Is this the most exciting Sustainable House Day so far? (originally posted in News, 31 Aug)

WELL! After months in lockdown, the folks at Renew and a bunch of generous householders around Australia have delivered an “ace card”, producing a Sustainable House Day event that looks set to eclipse all the others.

Yes, it’s in virtual format, and that means we can’t get our usual fix of checking out other people’s homes in person. BUT … on the bright side: this year, for the first time, we’ll be able to check out properties from all around Australia … places we’d never dream of being able to get to in one day.

Clear your calendar (and reserve a spot at the computer) for Sunday September 20th, because this is going to be BIG. Sustainable House Day this year will be like a virtual conference, with a range of presentation and “question and answer” sessions running concurrently. The homes themselves will be presented by video or slideshow accessible at your leisure, from 12th September.

The challenge, of course - like the menu in your favourite cafe - is choosing! And that, friends, is where the Sustainable Homes Action Group comes in. We’d love to be able to do the shared plate “switcheroo” with you, but that’s not quite Covid … so here’s our red hot tip. Set up your virtual itinerary selecting homes from Climate Zone 7. That’s the Climate Zone the Macedon Ranges falls within, and ideas successful in other Climate Zone 7 homes should be successful here. Places that get COLD in winter and often use a lot of energy for heating and hot water. We’d be talking about most of Tassie and some parts of Victoria, NSW and the ACT.

To help, we’ve tracked down maps of climate zones by state: Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales and ACT. You will need to scroll down the pages and download the PDF to get the most from the maps.

Armed with that good info, head over to the Sustainable House Day website to check out the program. Make sure you check out the process on the homepage (scroll down below the “eye candy”). If you’re not registered (from past SHDs), set up a registration (it’s free). Have a look around, navigate to the program (link top right) … and remember to come back to the home page, accessible by clicking on the logo at top left of the site. On the home page there is a map showing where the open houses are - and you’ll want to explore that with your climate zone maps alongside. Start clicking, checking out the property profiles, and setting up your itinerary for a week of enjoyment between the 12th and the 20th.

Make sure you come back here before the 12th, as we have another little surprise in store … shhh!!!

Enjoy your planning, everyone, and we’ll be back soon.

The Sustainable Homes Team