Australia’s demand for energy is growing at a mind-boggling rate and is showing no signs of slowing down. With the bulk of the nation’s energy coming from electricity produced by fossil fuels, this growth should be a significant concern to all Australians.

From 1990 to 2020, Australia’s residential electricity consumption has risen by 56%. While a large portion of that increase can be attributed to televisions, computers, and electrical appliances, heating is a big piece of the pie.

With the introduction of electric heating and cooling systems, like fans and air conditioners, energy use has skyrocketed. As you can imagine, so too has Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. It’s a startling reality that we all must accept. 

The good news is, there are plenty of ways that we can reduce our need for electric cooling and heating. One of them is by changing the way houses are designed.

When setting the standards for how housing in Australia can be built, architects and builders need to break free from the status quo. For 100’s of years, Australian architects have been designing houses that use wet-ridge roofing systems. 

While cheap to initially install, these systems are costing Australian’s an arm and a leg, and not just in maintenance fees.

By being laser-focused on these solutions, the Australian building industry has neglected superior solutions that have been adopted in other parts of the world. A prime example of this being dry-ridge roofing systems such as RapidRidge.

When designing RapidRidge, we took inspiration from the solutions that have been available across Europe for a long time. In many of the countries that use dry-ridge solutions, building regulators have made it mandatory for all new homes to use this solution.

What is impressive is that these solutions entered the mainstream and became incredibly popular even before the standards were drawn up. In Europe, most roofers were happy to make the switch after realizing the vast benefits of dry ridge solutions.

In Australia, we are significantly behind the curve. The good news is, architects and tradies have some serious negotiating power as far as how we go about designing and building roofs across the nation. If they feel like a solution is worth considering, they can adopt it and usher in a new age.

At RapidRidge, this is what we are aiming to achieve with the help of Aussie builders and architects. By utilizing dry-ridge solutions in future houses we design and build, we can introduce our industry, and the Australian homeowner, to a win-win opportunity.

• For tradies, RapidRidge means no more reliance on mixing mortar & applying pointing, and ongoing maintenance.
• For homeowners, RapidRidge means greater energy savings and improved health. 
• For Australia, RapidRidge means lower energy demands, fewer carbon dioxide emissions, and more sustainable building standards.

All of the above are real opportunities that have been recognized by several key organizations, such as HIA’s Australian GreenSmart Award.

Ready To Lead Australia?

If you are considering becoming an early adopter, or want to find out more, you can visit our our RapidRidge page.