Beautiful homes that practically pay for themselves - slashing energy bills by 90%

As climate consciousness deepens and energy bills soar, Australians are increasingly turning to passive homes-ultra-efficient dwellings designed to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures year-round with minimal energy use.

In fact the Australian Passivehaus Association claims that you can save 90% of your energy costs.

This week, we take a look at some of the most innovative and striking passive homes currently on the market, drawing attention not just for their sleek design and sustainability, but for the lifestyle they promise: healthier air, lower costs, and a lighter environmental footprint.

Victoria

The striking 'Courtyard House' in Barwon Heads on Victoria's Bellarine Peninsula is designed by highly acclaimed Auhaus Architecture as part of a limited-edition series for Life Spaces Group.

With a semi-enclosed central courtyard, soaring 3.6m ceilings, and a carefully curated palette of bluestone and natural hardwood, this architecturally designed residence at 5 Reid Street is both refined and highly functional.

The home's layout maximises light, space, and privacy, drawing in coastal breezes while ensuring a seamless connection between all living zones.

Meanwhile, double glazing, passive solar design, and a Tesla-powered solar array enhance energy efficiency, making this four-bedroom coastal home, not just contemporary but climate-conscious as well.

NSW

A focus on sustainability is woven into every detail of this stunning, architecturally crafted masterpiece by renowned designer Frank Macchia.

Located on the waterfront at 180 Booker Bay Road in Booker Bay on New South Wales' central coast, this four-bedroom home, which feels more like a retreat, features passive solar design, cross-flow ventilation and sustainable energy-efficient systems, 3-phase power, solar panels and Tesla battery to make the home self-sufficient for most of the year.

Complete with a jetty on a deepwaterfront, direct access to Brisbane Waters, and a spectacular outlook across to Bouddi National Park, this is a home that honours the environment as much as it enhances everyday living.

Queensland

Designed by internationally acclaimed architect Nicholas Elias, this four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bathroom residence fuses enduring elegance, considered craftsmanship, and progressive sustainability.

Located at 12 Greenup Street in the heart of Redcliff, 30 minutes from Brisbane's CBD, 'Lantern' is draw-dropping to look at, but it's hidden features are equally impressive.

The home's sustainability and smart features include a 6.6kW solar system and solar hot water, an EV charging circuit, integrated smart lighting, irrigation, blinds and pool controls, a Hunter Hydrawise system and LED-lit garden shed with sustainable Shou Sugi ban cladding

Even the surrounding gardens are grounded in the philosophies of passive design and landscape integration, curated with endemic and native species. Inspired by modern nature artist Burle Marx, these spaces blend with built forms to create a fluid, walkable, and visually harmonious environment.

South Australia

Designed and built in 1960 and renovated in 2012, this Newell Platten mid-century modern homewas built to breathe, welcoming in light, capturing breezes, and nestling into the contours of the land as though it had always been there.

Located at 18 Dalton Avenue in Aldgate in the Adelaide Hills, it is one of South Australia's first solar passive homes.

It's 2012 renovation by one of Platten's protégé's expanded and elevated the home while honouring its mid-century soul. It also included reappointing fittings, plumbing, electricals and finishes with an emphasis on eco, adding solar and battery and large rainwater tanks for off-grid living, installing double glazing and an on-property eco-wastewater treatment.

A garden was also built, sympathetic to the established mature trees, to attract and support local wildlife, and extensive edible gardens, from vegetable beds, herb gardens and an array of fruit trees were planted to add to the property's sustainable features.

Western Australia

This solar passive tri-level residence at 11b Swanbourne Street in Fremantle is designed to blend seamlessly into its environment, bringing the outdoors in, including stunning views of the Indian Ocean, while maintaining privacy and timeless minimalist style.

This unique property brings futuristic and sustainable design to life, and on all three levels, the home amplifies the views, transforming the vast expanse of the ocean into a deeply personal and intimate experience.

Every window and every angle, has been carefully crafted to frame thelandscape, allowing the sun, the sea, and the light to flow naturally into living spaces, making them feel like an extension of the environment itself.

Tasmania

Newly built, this modern masterpiece is captivating in its design and combines excellent passive solar qualities, along with dams for water provision to all parts of the 50-acre property.

Located at 54 Thorpe Road, Crabtree, in the Huon Valley in Tasmania, the stunning eco home features a vast array of double glazing and extra high ceilings to create a unique environment where the outside is drawn inside.

At the same time, the large sliding doors seamlessly open to the spectacular decks outside, providing a wonderful extension to the indoor living areas.