Hi,
We'd like to share as many features as possible that makes our house really pleasant and functional to live in.
Firstly, there are a combination of design features working together that help to moderate the internal temperature:
- a total of R4 insulation in the ceiling and walls
- double glazing in every window
- thermal mass using a slab and four internal brick walls running north/south and non-slip tiles on the floor of two northern living areas
- good airflow through windows to the other side of the house when the weather is not extreme
- a solar heater/cooler sucks hot air from the top of the house and vents it out in the hot weather. In the cooler but sunny days it heats the air and returns it in at floor level.
- fresh ground temperature air passively enters the house through 3 southern floor vents
- external concrete and gravel is only on the southern side of the house. The northern side is reserved for greenery, which we can water from the water tank in the summer to further cool the house.
- a garage placed on the western wall lessens external temperature extremes
- sun pours in the northern windows in the winter warming the (air), walls and floor storing heat.
An example of how these features work together is that on the 46 degree days we had a few summer ago it didn't go above 30 degrees inside.
Other design features which make it an easier house to live in are:
- Clerestory windows facing north letting an abundance of light into the southern rooms which include the kitchen and bathroom/laundry.
- An airer pulled up to the ceiling in front of the washing machine makes drying clothes a breeze!
- 870mm wide doorways (instead of the usual 820mm) and a 1200mm wide hallway make moving around the house smoother.
- The strawboard ceiling softens the sound of rain on the steel roof.
- Strawboard is also used in the hallway walls to reduce noise between rooms and to reduce potential damage through accidental impact. (It's 10 times more impact resistant than plasterboard.) This product is also only 6 cm thick saving us valuable floor space.
- Four ceiling fans take the edge off summer heat and once windows are open at night the stored heat released from the thermal mass can exit until the windows are closed again around 7 am.
- A 900mm eave on the south gives a little extra protection from the summer sun (at setting and rising) and also some shelter from the rain next to our car parking.
Quite a lot of thought and planning has gone into the building products and their placement, and the size and layout of the building on the block. It makes all the difference! Hope you can visit on the 11th of September.
(August 2011) (
