Mirvac’s House With No Bills

Would you like to live rent-free in a brand new house for a year, strive to eliminate energy bills, and save the planet while you’re at it?

Leading urban property group Mirvac is searching for a Melbourne family of four as part of a bold research project that could revolutionise housing in Australia by bringing energy-efficient and zero energy bill homes to the mass market.

Mirvac is building a high-tech prototype suburban house in its $130 million Jack Road development in Cheltenham. It will house a family for a year-long experiment, which aims to free home owners from the nightmare of soaring energy bills.

The three-bedroom ‘House With No Bills’ will look, feel and operate the same as a typical home, with sustainable features and monitoring designed to have minimal impact on everyday living.

Mirvac CEO and Managing Director, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, said the company was excited to launch the project and find the right family to participate in the ground-breaking study.

“This experiment is very exciting for both our potential family and Mirvac, as it will help us towards our goal of bringing bill-free sustainable living to the Australian market at an affordable price,” she said.

“Our prototype house will help us discover how long it will take for the technological innovations to reduce energy consumption and bills to the point where they pay for themselves.”

The house will reduce its reliance on grid electricity with innovations including an Evergen solar and battery system featuring CSIRO-developed intelligent energy management, Schneider electric smart home automation including environmental sensors controlling internal temperatures, along with passive solar design elements, increased roof insulation, use of LED lighting, and energy-efficient appliances.

To target zero energy bills, the technology and smart controls offer ‘energy load management,’ enabling more energy to be used when the sun is shining, and excess energy to be stored for use in peak times, while smart meters and monitoring systems will help the residents keep track of where and how their energy is used.

A control house will be used for comparison and the entire project will be tracked as part of a larger research piece to understand how average families consume energy and how the house performs.

Mirvac hopes the financial benefit of living without rent and with lower energy bills for a year will help a deserving family save enough money to buy their own home at the end of the experiment.

Who is eligible to become Mirvac’s sustainability pioneers? Mirvac is looking for a Melbourne family with two children (any age from infant to 18 years), with one parent employed in a key worker sector, such as health or education. The family must be willing to live continuously in the house for the duration of the year-long experiment.

To enter, prospective families will need to submit a video application and fill out an online entry form by 5pm, January 31st, 2018. Details can be found at housewithnobills.mirvac.com.

The House With No Bills is an innovative initiative that forms part of Mirvac’s ambitious ‘This Changes Everything’ strategy, which aims to drive a more sustainable future for Australians. The strategy focuses on reducing environmental and social impact – affordability and climate change are key issues facing Australia, and through the House With No Bills, Mirvac aims to address these challenges with market-based solutions.

A cornerstone of ‘This Changes Everything’ is Mirvac’s commitment to be net positive on energy and water by 2030, aiming to generate more than what is consumed. While the initial business focus has been on its operational footprint, the application of the same logic through initiatives such as the House with No Bills, is part of the Group’s long-term goal to improve the financial position and lifestyle of its customers.

“This is an important experiment to understand how can we deliver a house with no bills to market at a price that works for Australian families,” Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said.

“The first step is testing to learn more about how we can deliver more affordable and sustainable housing on a mass scale.”

The second phase of the project will use the data from the study to fine-tune the experiment with the ultimate goal to identify the potential in delivering fully self-sustaining homes.

For further information, visit housewithnobills.mirvac.com.