Thirty kilometres north of Melbourne CBD, in the community of Laurimar, a new type of house - the first of its kind in Australia - is about to be constructed.

The four-bedroom, detached house, will blend with the streetscape of the new development but will embody a completely new vision - a zero-emissions house that Australian families can afford.

CSIRO project leader, Dr Greg Foliente, said that the Zero Emission House (ZEH) project involves CSIRO and a consortium of government and industry partners, including Sustainability Victoria, Delfin Lend Lease and Henley Property Group, in designing and building a carbon-neutral Australian home.

"The goal is a home that does not release any CO2, or other greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere as a result of producing or consuming energy on the entire site," Dr Foliente said.

"The first step is to reduce energy consumption to the lowest level possible through careful building design, considering the climate, the hot water system, how the building is heated and cooled ,as well as the appliances which will be used. This new house is expected to use up to 70 per cent less energy than a traditional home of similar size."

The demonstration house, which will incorporate an energy management system, will be built by the Henley Property Group in the Delfin Lend Lease Laurimar community. It will be occupied by tenants for a year and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions will be monitored over this time.

The ZEH's performance will be evaluated against other homes within the development to gauge the success of the project and help identify key areas for further improvement.

Victoria's Minister for the Environment, Climate Change and Innovation, The Hon Gavin Jennings, launched the project at the World Sustainable Building 2008 Conference (SB08) in Melbourne on Monday.

Designed by Henley Property Group in consultation with CSIRO and Delfin Lend Lease the ZEH features innovative materials and leading-edge energy-saving technologies.

Henley Property Group's Managing Director, Peter Hayes, said Henley's involvement provides the Group with an opportunity to once again be at the forefront of affordable sustainable housing.

"Back in 2000, Henley led the way with five-star energy rated homes, five years before mandatory requirements, and now offers six-star across the range. We expect the results of this project will help us to further reduce the greenhouse footprint of our product range," he said.

Chief Operating Officer for Delfin Lend Lease, Bryce Moore, said the ZEH project is an opportunity to extend the commitment to sustainability at Laurimar - which is targeting a significant reduction of local greenhouse gas emissions - to other communities. "Our involvement in this project is a reflection of this commitment," he said.

The demonstration house is due to be completed in late 2009.

The project is being undertaken as part of CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship's Low Emission Distributed Energy research program, which focuses on developing low-emission technologies and solutions for a rapid response to climate change.