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Viridican Path
Viridica takes a scientific approach to how we can implement sustainable practices and smart energy concepts to our daily lives. We examine the resources, the technology and the methods that are available. What the associated costs are and how we as individuals, households and small businesses will be able to utilise these in our daily lives.
Driving change
Australia well positioned to lead the charge
According to the OECD "Australia is well-placed to become a major producer of renewable power given its large land mass, ocean access, some of the best wind and solar resources in the world (Wood and Dundas, 2020), and its abundance of minerals critical to the green transition, representing significant opportunities in terms of job creation and new trade activities."
Achieving the transition to net zero in Australia
This is not without its challenges however we love our sunburnt country and have proven ourselves in a fight, and this, is the fight of our lives.
Smart energy starts with a smart building envelope
Smart energy technology can only do so much if the building around it is working against it. That's where off-grid design and the Passivhaus standard come in — not as a lifestyle choice, but as an engineering discipline.
A certified Passivhaus building must meet specific, measurable targets: annual space heating and cooling demand no greater than 15 kWh per square metre, an airtightness rating of 0.6 air changes per hour or less at 50 Pascals pressure, and total primary energy use capped at 120 kWh per square metre per year. In practice, this means a well-executed Passivhaus needs a fraction of the heating or cooling load of a conventional home — which changes the entire calculation for what an off-grid solar and battery system needs to supply.
That's the real link between smart energy and off-grid living: reducing demand is always cheaper than generating more supply. A smaller heating and cooling load means a smaller, more affordable battery bank; a tighter building envelope means your solar array has to do less work to keep the house comfortable year-round. Whether you're planning a fully off-grid property or a home that's simply designed to use less, the principles are the same — measure first, design to the numbers, then size the technology to match.
A note on Australian conditions. Passivhaus performance targets — including the 15 kWh/m² annual heating and cooling demand figure — were originally developed using Central European climate data. Applying the standard here requires re-modelling with the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) using local climate files, not simply importing the German figures. The good news: Australian case studies confirm it holds up. A Sydney-climate residential project modelled through PHPP achieved 13.5 kWh/m² for heating and 17.9 kWh/m² for cooling, close to the standard's targets, with most of the required design changes relating to solar gain control rather than major structural changes. In warmer, more humid regions, cooling and dehumidification — rather than heating — become the dominant design challenge, and Passivhaus's own modelling tools have been specifically adapted to handle that.
The PassivHaus Standard explained in 90 seconds.
What we do
Draw together resources driving understanding of the economics of smart energy and sustainable living
Research
Viridica finds the resources that drives understanding of smart energy and sustainable living in a simple to understand way
Exploration
Our mission is to enhance understanding of how the economy & technology will drive the transition to a smart energy economy
Starting with simple steps
Small incremental steps are the way we as individuals and small businesses can contribute to the clean energy transition. We can also use them to have a noticeable impact on the quality of our lives and the lives of the people we care about.
Making changes at home
Every home has the potential to make changes that will drive the move to a clean energy future. Making smart energy decisions starts at home.
Taking leadership in the workplace
Leading by example where we work in the way we carry ourselves and the decisions we make. Every action we take is a chance to demonstrate our values.
50%+
Renewable electricity in Australia's main grid (Q4 2025) according to AEMO
4M+
Australian homes with solar
~90%
Up to 90% less heating & cooling energy in a Passivhaus-standard home
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The Economics
As with everything in modern life the economics of smart energy and sustainable living seem to boil down to a few key questions.
What does it cost?
More complicated than it sounds this includes the hidden costs we often miss.
How do we pay for it?
Asking how we can pay for it opens us up to answers we might otherwise have missed.
What is the opportunity cost?
What do we give up by choosing one option over another?