ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 2 Event Summary Hosted by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), Sustainable House Day is a national, not‐for‐profit environmental event providing an opportunity for people to visit sustainable homes and see first‐hand how to make their own homes more environmentally friendly, comfortable to live in and cheaper to run. Attendees almost unanimously reported that seeing sustainable homes in person was their preferred method of learning about sustainable home renovations and builds. Second to this were face‐to‐face conversations with the renovators and homeowners, followed closely by conversations with design and/or building practitioners. It is this peer‐to‐peer sharing of knowledge and skills that makes Sustainable House Day a trusted, vibrant and effective method of sharing sustainable values and practices. On Sustainable House Day, September 17th, 2017, 29,049 visits were recorded at 206 homes across Australia, an increase of 68% from 2016, and the event successfully garnered a significant level of media interest. Sustainable House Day’s media presence is largely attributed to the dedicated efforts of ATA’s in‐house communications team, the media partnership with Porter Novelli, and the support of participating homeowners and local groups. Coverage included television, radio, print and online publications. Over 55% of people attended Sustainable House Day for the first time and 63% of attendees were not members of any sustainability networks prior to the event making Sustainable House Day’s reach critical in reaching a new audience of homeowners and renters. Due to cultural, climatic and sporting events in Darwin, Geelong and Bendigo, in these locations Sustainable House Day was hosted on alternative dates. Including these events, the total numbers of participants is even greater than the “official” attendance. Each of these cities produce independent reports, see page 20 for more information. The CRC for Low Carbon Living came on board to assist with pre and post event surveys. The results were compelling: 25.8% of attendees had already taken action and implemented sustainable design and/or features in their homes 61.9% were planning to include sustainable design and/or features in the near future to their homes 82.1% of participants have already had face to face conversations with family and friends sharing their experience and learning from SHD 53.2% Feel more confident talking to building professionals about including sustainable features in their homes ATA is proud to announce that Sustainable House Day won the United Nations Association of Australia's 2017 Climate Education and Engagement Award for SHD 2016. Sustainable House Day 2017 was sponsored and supported by: November 2017 ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 3 About the ATA Sustainable House Day is organised by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA) a not‐for‐profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. Established in 1980, the ATA provides expert, independent advice on sustainable solutions for the home to households, government and industry. The ATA has helped thousands of households save money and reduce their environmental footprint with information on energy efficiency, solar power, rainwater tanks, materials reuse and waste. The ATA has more than 6600 members, distributed across Australia in metro and regional areas, who are active in sustainability in their own homes and communities including the 15 ATA branches across Australia. The ATA’s expertise lies in its technical knowledge, communications capacity and a large knowledge base of sustainable solutions for homes, businesses and communities. The ATA also publishes two magazines, Sanctuary: modern green homes and ReNew: technology for a sustainable future, to inspire people in practical environmentally friendly living. Sustainable House Day Attendance State No of Homes No of Attendees ACT 9 1995 NSW 47 3181 QLD 20 1528 SA 16 2515 TAS 14 1833 VIC 62 12124 *Table of national Sustainable House Day Participants on WA 38 5873 September 17th, 2017 not inclusive of Darwin, Geelong and Total 206 29,049 Bendigo Sustainable House Days. November 2017 ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 4 Sustainable House Day evaluation and impact Online pre‐ and post‐event surveys were conducted with 2077 participants. Results have been summarised below, with more detailed responses provided on request. Pre- and Post- Event Survey Demographics: *under 25 62% Female and 38% Male. 0% 25‐34 over 65 79.5 % existing homeowners, 5.4 % strata home years, owner, 14.5% own other residential property (not years., 9.20% 18.20% 35‐44 living here), 10.5% tenant, 2.2% living in parent’s years, home, 5.6% other. 