Warrnambool builder Adam Green is building his own zero energy home, this house bult in a new subdivision in Warrnambool blends into the other new homes in the neighbourhood its energy efficient design is what sets it appart. Adam wanted the home to have all the features of a modern house as well as being energy efficient. The homes current rating is 7.1 stars and Adam will install a 'weather monitoring stations' throughout the home to determine how efficient the house is to run.
The construction of the house uses new products- polystryrene foam for walls and polystrene 'bricks' filled with cement for the retaining walls, which is rendered and further insulated with foil and intenal wall batts. The windows used in the house are double glazed and argon filled with timber frames and maxise the northern aspect into the living areas. The roof is Zincalume fitted with a 3kw grid connect solar panel sytem and a 330 litre solar evacuated tube system- the tank is inside the home for use in a drying cupbord to make the most of the heat from the tank.The rainfall will be harvested using two 5,000 litre custom made colourbond tanks suppling water to the home, the plumbing deviced installed are all water efficient. Blanket foil insulation is installed under the zincalume and batts in the ceiling cavity, which then has a floor installed for extra storage space and this is accessed by a fold down ladder in one of the bedrooms. The home will be heated using far infar-red radiant heaters which heat objcects rather than air. Energy efficient kitchen and laundry appliances are to be installed, laundry day is made easier with a laundry chute installed in the second story, and vacuuming is easier and healthier with a ducted vacuum system installed elliminating all the dust. The walls have been painted with low- voc paint, and the floors will be a combination of tiles and bamboo in the living areas, and carpet in the four bedrooms.
It will be great to see how this house performs and Adam is expecting it will be more than the current 7.1 stars.
(September 2011) (
