Sustainability Consultants

providing the building industry

with cost effective solutions 

that maximise thermal comfort,

lifestyle and resale value

Tracey Cools, Managing Director

Tracey Cools is the managing director and driving force behind the success of Efficient Living. Tracey has a passion for the built environment and worked in the industry for 11 years.Tracey has studied both Architectural Technology and later a certificate in Building. Her motivation to study building was to further understand construction of the built form and its impact on design. This allows Tracey a greater understanding of both the architects and builders points of view and allows her to provide practical and cost effective solutions to design challenges. Tracey found her interests leading her towards environmentally sustainable design practices and has now been a specialist consultant in this industry for the past 9 years. In that time she has completed in excess of 2000 building sustainability assessments and holds a national qualification. Tracey set up her first building sustainability consultancy in the Blue Mountains, before travelling overseas for three years. Her practice continued to run and grow its client base while Tracey worked abroad. Upon return she opened her second practice on the northern beaches of Sydney. The northern beaches practice known as Efficient Living specialise in all areas of sustainability for large scale projects including multi-unit residential or mixed use towers, new housing estates and intricate architectural designs. Ecologic Ratings in the mountains services the single residential housing industry.

Tracey has under gone training in the following areas: NatHERS
National house energy rating scheme. NatHERS is the original 1^st generation thermal modelling software.
BERS
Building energy rating scheme. BERS is Queensland’s solution to 2nd generation thermal modelling software.
ACCURATE
Accurate is a NSW developed 2^nd generation thermal simulation tool.
BASIX
Building sustainability Index. BASIX is a NSW system developed to measure household water and energy use.
Section J
Buildings code requirements for benchmarking sustainability in commercial and retail developments.      
Greenstar
A design and benchmark tool for the large scale commercial and multi-unit residential sector.
NABERS (ABGR)
A tool used to assess occupant impacts with-in a commercial building.