Sustainable House Day Warnervale, NSW

Our sustainable home is an old (50 years+) house which had been relocated onto the land which we purchased before the vendors had finished renovating it, enabling us to implement most sutaiable practices!  The house was originally weatherboard and had been relocated, re-clad (for fire zoning reasons), re-roofed and almost gutted, when we acquired it.  The existing bathroom, kitchen, floor and internal wall frames were intact and the house was at lock-up stage. No internal fittings (walls etc0, electricals or plumbing was done.  Part of the appeal of this house was that we were essentially recycling, rather than having to build a new home from scratch.  Although we changed the layout of the interior (for example, the main living area was moved to the northern side), the existing hardwood frames were dismantled and moved where necessary, rather than using new timber.  In addition, the existing bathroom remains unchanged (other than painting and fitting water-efficient tap-ware) and the kitchen was re-vamped by changing cupboard doors, sink and bench-top, rather than being totally reconstructed. We used 95% recycled gysum wall boards called Powerscape which is also very durable. We painted throughout using low VO2 emmission paints.The house is surrounded by a wide verandah, and has high ceilings, which together create a cool home in summer – no need for artificial cooling.  

The home is powered completely by a 3kW stand alone solar power system with a wind turbine (soon to be installed) and generator backup. The evacuated tube solar hot water system works well, and we use LPG and a slow-combustion heater/stove for cooking in winter if the batteries are low. All our water is collected on-site in tanks with a total capacity of 110 000 litres. The biolytix watse water system irrigates the orchard (by sub surface irrigation) so although separated all the black water and grey water when we did the plumbing, a grey water treatment system is probably unneccessary at this stage. The house is well insulated and oriented and is energy and water-wise. Outside, on our 25 acres of conservation wetland/bushland, we are using just a couple of the acres to create a productive permaculture farm/garden to produce our own vegies, fruit, eggs and dairy (goat) products. All food scraps and garden ‘waste’ is recycled via chooks/geese or composted, and used in the garden.  Our waste water treatment system is a Biolytix which incorporates natural, chemical-free methods, including compost worms and uses minimal power.  The reclaimed water is used in the subsurface irrigation in our orchard which is also home to our chooks and geese.  Whenever we have built or acquired something, we have tried to use second-hand or recycled products. Our one rule however has been to do-it-once-and-do-it-well so it’s always a balancing act.

We had our first baby in November last year and we have been using various types of reusable nappies (organic cotton, bamboo, etc). Because we provide all our own power and water, having to use the washing machine a lot is not an issue! We have blog page which we have used for the past couple of years and it outlines our journey so far. Please take a look at sustainablehome.blogspot.com
 

Water Harvesting:
Tank water only – 110 000L in total

External walls:
Cladding – Hardiplank .  Insulation – fibreglass (recycled glass content) batts.
The external walls needed to be re-clad with a fire resistant material since the home is in a Zone 3 Fire Area.  This cladding was already completed when we purchased the property

Internal walls:
Powerscape – a gypsum based material with 95% recycled content.
Powerscape is thicker, stronger, more insulating and more fire-resistant than gyprock.

Roof:
Colorbond steel roof.
Insulation 2.5R batts (Pinkbatts - synthetic)

Floor:
Combination of original cypress pine floorboards and Strandwoven compressed bamboo floorboards. Selection of rugs using natural, sustainable fibres (seagrass, sisal and jute).
Subfloor Insulation – intending to install Air-cell insulation under floor.

Most of the original floor was in poor condition so was overlayed with the bamboo floor-boards.  The strandwoven product is highly compressed and very hard (harder than hardwood). It is durable and can be sanded if necessary in the future.

Window treatments:
Full length hemp curtains made by local seamstress.
The hemp fabric is thick (good insulation), durable and is a very sustainable material.

Electricity generation:
Full solar power – remote area power system; 3kW (50 panels) Kaneko solar panels connected to 20 X 48V battery bank controlled by Sunnyboy inverter. Backed up by generator (only 1% usage).

Soon to install a wind turbine to complement the solar panels.

Heating & Cooling:
Cooling – full, wide verandah; high ceilings; air flow.  Roof ventilation installed.  Ceiling fans in main living area.  Fruit trees and grapevines planted on western side of house to block hot afternoon summer sun.
Heating – slow-combustion heater with stove-top.

No need for artificial cooling in summer.  Heater very efficient and plenty of timber on site.  Plan to reduce future usage with sub-floor insulation.

Water Heating:
Solar hot water - Apricus (with evacuated tubes) with gas booster
Very efficient system with little need for the booster.

Appliances:
Miele washing machine front loader
Energy efficient fridge
A vent was placed in the floor behind the fridge to improve its efficiency by around 30%.

Other:
Solar aspect – north-facing living area.  Water- using rooms (bathroom, kitchen, laundry) close together and near hot-water system.
Close placement of laundry, kitchen and bathrooms minimises heat loss from hot water as it travels through pipes.
Biolytix waste water treatment system – recycles waste water for sub-surface irrigation of orchard.
The Biolytix is a waste water treatment system that uses natural, chemical-free methods, including composting worms and runs on very little power.  It is not noisy and doesn’t smell (unlike most septic systems).
Grey-water and black-water plumbed separately for later installation of grey-water system.
Toilet – Caroma Profile Suite (incorporates basin; water for hand-washing used to flush).
Water-saving tapware.
Solatube skylight in kitchen and bathroom.
Energy-efficient lighting – combination of ordinary compact fluorescent and GU10 downlights (3W LED and 9W CFL).
Power-points – numbers and placement so appliances easily turned off (avoiding standby).
‘Draft-stoppa’ vent covers over bathroom fans.
Weather strips on external doors.
Solatube skylights are very effective and well-insulated.
Paints – Dulux EnvirO2 (low VOC and 100% greenhouse gas abated) and plant-based Biopaint.  Deck and timber finishes  - plant-based Organoil.
White paint chosen to improve indoor lighting.
Furniture – mostly second-hand or home-made using recycled/sustainable materials.
Organic/permaculture garden incorporating chooks and geese (run the orchard), compost bays, numerous fruit trees and other food-producing plants, vegie gardens, and pond with edible water plants and provision of habitat.
Goats (two) for weed/grass control and future milk supply.
The property comprises around 20 acres of conservation land/wetland