15.60% 28.9% visitors are members of sustainability networks, whilst 62.8% are not. 55‐64 45‐54 years, years, 55% of visitors had not attended Sustainable House 22.50% 34.10% Day before. Attendees’ general interests none of these 0.8% buying a home 1.3% buying a home to renovate 2.7% general information 10.2% renovation of current home 17.2% gradual changes/improvement to my home 28.2% building a new home 39.7% November 2017 ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 5 Attendee's specific interests Other (please specify) 10.33% Monitoring or automation equipment 20.76% Smart meters 15.29% Heat pump (hot water) 37.91% Nathers Star Rating 13.53% Battery Storage 53.00% Gardens 42.87% Solar power 64.77% Building materials 74.90% Building designs 71.28% Orientation 57.64% Cooling 59.71% Heating 67.87% Lighting 38.33% Windows and window treatments 78.41% Insulation 74.17% Water saving measures/devices 50.41% Energy efficient appliances 44.94% Impact 25.8% of SHD attendees had already taken action in including sustainable design, features and appliances in renovations or builds since attending SHD (within one month) 61.9% of attendees indicated they are now planning to include sustainability in their renovation/build since attending SHD 2017 82.1% of attendees shared their learning at SHD with friends and family face to face 79.65% of attendees believe that sustainable features to your home will increase its market value 73.0% of attendees rated seeing how sustainable features were used as ‘very useful’ 63.2% of attendees rated speaking to home owners as ‘very useful’ 77.2% of attendees feel that SHD is the only avenue you can ask questions of homeowners. November 2017 ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 6 What was the best idea that you had after attending Sustainable House Day? (Some responses below) “Environmentally friendly concrete.” “Double height louvered space cooled by a rooftop garden installation over a conventional sheet metal roof.” “Made contact with a builder I will follow up with.” “Keeping honey bees in your back garden.” “passive solar veggie growing.” “Green house built off a kitchen” “Hydro Floor heating and UVPC windows” What surprised you most about sustainable homes when you attended Sustainable House Day? (Some responses below) “That a sustainable home can be built on a project home budget.” “How many options there are for being more sustainable.” “That sustainable homes have become appealing to much larger number of average people.” “The variety, from perfect new builds to shaggy retro fits – great.” “The volume of information/advice freely available.” “How many sustainable, attractive, thoughtfully located, homes there actually are in Perth metro area.” November 2017 ATA Report: Sustainable House Day 7 Homeowners There were 206 homes open across the country representing a wide variety of sustainable properties including architecturally built, retrofit, owner‐builder, renovated and rented houses as well as gardens in rural, metropolitan and regional areas of Australia. To assist the homeowners in preparing for Sustainable House Day, event organisers provided a number of tools to support them throughout the process. Participating homeowners were given the opportunity to provide feedback on their participation through a post‐event survey and 77 homeowners participated to share knowledge and experience about sustainability with others. Summary of results from homeowner’s survey: 96% of homeowners opened their homes ‘to share my knowledge and experience of sustainability with others’, 47% of 2017 homeowners had opened for SHD previously and 97% said that they would recommend other homeowners to open their home for Sustainable House Day. 81% of homeowners would consider opening their home to small groups like schools and community groups throughout the year. 37% of homeowners found out about SHD through the ATA, while 31% of homeowners knew about SHD from attending a previous event. 73% of homeowners found the online submission process ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’. 89% of homeowners used their PC, 10% a Tablet/iPad and no homeowners reported having used their mobile phones while submitting/editing the home profile page. SHD homeowners continue to show a strong preference to meeting in person both with other SHD owners and attendees and 87% of homeowners stated that they would consider hosting a meet and greet at their house before SHD for other home owners and volunteers. 88% of homeowners rated the event management team as ‘Very Good’ to ‘Excellent’. Why did you open your house for SHD 2017? (Some responses below) “To represent a possibility to inspire meaningful change, for greater care of the environmental, and enrich peoples live at the same time.” We moved into this new house here in Woodend (pop. of about 4,000) only 3 months ago. We hoped we might meet some interesting local folks. We certainly did--which was a big plus for us.” “I've heard people saying you cannot ... (fill in the dots) over the years. Well, guess what? He is proof that you CAN. If you want to make it happen, that is.” Would you recommend other homeowners to open their home for Sustainable House Day? (Some responses below) “Opening your home and sharing your knowledge and experience is empowering.