential of growing mould inside. 

SEASONS 

DON’T GET 

CONNED BY 

YOUR AIR 

CONDITIONER. 

IT WORKS 

FOR YOU... 

REMEMBER! 

With this in mind, it is a good idea, once a year, 

to take a look and clean the filters. If you are 

not ok with doing that, there are professional 

cleaners that can do this. 

If you’re going to clean yours, make sure to 

check your manual to find out how to remove 

to cover properly so you don’t get any nasty 

surprises. If you are cleaning it yourself, and 

the heater exchange is choked with dust or 

perhaps looks like its got mould, that’s a good 

candidate for getting a professional cleaner in. 

A professional cleaner will wash the heat 

exchanger, the blower that’s inside along the 

bottom and the filters. 

Finally have a look at your remote and manual, 

as you may find a cleaning function. Some 

systems have an anti-allergen function and a 

clean function. 

Your home will never be cool in summer without 

effective shading. Because every home is different it 

may not be possible to implement the most effective 

shading options. Basically, there are three different 

ways that achieve shading in a home: 

1. External to your home 

2. At the window 

3. Inside the window 

The best way to achieve effective shading is external 

to your home AND suspended away from the 

window. Being suspended away from the windows 

means rising hot air can escape rather than being 

trapped against the glass. This creates more airflow 

between the shade and the window, keeping your 

home cooler. 

youtube.com/watch?v=FuqvVb9-f1w 

The next best choice is externally and in the 

window. However, there are many instances 

where this is not well done and can actually 

make your home hotter. A particular issue 

is awning blinds as the fabric heats up in the 

sun, heating up the air behind the blind and 

then radiates that heat through the glass into 

your home. If the blind is of a dark colour this 

attracts even more heat. It is best to use a 

light colour blind against a window extended 

either side of the window to prevent heat 

build-up. 

The last option is shading on the inside of 

your home (that is, against the inside of your 

windows). Generally, this is your backstop 

choice but it can still be very effective. 



TIP 

17 

We are growing a grapevine 

over our pergola in order to 

keep it beautifully shaded in 

the summer which makes 

space much more usable. We 

have fitted stainless steel wires 

through the pergola rafters, to 

hold up the grapevine as they 

spread over the structure. 

SEASONS 

PERGOLAS PROVIDE 

PROTECTION FROM 

THE SUN. HOW 

GOOD IS YOURS? 

youtu.be/qbl0PR6YZSc 

Previously we used shade cloth, however 

as it ages it gets darker and less and less 

light comes through, making the home quite 

dark. By taking the shade cloth off in front 

of the glazing of the house, it has made a 

big difference to the amount of light in the 

home, and even though some shade cloth 

remains on one side, when the grapevines 

cover the entire pergola, the cloth shall then 

be removed. 

TIP #18 

SEASONS 

50 SHADES 

OF SHADING! 

With summer just around the corner, we looked at a good 

way, a better way and the best way to shade our windows 

from the sun, so let’s make a start. 

As mentioned previously, we discussed that the best way 

to shade the glass is away from the window with as much 

ventilation as possible behind it. Using light colours is ideal 

for shading as dark colours radiate a lot more heat into the 

home, especially if they are right up against the windows. 

One exception to this rule can be roller shutters. If they are 

insulated on the inside with a material like a polystyrene, 

then they can be quite effective. 

Renshade fitted to the glass with velcro dots is also quite 

effective, or even in frames if you want to make them more 

robust. They work quite well and you can see from the dark 

side to the light side. But how it is fitted is more important. 

youtu.be/IW--09-yW7k 

When it comes to cellular blinds, 

how it is fitted to the window is 

more important than the number 

of cells. Provided they’re tightfitting 

to the rear of the window 

they can be effective and there’s 

also a huge variety of those now. 

Last but not least, drapes can 

work quite well as long as there 

is an effective or invisible pelmet. 

In winter, the air is warmed and 

rises, flowing into the room, it 

cools down rapidly as it passes 

behind the curtains and down the 

glass. Installing pelmets over the 

top of curtains ensures that the 

air retains some of its warmth 

and it is falling in front of the 

curtains and not being chilled by 

the glass. In summer the exact 

opposite happens, ensuring that 

hot air against the glass is not 

pumped into the room. 



TIP #19 

SEASONS 

LET SHADE BE 

YOUR BFF THIS 

SUMMER 

Summer is coming and we know it’s going to get 

hot. Over the years temperatures have continued 

to increase, and pergolas can be either a boon or a 

bust depending on construction and the material it is 

made from. 

Looking at two different examples of pergolas, the 

first butts hard up against the house which can be a 

big issue if you’ve got a LaserLite roof. The sun builds 

up and radiates into the house through the windows. 

The second pergola example is different. It isn’t 

right up against the house, there is ventilation space 

youtube.com/watch?v=p7_b7ggmZY8 

at the top, which allows cooler air to 

come in underneath, and the hot air to 

escape. This avoids the heat build-up 

demonstrated in the first example. 

A great way of creating shade over 

a pergola is through the growth of 

grapevines, as discussed previously. 

When a grapevine is more mature, as the 

season progresses and becomes fully 

leafed, it will produce a huge amount of 

shade. 

However, in the meantime, ecoShade 

frames (a fly screen frame with the 

Renshade material fastened to it using 

double-sided tape) can be used. It is 

not necessarily full cover, just nearer 

the house, and it can make a huge 

difference. This means that ecoShades 

are installed when the weather starts 

getting hot and they come down once 

the summer cools off. 

HOME DESIGN 

COLOUR IS NOT 

JUST A PRETTY 

THING, IT 

REALLY WORKS 

Colour has a big impact on the internal comfort of 

your home and in particular, we are discussing the 

external colour of your home. 

