Property Development in Gauteng | Avianto Estate | The Enviroment

Green building principals is rapidly becoming main stream for the simple reason, it makes sense. On the financial side we are all aware of the dramatic increases projected in the cost of our energy, while at the same time volume has driven down the cost of highly efficiency greener technology. So it makes financial sense to optimize house orientation, insulation and tap into free renewable energy sources like solar right now, knowing that in just a few years your initial investment would be paid off and you would enjoy substantial monthly energy savings. Building your home is a long term investment for anyone and we believe that well considered green design will future proof your home and ensure maximum returns in the future.

As you will further find in our Architectural & Building and Environmental & Landscaping Guidelines “Le Jardin” at Avianto Estate is aiming to comply in construction of bio-climatic and environmentally friendly luxury homes. It is nothing to be scared of, in fact, it is all very basic. Primarily the educated debate is no longer "are we responsible for climate change," but rather, is it too late for mitigation action. Yes, there are still many people in denial and for them we have some additional motivation (For more information and facts please click here to Download), but upon the realization that we really are the last generation that can make a difference, there is so much you can do when designing your new home that will reduce your immediate and long term environmental impact on our planet. Building energy efficient homes which offer all the creature comforts expected of a luxury home, while minimizing the immediate and long term harm in achieving such, is the objective we strive to achieve.

To put into perspective how valuable your efforts in making your new home energy efficient will be, one needs to consider the following. Many think that Aviation is a major contributor to Green House Gasses (GHG) but don’t think twice about the efficiency of their home. From www.wri.org, in 2000 the worldwide contribution to GHG by aviation was 1.6% yet the operation of residential buildings excluding the building thereof was 10%. Thus if everyone’s home was just 16% more efficient which is ridiculously easy, it would be the same as the abolishment of all airline travel. Not that we condone rampant air travel but by applying due consideration to your design initially, figures of way more than 16% are possible without sacrificing any creature comforts, installing solar geysers alone can reduce consumption by 30 to 40%. Besides saving our climate, government and Eskom are on a nationwide drive to cut all household consumption by 10% to try and meet national demands due to lack of planning on their behalf, cost of power was proposed to increase 35% per year for 3 years. Passive Solar design along with energy saving technology will make a huge difference and the initial costs will be offset in a few years by the monthly savings, resulting in your home becoming a superior capital investment as more and more people come to terms with our Global crisis.

We may be a developing country but the average carbon emission per capita for South Africa is amongst the highest in the world, despite the fact that this includes a huge percentage of South Africans who actually have a very low carbon footprint, purely because of their lack of financial means. Government, aware of the national power shortage and their environmental commitments to a negative growth in the national carbon footprint by 2020, is introducing new national building codes in the first quarter of 2010. Energy efficiency will no longer be an optional consideration when designing a new luxury home in South Africa. There is every good reason to have an efficient home and this is of course the best time to do it, retrofitting an old house will always be more expensive than considered design and construction of a new house. The steps involved in going green are actually as simple as ABC - All round insulation. Better use of the energy naturally available. Converting waste to a resource. Remembering that energy consumption = pollution = climate change, integrate energy efficiency into your design and you will feel great knowing that your new investment is future proof making the most effective use of valued age old concepts and proven new technology, reducing your long term demands on our planets dwindling resources, all at an acceptable additional outlay. Come join us at Avianto Estate, embrace the change and enjoy a journey in discovering how your home can be beautiful and energy efficient all within a much lower carbon footprint.

We strive to be responsible developers and we hope that informing you about our environmental efforts to implement energy saving home design and bio-climatic building principals on our estate have helped you to make up your mind that “Le Jardin” at Avianto Estate is a place you would like to live.