Positive Footprints Design and Build Services

06/10/2025

If you are coming to the Melbourne Build Expo and want to know anything about low carbon energy positive sustainable homes, come and join me for the panel discussion.
Bring questions.
See you there.
- Jeremy

09/01/2025

ATTENTION ALL RESIDENTIAL BUILDERS, ARHCITECTS & DESIGNERS:
Do you know what it takes to make a True Zero Carbon home?

A home that accounts for both Operational AND Embodied Carbon.
And can it be a mainstream proposition?

In our upcoming webinar on Wednesday Jan 29, Jeremy Spencer of Positive Footprints, takes us through Part 2 in his Case Study of one of their Carbon Zero builds. A house that is performing well past Net Zero and deep into carbon positive territory...
But is it True Zero?
You will need to attend to find out!

Jeremy will be sharing his insights on:
🌲 Embodied Carbon 101 & practical strategies to minimise embodied carbon on site.
🌲 Carbon accounting, and how much carbon was saved by the various initiatives in the case study home.
🌲 The practical steps, and the SBA Resources available, to minimise embodied carbon and achieve your own zero carbon homes of the future, today!

This will be a practical, information packed session, not to be missed. Did we mention it's free? 😁 Register at the link below
https://events.humanitix.com/mainstreaming-net-zero-homes-part-2-embodied-carbon-webinar

For those of you that missed Part 1 of this webinar, you can watch this via the Resources section of our website. 😉

Bring your passion
Bring your questions.
See you there!

31/10/2024

THE TRUE ZERO CARBON CHALLENGE, HAS NOW COMPLETED ITS 2ND AWARDS, & OF THE MANY LEARNINGS, ONE THING IS CLEAR: WE CAN ALL BE BUILDING NET ZERO CARBON HOMES TODAY!

The Challenge had 3 main aims:
1. To get thermal assessors working with designers at concept stage, to practice leveraging the power of the NatHERS Whole of Home rating tools in driving Net Zero outcomes.
2. To bring embodied carbon into the calculation, & raise it’s issue to prominence in the industry
3. To provide cost effective, practical examples of desirable, truly Net Zero homes that the industry can follow.

All teams once again met the true zero challenge of designing energy efficient, PV integrated, low embodied carbon buildings, that not only gave enough power to run the house, but exported enough excess renewable energy to payback the carbon debt embodied in the house materials by 2050.

The competition had a robust sustainability requirement that, along with carbon analysis, looked at all facets of treading lightly.
Entries included themes of health, ventilation, connection to place, flexibility, food production, water efficiency, sustainable specification, aging in place, electric car connection, native habitat provision, passive solar design, passivhaus principles, and the list goes on…

And somehow competitors combined all this with good design, beauty, & desirability.
All in a cost-effective package.

It is safe to say the TZCC is the most comprehensive, education based sustainable design competition in Australia. Teams that met the challenge were awarded with TZCC logos, so keep an eye out for Designers, Architects, & Assessors sporting it in their marketing – it means something.

I thank Design Matters National for giving this seed of an idea the hundreds of hours work required, to bring it to life.
I thank the entrants for the passion it took to stay the course, learn new software, do the carbon accounting, attend the numerous educative webinars, and spend the hours creating the solutions we all need for a brighter future.

It took a team.
We are all in this together.

These efforts inspire,
Bring Hope…
and importantly,..Solutions

👣

19/09/2024

TAKE SOME TIME TO LOOK AT THIS GRAPH BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT! IT’S NOT A PREDICTION - BUT ACTUAL ENERGY PERFORMANCE. WHAT DOES IT TELL US ABOUT THE FUTURE OF HOUSING?

The house, (our first of the Positive Footprints Carbon Zero series), was built to not only produce enough renewable power to create a Net Zero home, but extra to also pay back its embodied carbon debt.
(See pics for House Specs)

RESULTS:
The house in operation is a LONG WAY beyond Net Zero, producing significant excess power in all but the midwinter months.

The green bars show the renewable power sent to the grid, to be used by others. This offsets the need to burn fossil fuels, effectively saving ~10 tonnes of CO2 over the year! (Compared to the av. home which CREATES 5T CO2 / year!)

The exciting part of the graph however is ABOVE THE ‘0’ LINE, which shows minimal draw on the grid.
As noted in a previous post on the Duck Curve, what we don’t want as we move to an all-electric future, are homes that are carbon positive during the day when the sun is shining, but inefficient energy guzzlers as soon as the sun goes down. This house solves that conundrum.

