The buyer of Tasmania’s first eight-star energy rated Bondor InsulLiving display home will be celebrating a year in residence in October, and has good reason to be happy with a 40 per cent reduction in his electricity bills.

Former Brisbane resident Jason Gibson, 41 and his girlfriend bought the brand new, four-bedroom residence in Hadspen, Launceston in October 2013 from builder Steve Graham of G & T Developments, a member of the Independent Builders Network. Mr Gibson has reasons to smile with the saving he is making on his power bills as well as the high comfort factor in his new home.

Mr Gibson’s home features the InsulLiving system, developed by Bondor, Australia’s leading manufacturer of insulated building panels. The InsulLiving system uses Bondor’s InsulWall and SolarSpan thermal building products to deliver an eight-star energy rated build with lower ongoing heating and cooling expenses.

Mr Gibson bought the Hadspen house after seeing it for sale online and being impressed with its spacious layout and modern design, before discovering it was the first InsulLiving display home built in Tasmania.

Further research into the panel construction and data on the system’s insulation benefits convinced the couple about the Bondor InsulLiving display home. He explained that the sandwich panel featuring steel on either side of a polystyrene core was a much better and stronger option to the conventional acoustic bats and pink bats provided for insulation.

The Hadspen home is providing a 40 per cent reduction in power bills compared to their previous home, which was smaller and in a marginally warmer area. A direct comparison of the May/June/July billing period in 2013 and 2014 reveals a total amount of just over $1,000 for the previous house and $599 for the InsulLiving house.

Mr Gibson observes that the Bondor InsulLiving house is bigger with higher ceilings; however, once heated, it retains the heat and the compressor on the reverse cycle air-conditioning does not need to kick in as often.

In summer, the InsulLiving house had also been remarkably cool even with the windows open and without turning on the air conditioning when outdoor temperatures sometimes topped 30 degrees Celsius. According to Mr Gibson, it’s a very well insulated house that keeps very warm and cool at opposing sides of the seasons.

The solid steel construction with double-glazed windows and solid timber outer doors offers a sound-proof environment inside, ensuring peace and quiet. Mr Gibson adds that there are multiple benefits to the InsulLiving system, especially in coastal and bush environments since the system is impervious to termites.

Having paid about $400,000 for the property, Mr Gibson said the house represented good value given its superior construction and insulation as well as the high quality of internal finishes.