Five by Five
05 Who’s Who
Five minutes with…. Andrew Barrett, Director/Sustainability Consultant, Green at Heart, Smithfield, QLD. greenatheart.com.au
Why he joined Design Matters National…
What he’s working on now…
Design Matters National represents professional energy efficiency certifiers and provides excellent support to our industry through professional development and accreditation. It is also an organisation that supports many of our clients who are building designers so it is important for us to support them, too.
I’m working with some great building designers on ways to reduce energy use in multi residential buildings. By looking at passive design and materials that can reduce energy use, we can make a real difference in providing affordable housing that benefits our environment.
Favourite software tool… BERS Pro. I am much more of a visual person so having a tool that allows me to draw the plans rather than just enter data appeals to me. Biggest challenge…. The global financial crisis and changes to government programs and legislation have been our biggest business challenge. We were working on a number of government programs at the time and this changed rather quickly which meant reducing our staff. By diversifying our offerings, making sure we have great customer service and offer expertise and support to our regular clients, we have continued to grow. Why he became a thermal performance assessor… Living in Far North Queensland, I am passionate about the natural environment. With the Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics World Heritage areas close, the importance of minimising the impact of the building environment on these wonders is very important to me. I also want to see people living comfortably while minimising their impact on the environment.
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How energy rating and energy efficiency have changed over the years… We started Green at Heart in 2003 when the NCC introduced a requirement for energy efficiency requirements in buildings and a suite of thermal performance tools were developed. The software available has changed so much over the years and is much more responsive to passive design features and being able to test different options to increase the star rating and thermal comfort. The climate zones and backend information are also a lot more accurate. I think the move towards having independent certification by a qualified assessor is essential as we need to be accountable, particularly as these features are being more sought after by homeowners and those building new houses and renovating existing houses.