SO HOW DOES IT DO IT?

Namely through…
Passive Solar Design, coupled with,
Performance Construction
Efficient Appliance Selection
Solar PV on the roof
And a battery.

Not much of a secret…
But as usual, the devil is in the details.
(See www.TheSBA.com.au where I've written all the instructions 😉)

TAKEAWAYS:
1. The original NatHERS rating predicted 13T CO2 saving / yr. The house saved 10T, but that included car charging (not part of the rating) & a slightly varied system size.
Taking this into account, the prediction was surprisingly accurate!

2. Heating water & charging the car during the day made a big difference in curtailing nighttime consumption.

3. Good design with performance construction minimised conditioning needs after sunset. And,

4. Once needs have been minimised, a home battery gives almost total autonomy.

In summary,
This house is not a burden on the grid,
…But a practical example of what the future could be.

By 👣
PS. Watch out for Part 2: EMBODIED CARBON next post…

30/08/2024

WHO WILL BE THE BEST THIS YEAR?

I love these awards, and have been coming to them every year, since I first entered back in 2010, either as entrant or, (over recent years), a judge. It is a privilege to be around fellow designers, and doers, and leaders in the sustainability space. And though it is quite time commitment reading through the submissions, I always come away inspired by the passion and creativity of these people, who are motivated by the desire to make Australia better.

So good luck to all the contestants!

The only way to win the prize is to put your name in the ring, so kudos to you all for that.

And if your project comes up trumps in these National Sustainability Awards, it is a true recognition by your peers that you have achieved something special and important in the built environment!!

ALSO, if you want to come to the Awards or the preceding Summit (which by-the-way is always a great day of education and meeting like-minded professionals), go to www.sustainablebuildingawards.com.au to find out details.

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND PERFECTING HIGH PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE HOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS AND THE FUTURE 🌱

If you’d like to learn more about Positive Footprints and how we work to bring your new home or renovation into reality please DM us or visit our website (link in bio). The first meeting is free, and a great opportunity to ask any questions, and find out more about the design and build process.

Sustainable, Beautiful, Energy Efficient Homes 🏡
Designed and Built
To perform for you
Make your Footprints Positive
👣

24/08/2024

HAVE YOU DONE THE NET ZERO TRAINING YET?

The NET ZERO HOMES SKILLS TRAINING series was done as a collaboration through Design Matters National & the SA Gov, and was written by SBA Director Jeremy Spencer of Positive Footprints.

For a limited time, Solar Victoria is bringing these online training modules free to Victorian builders, tradespeople, contractors and others working in the residential construction industry. They include guidance on National Construction Code 2022 obligations, such as new whole-of-home appliance requirements. In addition to practical skills, they cover the principles of residential energy efficiency, thermal performance, and net zero energy design and construction.

They also work hand in hand with the information presented on the SBA website. So, if you like to listen rather than read, this is for you!

The course is written for Builders, Designers, Assessors and indeed anyone interested in building sustainable Net Zero home. So, if you are wondering is this course for you, the answer is Yes.

BUT GET IN QUICK! Before the funding runs out.


Written by 👣

22/10/2023

03/10/2023

WELL DONE TO THE TRIUMPHANT TEAM AT THE 2023 SURF COAST CENTURY!!

It was a great feeling of accomplishment and a full team effort to pull it off.
Well done Runners!
Well done Support!

Great job team.
Now back to something easy – like building sustainable houses!

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND PERFECTING HIGH PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE HOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS AND THE FUTURE

Sustainable, Beautiful, Energy Efficient Homes
Designed and Built
To perform for you
Make your Footprints Positive

01/10/2023

REFLECTIONS ON THE NATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS

I say it each year. The standards for the entries keep improving.

You can no longer be just a good example of Passive Solar Design,
or just reach Passivhaus certification,
or just focus on sustainable material specification,
or healthy outcomes,
or just manage water efficiently,
or just focus on native landscaping and regeneration,
or just on Net Zero operation…

You have to do it all. Or at least consider it all within the scope of design brief, and explain why you decided to push more in one direction than another.
That is, you have be holistic to just make the short list.
To all those who have done so, CONGRATULATIONS IT IS AN ACHIEVEMENT!

But to win, you need more again. You need creativity. You need well resolved structure. And a considered submission.

