Green buildings
To adapt to the increasing heat and weather impacts of climate change we need to rethink the way we design, construct, maintain and use our buildings, homes and gardens. We can be smarter about how we use energy by adopting new and cleaner technologies to reduce our impact on the environment and save some money in the process.
Our Green Buildings program aims to reduce energy, water and waste and promote renewable energy. In a 2020 review, we found that 20 facilities accounted for 82 per cent of our energy costs. That’s why our work is focussed on the buildings that use the most energy and by supporting staff and volunteers to understand and monitor the building’s energy use.
Projects have included improving energy efficiency in 35 buildings through lighting upgrades and air conditioning optimisation; installing 580kW of solar with live performance monitoring; and establishing a new grant funding category of up to $5000 for groups that lease council buildings for energy efficiency upgrades and the installation of solar to reduce their energy bills.
You can visit our community demonstration Green Hubs to see the changes we’ve made and transfer these ideas back to your home or business.
Building Upgrade Finance: fund environmental upgrades and restoration
Building Upgrade Finance (BUF) is available to building owners for non-residential buildings to fund environmental improvements and for restoration and upgrades of heritage buildings. An agreement between the building owner, finance provider and council is entered into. BUF is secured by the property rather than the building owner allowing financiers to offer attractive loan terms.
Find out more about Building Upgrade Finance.
Case study: Wakefield House Positive Ageing Centre, Morphett Vale
CASE STUDY: Wakefield House Positive Ageing Centre, Morphett Vale
Centre users: elderly residents for community programs and lunches and hirers
Building profile: meetings rooms, commercial kitchen, office space
- Solar shade: A 22 kW, 54 panel car park solar shade was installed in 2020 and funded from Council’s Revolving Resources Fund with savings to be returned to the fund for environmental projects at other locations. Produced in partnership with Lonsdale company PVDynamics, the pilot project was SA’s first solar carpark shade at a community building. Unlike conventional solar panels, Wakefield’s panels are bifacial, meaning they generate electricity from above and below. Light reflected from the ground is captured, increasing their performance, and the structure is tilted at an angle to maximise solar generation. Most of the structure’s materials were manufactured locally and are made to be recycled at the end of their 25+ year lifecycle. Solar monitoring shows that since installation Wakefield House has saved over $18,000 by using solar energy produced on site instead of purchasing costly electricity from the grid. In fact, in 2021-22 the site’s energy bills decreased by a whopping 43 per cent.
- Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC): The old inefficient air conditioning system was upgraded in July 2021 to an energy efficient model.
- Lighting: lighting will be upgraded to LEDs in the near future to further reduce energy bills.
- Building community capacity: Wakefield House was part of Council’s Energy Support Program which complements building upgrades in community buildings and supports staff and volunteers to understand and monitor their energy use and other environmental factors.
Case study: Hub Recreation Centre
GREEN BUILDING UPGRADES - CASE STUDY: Hub Recreation Centre
Centre users: Aberfoyle Park High School students, residents and hirers (including Inflatable World)
Building profile: two gymnasiums, exercise areas, kiosk, classroom, office space
- Solar PV: A 26.6 kW, 72 panel system was installed in 2022 and funded from Council’s Revolving Resources Fund with savings to be returned to the fund for environmental projects at other locations. Solar monitoring on site shows that the Rec Centre has saved over $14,000 since installation by using solar energy produced on site instead of purchasing costly electricity from the grid.
- Lighting: Old, inefficient lights were the biggest user of energy at the Hub Rec Centre and have now been replaced with energy efficient LEDs. The new LED fixtures also last longer, which reduces ongoing maintenance costs.
- Building community capacity: The Rec Centre was part of Council’s Energy Support Program which complements building upgrades in community buildings and supports staff and volunteers to understand and monitor their energy use and other environmental factors.
Case study: Base 10 Youth Centre, Reynella
GREEN BUILDING UPGRADES - CASE STUDY: Base 10 Youth Centre, Reynella
Centre users: Students, young people, hirers
Building profile: classrooms/meetings rooms, music studios, office space
- Solar PV: 16 kW (44 panels) installed in 2021, funded from Council’s Revolving Resources Fund with savings to be returned to the fund for environmental projects at other locations. Solar monitoring shows that Base 10 has saved over $5,500 since the system was installed by using solar energy produced on site instead of purchasing costly electricity from the grid.
- Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD): The courtyard contains water misters, a natural shade vine and permeable paving which allows water to permeate into the ground and surrounding gardens reducing heat.
- Heating, Ventilation and Cooling (HVAC): old inefficient air conditioning has been replaced with energy efficiency models. Window tinting has been added to reduce the amount of heat entering the building.
- Lighting: lighting will be upgraded to LEDs in the next couple of years to reduce energy bills further.
- Building community capacity: Base 10 was part of Council’s Energy Support Program which complements building upgrades in community buildings and supports staff and volunteers to understand and monitor their energy use and other environmental factors.