This is third hand info so it may not be accurate. Apparently the government is increasing the standard for new home energy efficieny from 3.5 stars to 5 stars. With the old standard, putting in ceiling insulation was usually sufficient to pass. The new standard will be a lot more strict and will probably require awnings etc to comply. The intention is to save energy on heating and cooling. The standard is the same whether you live in a cold or hot environment, or high or low variability (eg coast vs rural).

I would love to see windows with double or triple glazing as standard, at least 1 metre awnings.

Buildings with bigger utilisation of ground below. We all heard that in South Australia converted old opal mines provide year round 25 degrees living space, yet we never think of setting bedrooms below ground, which would not only provide better temperature stability but also impressive sound proofing that would help to survive noisy dogs and noisy neighbours.

So you think we should go back to living in caves?

freediver wrote on May 20^th, 2009 at 8:25am:

So you think we should go back to living in caves?

Maybe not exactly, but many other ideas are recycled, so in a sense why not?

Northern Europe spends up to 50% of income on keeping warm, so protecting heat from escaping with inexpensive solutions would make sense.

So we should live in caves because it is really cold in Northern Europe?

I don't know about queensland, but in Victoria we have had Five Star energy compliance mandatory for all new constructions for years, total insulation, roof and walls, double glazing, water tanks, energy efficient appliances, etc.

It adds to construction costs, but it is the way of the future, and you don't have a choice, you have to do it, I expect it will become the same everywhere.

freediver wrote on May 23^rd, 2009 at 10:55am:

So we should live in caves because it is really cold in Northern Europe?

Heat (lack of it or excess) can be treated by good insulation and "your cave" will do it well.