What is a normal house?

What is a normal house?

From Mindful Builder by Matthew Carland and Hamish White

April 19, 2026 · 1h 26m · Episode 113

About this episode

The episode discusses the importance of sustainable housing and how it can be made accessible to everyone, including renters.

We sit down with Helen from Renew to unpack why the idea of a sustainable home still gets treated like a luxury, when it should really be the baseline. We talk about the shift happening across the Australian building industry , where sustainable housing , energy efficient homes , and high-performance building are becoming more mainstream. Better design decisions, not just bigger budgets, can lead to healthier, more comfortable, and more resilient homes. We get into the practical side of sustainable design and what actually makes a difference in real homes. Things like orientation , shading , airtightness , draught-proofing , solar power , and all-electric homes all play a role in improving comfort and reducing running costs. For anyone interested in Passive House principles , building performance , home energy efficiency , and sustainable construction in Australia , this is full of useful insight without the usual fluff. We also talk about the people often left out of the sustainability conversation, especially renters. From low-cost upgrades like sealing gaps and using portable induction cooktops, to bigger policy changes around rental energy efficiency standards , this episode…

People in this episode

Hosts: Matthew Carland, Hamish White

Guest: Helen

Topics covered

  • sustainable housing
  • energy efficiency
  • Passive House principles
  • rental energy efficiency
  • community-led housing

Keywords

  • sustainable home
  • energy efficient homes
  • high-performance building
  • building performance
  • home energy efficiency

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Renew

Places: Australia, The Paddock in Castlemaine

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