This year, happy to say, there were many such entries, which made juding difficult. Luckily I wasn’t alone, but had a cadre of experienced wonderful judges who brought perspectives from their various fields to dissect entries and make the difficult decsisions.
Thankyou to Simon Lincoln (Make Architects), Alex Symes (Alexander Symes Architect), Simone Schenkle (Gruen Architecture), Kate Nason (Frasers Property).
Mahalath Halperin (Mahalath Halperin Architects), David Coates (Sustainable Building & Design), Arianna Brambilla (University of Sydney), Marni Reti (Kaunitz Yeung Architecture) and Ben Peake (Carter Williamson Architects).

Check out the Shortlisted entries up for the Awards here:
https://www.sustainablebuildingawards.com.au/ -shortlist

I look forward to seeing you all at the Gala night and the unveiling of the victors on November 9, 2023.

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND PERFECTING HIGH PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE HOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS AND THE FUTURE 🌱

Sustainable, Beautiful, Energy Efficient Homes 🏡
Designed and Built
To perform for you
Make your Footprints Positive
👣

13/07/2023

STUDENTS LISTEN UP!! Here’s a wonderful opportunity to learn from some leaders in the field.

Design Matters National has organised a wonderful program of events for students to give you experience and insights in what it takes to be successful as a Building Designer in today’s industry. And best yet – IT’S FREE! (Thankyou DMN!)

Positive Footprints is excited to be able to take part, and will be holding 2 events:

A webinar discussion on where sustainability is heading, and how to prepare yourself to be a valuable asset in a low carbon future.
We are opening one of our construction sites to give a site tour, and show you where design meets creation, and what designers should be considering to successfully turn out low impact structures of the future, today.

So what are you waiting for? Go to the Student Design Week events page and book events that interest you!

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/cc/dmn-national-student-week-2366669

20 YEARS EXPERIENCE DESIGNING, BUILDING, AND PERFECTING HIGH PERFORMANCE SUSTAINABLE HOMES FOR OUR CLIENTS AND THE FUTURE 🌱

If you’d like to learn more about Positive Footprints and how we work to bring your new home or renovation into reality please DM us or visit our website (link in bio).
The first meeting is free, and a great opportunity to ask any questions, and find out more about the design and build process.

Sustainable, Beautiful, Energy Efficient Homes 🏡
Designed and Built
To perform for you
Make your Footprints Positive
👣

26/06/2023

https://www.sustainablebuildingawards.com.au/news/jury-announced-2023-sustainability-awards/

21/05/2023

THE TRUE ZERO CARBON CHALLENGE IS BACK
DO YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES?

The aim of the competition is to design a carbon responsible home for the future. A home that not only produces more power than it uses over the year; through energy-efficient design, careful appliance selection, and photovoltaic integration. But also considers & calculates embodied carbon in material selection, and puts on enough extra photovoltaic panels to pay back the home's entire carbon debt by 2050.

This is not an easy challenge, and has been designed to be as robust as we could make it.
It will also require designers to team up with thermal assessors to perfect designs (Great training and practice as we move into a 7star+ performance regime!)

This year's partners are:
Sustainability Victoria – thanks again for your leadership in the field.
The University of Melbourne – who are providing their EPiC database and will be using the competition as a research study on how we can improve our housing stock!
The 4 NatHERS software providers – HERO, BERS PRO, FIRSTRATE, & ACCURATE and their new Whole of House tools that make Net Zero design possible.

This challenge will not only furnish entrants with the necessary skills to thrive in the coming decades but will pave the way in showing the industry a roadmap to true Net Zero housing.

These awards are designed show off the skills of Australia's most progressive designers and thermal performance assessors. Entrants who meet the True Zero Carbon Challenge will be rewarded with a digital logo they can use on their websites and marketing to show they have the skills and knowhow to create the homes for the future.
And the overall winning team will also be rewarded with $5000 in prize money, and the prestigious title of National True Zero Carbon Challenge Design winner 2023!

This will be incredible competition.
Can’t wait to see who has what it takes this year!

TO ENTER THE COMPETITION GO TO: https://www.designmatters.org.au/Web/Web/True-Zero-Carbon-Challenge/True-Zero-Carbon-Challenge.aspx

PS. If you are a DMN member the True Zero Carbon Webinar training series is free for you this year – even if you don’t go in the competition! This has to be the best value sustainable design series in Australia
Don’t miss it.

Make your Footprints Positive
PositiveFootprints