With electricity prices soaring, Australians are increasingly looking beyond the list price of a house to the cost of running it, believes John Civijovski who has invented a new iPhone app to help homebuyers.
The Eco Easy Home App allows users to easily evaluate and rate the energy and eco efficiency of a house by answering a number of questions.
The app will also allow detailed comparisons of the thermal performance of different homes and connects to real estate listings from Homehound.com.au allowing users to search listings based on their energy preferences and needs.
“You don’t have to know anything about energy efficiency,” Mr Civijovski said. “The app simply asks a series of questions about the house and the answers allow it to calculate the efficiency.
“It’s a complex area but we have broken it down into a simple interface that anyone can use. If you use it regularly, you will become familiar with jargon like orientation, insulation and thermal mass, and eventually become an energy-efficiency expert.”
Mr Civijovski added that the idea behind the app was to help anyone find the thermal strengths and weaknesses of a house, even those don’t know where to start.
During home inspections, users can rate a house as they walk through it. There is no need to make notes, just tap on the screen, then compare and review homes later. The rating system uses numbers and colour codes to indicate how well the house is performing.
Homes can be saved, with photos, and compared by their total and detail scores in list and map view. Questions and answers are in everyday language, and if you want to know more, there are diagrams that explain the features.
Whether buying, selling, renting or renovating, the Eco Easy Home app aims to help home buyers quickly assess a house’s energy efficient features as well as show how they can be improved.
Mr Civijovski is a building industry professional, having worked in many areas of the construction industry, including design, sales and product development.
