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Cool homes for the Sunshine Coast

Check out some ideas to make your home more comfortable.

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If you are buying, building, or renovating a home on the Sunshine Coast – discover ways to make your home more comfortable for the Sunshine Coast climate.

The cool homes for the Sunshine Coast flipbook is full of tips to keep your home cool in summer and warm in winter.

Buy, build or renovate for the sub-tropical climate

A thoughtfully designed home will work with the climate, and will consider the path of the sun, so you can live comfortably without having the air-conditioning on all summer and the heating on in winter.

Buying or creating a home involves many complex decisions. This booklet can help you develop a checklist of ideas to make your home more comfortable, healthy and more affordable to live in without the cost of high electricity bills.

Rewards of a home designed for the climate

There are many benefits of designing or buying a home that is suited to the sub-tropical climate, these include:

  • Your home will feel comfortable without relying on air-conditioning and heating.
  • You’ll enjoy an indoor/outdoor lifestyle all year.
  • Your home will have increased light in winter and shade in summer.
  • Your health and wellbeing will benefit.
  • Your energy use will be reduced, so lower electricity costs.
  • Your home will likely retain or improve its value.

Free online course – how to buy, build or renovate a home for the Sunshine Coast climate

You may wish to undertake a FREE online course that will teach you how to buy, build or renovate a home for the Sunshine Coast climate.

The course goes a little deeper than the cool homes booklet and includes videos to show you what to look for or how to design a home that will work with the climate and the sun.

The free online course will teach you:

  • how the Sunshine Coast climate affects your home
  • how to manage the sun coming into your rooms
  • the basics about home orientation and what makes a good floor plan
  • how to design or modify your home to make it more comfortable and affordable to live in.

Note: No quizzes or tests – just easy to follow guidance.

This course isn't about obtaining a qualification or certification. It's a simple course for you to understand how orientation, climate and the passage of the sun impacts a house.

You can learn how to make your home more comfortable, so you don’t need to rely on air conditioning in summer and heating in winter. You can adapt the information in the course to your personal circumstances.

Sunshine Coast design compass

Pulling up the Sunshine Coast design compass on your phone is a great way to learn about orientation and the best location for different rooms in your house.

If you’re viewing from your phone, access via the property compass.

If you’re viewing from the computer, scan the QR code to bring up the compass on your phone while you are at home, house inspection or block of land to learn more.

For more information, please contact council’s sunshine coast design team on sunshinecoastdesignstrategy@sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au.