#04 Is solar energy really worth it?

Today we are talking with Marnie Hawson from Marnie Hawson Photography. In a previous life, she was an environmental scientist with a keen interest in birds. These days, you can find Marnie creating beauty from behind the camera lens, photographing impactful, beautiful, and high-performance homes. All in a quest to contribute to a better world. Marnie is committed to working only with clients who are serious about sustainability, which allows her to align with people who are aware of the social impacts of what they do and are actively making a change. She is B-Corp certified, her practice is carbon neutral, and she is a member of 1% For The Planet. She joins us today to discuss how she found her purpose and provide words of wisdom on how you can find yours too.

On this episode of the Outlier podcast, we're talking with sustainability enthusiast and owner of Ecosky Windows, Monika Rogers. Ecosky Windows is a relatively new player on the Australian market and is already making a huge impression. Monica is the driving force behind Ecosky and she sits down with us today to tell us about the things that make their fenestration systems unique and why we should consider glazing as one of the top priorities during the construction or renovation of our homes. If you've ever wondered what kind of difference higher-quality windows would make in a home, this is the episode for you.

Erika Bartak is an ESD consultant and sustainable housing researcher with a background in architecture and a passion for designing and promoting better housing. She is particularly interested in narrowing the gap between discourse and practice in sustainable housing. This has provided motivation for her doctoral thesis investigating energy efficiency culture, and practice within the Australian volume home building sector. We caught up with Erica to chat about how we can support the industry in building 7-star homes. And she provided some valuable insight into what she believes the changes to the NCC will involve in terms of home design for different housing types across Victoria. We also had an opportunity to discuss the requirements around ensuring new builds are actually being constructed to this new standard

Today we are speaking with Olivia Terziovski principal lawyer over at Boutique Lawyers one of Melbourne's leading building and construction law firms. Olivia has dealt with 1000s of Building and Construction matters and insurance claims over the last decade. In this information intense episode. Olivia shares with us some of the most commonly asked questions by her clients and some of the most common misconceptions regarding the rights of homeowners. Olivia also provides advice on how you can protect yourself legally as a homeowner. And some of the information you hear today may actually surprise you. This is a must-listen episode for those of you contemplating building or purchasing a new home. Shownotes Boutique Lawyers- https://boutiquelawyers.com.au/ Mann v Paterson Constructions Pty Ltd- https://blogs.unimelb.edu.au/opinionsonhigh/2019/10/16/jocic-mann/

In this short catch-up episode, we bid farewell to a valued member of our team and welcome a new member on board. We touch on why we've been away for a while and give some hints about upcoming projects. We thank you for your patience and hope this answers a few of your questions. Stay tuned; we'll be back with our regular programming very shortly.

We have talked about waste management on this podcast before, and today we want to take it a step further and chat about creating a circular economy. For that, we have Scott Bryant on the podcast, who is a circular economy coordinator for the City of Greater Bendigo. Scott has been an amazing resource for the creation of our own waste management plan, and has extensive experience working in this field in Australia as well as overseas. We start off our conversation with explaining what circular economy actually means, and share some insights about what individuals and business owners can do to help. We also have some great examples for innovative businesses working in this field, as well as some exciting insights into what Bendigo is doing to stop wasting our waste. Shownotes Scott Bryant on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scotttbryant/?originalSubdomain=au Bendigo Council website: One Living Principles by the Bendigo Council: https://www.bendigo.vic.gov.au/Services/General-Waste-Recycling-and-Organics/Circular-Economy Circularity Gap Report: https://www.circularity-gap.world/ Ellen MacArthur Foundation: https://ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/ Doughnut Economics: https://doughnuteconomics.org/ Reblade Scotland: https://www.reblade.co.uk/ Revival Projects: https://revivalprojects.com.au/

We are kicking the new year off with a super interesting topic: sustainable property developments. We have Jess Cuman on, designer and thermal assessor in his own business Adapt Design Group, who has done a lot of work for The Cape, Australia's most sustainable development. We talk about his own personal journey that brought him and his family to focus on more sustainable and energy efficient house design, and what design approach he is taking in his projects. Jess also gives his thoughts on the future of housing developments and shares his wishes for improvements in the building code. Shownotes Cape Paterson: https://liveatthecape.com.au/ Adapt Design Group Website: https://www.adaptdesigngroup.com.au/ Adapt Design Group Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adaptdesigngroup/

It's been a massive year for us at Outlier, and we wanted to take this last episode of the podcast for the year to reflect a bit about some highlights and milestones, and also look at some massive changes that we will be facing next year. The National Construction Code will finally upgrade to a 7 star minimum energy rating, but that is not all! There are also some exciting new upgrades to the energy rating software - and we also have a few news ourselves! Shownotes FirstRate5 House Energy Rating Software: https://www.fr5.com.au/ Hero House Energy Rating Software: https://www.hero-software.com.au/ Our Research Services: https://outlierstudio.com.au/research/ Our first ever hybrid home open house: https://outlierstudio.com.au/our-first-ever-hybrid-home-open-house/ David from Ecowise Homes: https://www.ecowisehomes.com.au/

Waste management has been a big topic for us lately! Not just because our team member Evangelia has been super passionate about it and introducing a proper system for our office, but also because the building industry is a massive producer of waste. Around 18 cubic metres of waste come in everyday - from just one building site. The majority of this waste is going to landfill - unless you are working with Rob Holden from Tiger Bin Hire! Rob has run his business in Bendigo for 10 years now and has dedicated himself to recycling as much waste as possible. He joins us to talk about his motivation behind his business, how he manages his operation and how builders and local government can help with the recycling process. Tiger Bin Hire Website: https://www.tigerbinhire.com.au/ Tiger Bin Hire on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/www.tigerbinhire.com.au

Are you unsure of the benefits of ventilation for your home? Then this episode is for you! We sit down with Joel Seagren from Fantech to dive deep into the topic of ventilation. Joel has a tonne of knowledge and experience working with different systems for all types of homes. He explains the benefits of having a controlled ventilation system, and how the different setups work. He also talks about when to involve an HRV engineer like himself, and how much you will have to pay for the different systems. This episode is a bit technical, but Joel does a great job at explaining complex setups and terminology in a simple way, and using facts and data to support his arguments. Fantech Website: https://energyrecovery.com.au/ Fantech LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fantech_austnz/ Fantech contact email address: hrv@fantech.com.au Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-seagren-97ab1a23/ Book a blower door test: https://outlierstudio.com.au/thermal-performance-check/ Video of an HRV unit in action on our Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CY-xfcnlUk1/