As an example, we show you an image of a standard 

Melbourne rendered brick veneer home. The front 

is painted one half in a dark grey, the other half in a 

much lighter grey. Using an infrared thermometer, 

we took the temperature of those two different 

colours. The darker colour showing the temperature 

to be 56 degrees whilst the lighter colour showed 

46 degrees. 

youtu.be/bBiJupn04P8 

IP #20 

This means that the dark wall conducted 

22% more heat into the home then the 

lighter shade. This is particularly important 

to remember going into summertime, as 

the hotter the weather gets the more heat 

that can be conducted into the home just 

based on the colour of the walls. 

In conjunction with this, we have also 

found that dark coloured roofs increase 

attic temperatures by 20 degrees. Even if 

a home has R4 insulation, the heat that is 

conducted is equivalent as having a blow 

heater on half blast. 

When you are choosing new roofing or 

external paint for your home, it is important 

to bear in mind the impact that colour will 

have on the temperature of your home. 



TIP 

21 

HOME DESIGN 

DESIGN FOR 

ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

FROM THE GET-GO 

AND SAVE $1000S 

youtube.com/watch?v=y0Fp_WcL_4k 

TIP 

#22 

“Stairway to Heaven or Stairway to Big Energy 

Costs” we showed the direction of smoke rising 

an incense stick. When there is a heat source at 

the bottom of the staircase, warm air rises up the 

stairs. This demonstration shows when warm air 

rises, it is replaced with cooler air coming down 

the stairs in the opposite direction. This means 

that if you’re at the bottom of the staircase trying 

to warm yourself, you are likely to feel a breeze 

around the ankles. 

Having retrofitted thousands of 

homes, I have come to the conclusion 

that most two-storey homes are 

constructed upside down. In a typical 

two-storey home, the bedrooms 

are upstairs and the living areas are 

downstairs. 

In winter, when you put on the central 

heating and try to warm up the living 

spaces, the warm air rises. This sends 

heat to the bedrooms and leaves the 

downstairs section cold. This creates 

an uncomfortable environment in both 

sections of the home. In the middle 

of summer, the upstairs bedrooms 

become superheated because they 

are (often) not shaded by surrounding 

structures (buildings or trees). 

youtube.com/watch?v=LyQvWLBdRU4 

Upstairs bears the full force of the sun all day. In addition, hot air 

rises from within the home. Turning on air conditioning upstairs 

to try to cool the bedrooms, will result in the cool air sinking to 

the ground floor. This is because cold air is dense and heavier 

than warm air, so it will fall down the stairs or void. This means 

downstairs is cooler, but upstairs is still hot and uncomfortable. 

This is why when you go to bed at night in summer, it may be hot 

upstairs despite running air conditioning. 

In addition, having a bedroom over a garage can be problematic 

as the garage heats up and passes the heat directly to the 

bedroom above. Often garage doors are metal, which conducts 

heat and that makes a garage a pretty hot place. More often, 

there is no insulation between the garage and the room above. 

So a bedroom over a garage can have quite a thermal issue. 

This is why I think two-story homes are upside down, the 

bedrooms should be on the ground floor of the home and the 

living areas should be upstairs. 

HOME DESIGN 

WHAT YOU NEED 

TO KNOW ABOUT 

MULTI-STOREY 

HOMES THAT CAN 

SAVE YOU $$$ 

Today we’re going to talk about multi-level homes 

and in particular, the kind of airflow that happens in 

staircases. Demonstrated in another Insider Secret, 

This is important to know this in terms of heating 

and cooling your home. If you are trying to warm 

the lower half of a home that contains a staircase, 

warm air is going to rise up the stairs. If you want 

to cool the upper section of your home, the cool 

air will go down the stairs. So conditioning the 

air in a home with a staircase can be difficult and 

expensive. 

If this is your situation, think about “zoning” your 

staircase. Zoning means dividing your home into 

sections. In this context, being able to block the 

exchange of air up and down the staircase. This is 

generally done with a door at the top or bottom of 

the stairs or if that is not suitable, install a heavy 

curtain. 

Zoning your staircase will make your home much 

more comfortable as your air conditioning will be 

able to work less, this will save in conditioning 

costs and your home will be less breezy. 



TIP #23 

HOME DESIGN 

STAIRWAY TO 

HEAVEN OR 

STAIRWAY TO 

BIG ENERGY 

COSTS? 

When looking at two-story homes, one of the ways to optimize comfort, 

especially when heating or cooling a home, is to zone the first floor from 

the ground floor. Zoning is usually done at the staircase. 

Looking at a typical two-story home layout, the upstairs has all the 

bedrooms whilst the downstairs will contain the living areas, the kitchen 

and dining area. 

During winter, if warm air comes out of ceiling jet outlets at high velocity 

(which is done to ensure that the warm air reaches the floor) this creates 

quite a lot of air movement. The air from the high-velocity ceiling jets 

can feel cold because of the strong air movement, despite being heated. 

youtu.be/BWHPtupCKho 

It also creates currents of air 

around the home because 

of the rapid displacement 

of air from the jets. 

As any science student will 

tell you, warm air rises. In a 

two-storey home, that warm 

air will rise via the stairs as 

the line of least. In summer, 

when trying to cool the upper 

storey so you can sleep, 

the cool air will go down 

the staircase to the lower 

storey and is replaced by the 

warmer air it displaces. 

One effective way of 

combatting this issue is 

zoning the house to limit the 

escape of cool or warm air 

from the area of the house 

you are trying to optimize, 

for example through a 

heavy drape covering the 

stairway. This will block off 

the pathway of the airflow, 

making it quicker and easier 

to heat or cool the area of 

your choice. 

TIP 

#24 

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