A practical guide to making your renovation truly sustainable

If you’ve ever been shocked by your energy bill, while your home seems always too hot or too cold, you’re not alone. Most Sydney houses have not been designed for sustainability, nor for the Sydney climate.

In Sydney, we prefer to pretend that winter doesn’t exist, and forget that it’s possible to cool our homes naturally on all but the hottest days. This means that our homes don’t respond to the wide variety of climatic conditions in Sydney.

The good news is that it’s easier than you think to make your house more sustainable. You don’t have to demolish your house to create a liveable, energy-efficient, environmentally responsible home. Renovating is one of most impactful ways to reduce your home’s carbon footprint, improve comfort, and increase long-term value.

And you don’t have to go it alone.

In this article, we look at what it means to renovate a home for sustainability, where to start, and how working with forward-thinking architects can help you get the most out of your investment.

How we create sustainable architecture

In simple terms, a sustainable renovation focuses on reducing a house’s energy and water use, and improving indoor air quality and liveability, which, along the way, reduces its ongoing environmental impact.

Think of it as a tune-up for your home, with benefits that go far beyond aesthetics.

Creating a more sustainable home can include everything from upgrading insulation and installing energy-efficient windows, to integrating renewable energy systems and using eco-friendly materials.

Each house is different, which is why a thoughtful, customised approach is essential.

Why renovate instead of rebuild

So why not just demolish and start over with a new energy-efficient rebuild?

Here’s why to renovate instead:

• Cost impact: working with the existing fabric of your home allows you to be more selective about where to make minor interventions and retain quality existing fabric, enabling you to invest your money in more impactful ways.
• Preserving character: Many older houses have charm, craftsmanship, and history which is worth saving. Preserving and enhancing this charm serves to highlight the difference of the new work in positive ways. Our Annandale Terrace, Darlinghurst Terrace, Bronte Sisters and Cascade Terrace projects are all great examples of this approach.
• Environmental benefit: Reusing the existing structure avoids the massive carbon footprint of demolition and new construction.
• Faster timeline: With considered design, and by carefully selecting what is to be retained, a renovation may be completed faster than a full rebuild.

Key areas of a sustainable renovation

While every house is unique, there are a few areas that give the greatest return for your architectural investment in terms of energy savings and environmental impact.

1. Insulation and internal humidity

A holistic approach is the most cost-effective way to upgrade your home, taking into consideration internal temperature, air-movement and humidity. Many older houses have inadequate or deteriorating insulation, leading to excessive energy use, poor temperature control, condensation, and mould.

Introducing breathable membranes behind upgraded ventilated cladding, basic insulation, and opening up enclosed spaces to cross ventilation can drastically improve a home’s performance without major changes to the existing fabric.

Sam Crawford Architects often recommends upgraded insulation in attics, walls, and floors, along with air sealing around doors, windows, and ducts to create a tighter envelope that still allows for air flow but keeps your conditioned air in — and extremes of weather out.  

2. Window and door upgrades

Single-glazed windows or drafty doors are major energy drains. Replacing doors or windows with high-performance, energy-efficient models can dramatically improve comfort and reduce heating and cooling costs. The key for cost savings for windows and doors is to replace the window in the same opening wherever possible.

Thoughtful design enables new windows to enhance natural light and improve the comfort of your home. Where selected windows are moved or enlarged, the architectural impact is even greater.

3. Efficient heating and cooling

Heating, ventilation and cooling systems typically account for more than 40 per cent of a home’s energy use. Upgrading to high-efficiency systems, such as air-source or ground-source heat pumps, can yield significant operational savings while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Heating, cooling or both can be done passively, through means such as thermal mass, well-located solar protection, and carefully designed cross-ventilation.

Our Hidden Garden House is a great example of an extension to an existing home without adding air-conditioning. Existing bedrooms rely on air-conditioning, yet the new unconditioned living spaces are comfortable, and flooded with sunlight in the cooler months, and enjoy significantly cooler than outside temperatures during summer months.

Waverley House functions similarly, designed with passive heating and cooling, meaning that heating and cooling systems are used only for the warmest or coldest of days.

Taking this approach saves significant operational costs while creating comfortable spaces that relate more closely to the external conditions.

We encourage curious clients to try living through a year in their home without air-conditioning while allowing for its later installation, should they wish. Many find that they’d rather throw on a jumper or switch on ceiling fan than the cost of expensive air conditioning systems that are only occasionally used.

4. Renewable energy integration

Adding renewable energy – most commonly solar – is an excellent way to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. But not every roof or site is ideal for solar panels, and integrating them into the home’s architecture takes careful planning.

Our approach is to assess the feasibility of solar or other systems early in the site analysis process, so they feel like a natural extension of your home rather than an afterthought.

5. Sustainable materials and finishes

From flooring and cabinetry to paint and insulation, every material used in your home can either help or hurt the environment. Sam Crawford Architects prioritises materials that are:

• Locally sourced
• Recycled or rapidly renewable
• Low in VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
• Responsibly manufactured

We ensure that materials complement the overall design vision. Making sustainable choices need not mean compromising on comfort and aesthetics.

6. Water efficiency

Water conservation is a crucial, yet often overlooked, component of sustainability. Renovations that include water efficient fixtures, dual-flush toilets, and greywater reuse systems can significantly reduce consumption without sacrificing performance.

Our designs often incorporate rainwater harvesting systems and drought-tolerant landscaping, which means more beautiful gardens with less effort required.

Considered sustainable architecture is the future

Renovating for sustainability is about so much more than switching to LED bulbs and buying a low-flow showerhead. To really make an impact to your energy and water bills, your comfort, and the environment, requires a comprehensive plan and thoughtful design.

Whether you’re updating a historic home with significant heritage value, or modernising an inner-city warehouse, your renovation can respect your house’s character while also improving its environmental performance.

At SCA, we take a holistic approach to making your house more sustainable.

We evaluate your existing home and your long-term needs, so we can design seamless solutions that enhance your lifestyle, with a home that meets your needs for many years to come.

If you’ve been thinking about improving your home’s efficiency, reducing your environmental footprint, or simply making your space more comfortable and future-ready, then well considered, sustainable architecture is the way to go.

Sustainable architecture doesn’t mean that you should have to choose between beauty and sustainability, there’s no reason why you can’t have both.