When award-winning landscape designer and sustainability champion Jamie Durie set out to create Future House, he was taking on one of Australia's biggest challenges: the housing crisis. His goal is to find solutions that are eco-friendly, budget-conscious, and fast to build - to prove that sustainable housing doesn't mean sacrifice or compromise.
So when it came to choosing an energy retailer for the show's three families, Amber was the natural fit.
Future House follows the journey of three very different households as they build sustainable, tech-enabled homes with a focus on energy efficiency and lower energy bills. All three families are installing solar and battery systems and joining Amber to unlock the full potential of their setup.
The Fox family: from bills to earnings
When Michael and Helen Fox met with Matt Summerville, CEO of RenewCo Solar, the projections were clear: with their system optimised through Amber, they're looking at around $4,000 a year in earnings.
That's not savings. That's income from their home energy system.
For the Fox family, who are building two dwellings on the same block to support their daughter with special needs, eliminating energy costs entirely means more resources available for what matters most. Each system includes a 48kW Sigenergy battery paired with REC Alpha Series solar panels.
The Quercini family: turning their home into an asset
When Amber Channel Manager Carlos Garcia walked Sean and Sarah Quercini through what their system could deliver, the numbers spoke for themselves - around $2,500 a year in earnings.
For a young family with three kids, having their home actively contribute to their finances rather than drain them changes the equation completely.
As Sean put it, “Passive house design, passive income. It's a win-win.”
The Durie family: practicing what they preach
Jamie's not just championing this technology for others. He's building his own place, complete with a solar farm, and plans to join Amber once it's up and running.
It's one thing to recommend something. It's another to put your money where your mouth is. Jamie's doing both.
The Barrett family: already living in the future
In episode 4, Jamie meets with Anthony and Brigitte Barrett, who aren't building a new home but rather showing how a house built in the 1890s can also be a future house, powered by sustainability. As existing Amber customers, they're living proof of what these systems can deliver in practice.
The Barretts currently hold $2,300 in credit on their account. Anthony's comment that they're "living in the future" captures something important: they've successfully inverted the traditional energy relationship. Rather than energy being a constant drain on household finances, their system generates value and feeds in stored renewables to reduce Australia's reliance on expensive fossil fuels.
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Jamie Durie’s Future House is showing what’s possible when sustainability and smart technology are built into homes from day one. These households aren’t just consuming energy, they’re participating in Australia’s renewable transition and getting rewarded for it.
Their experiences reflect a broader shift already under way across the country, with over 300,000 batteries installed in Australian homes, with more than a third of those installed in just the last five months. Like the solar wave before it, the battery wave is quickly transforming the Australian home, turning traditional energy from a household expense into a source of passive income.
Amber’s involvement highlights what we’ve always focused on: combining wholesale pricing with automation to unlock the full value of home energy systems. When your battery and solar work intelligently with the market, your home stops being a cost centre and starts contributing to your household finances.
The families featured on the program are already seeing that in action.
Future House is currently airing on Channel 9 and 9Now on Tuesday’s at 8:30pm. Follow along as these families build not just homes, but energy-smart futures.
