Sustainable House Day, Trafalgar South, Victoria - Sunny Creek Rd

The goal was to build a sustainable house without using any old growth timer. The house needed to be comfortable with low maintenance and as self-sufficient as possible  

Water Harvesting Systems The rain water for the total house supply gets collected of the shed roof. The shed roof was chosen because it doesn’t contaminate the drinking water with particles form the house’s wood fire. The shed is situated approx. 5 meters higher then the house. Therefore the water supply to the house is done by gravity only. Two rainwater tanks have a capacity of 65,000 liters. The rainwater collected of the house supplies the fire dam, the veggie garden and water features.  

Special Garden Features The block of land is part of the Bush-Tender Program. There is a 1 hectare area around the house which is excluded from the Bush-Tender Program. In this area native plants forming a park like garden attracting birds and providing sheltered places for breeding. The native plants on the northern side and close to the house are fire resistance. The orchid, veggie garden, chicken run, sheds and the house itself follow perm culture principles.  

External Walls   The external walls split into 3 different groups. In the first group the walls consist of rocks from a local quarry and mud as adobe in the downstairs area providing thermal mass. The second group is a radial sawn timber wall on the south side. The third group is timber construction cladded with Colour Bond in the upstairs area. The walls are insulated with polyester batts, R3.5. All wall materials except the small radial sawn timer section are maintenance free.    

Internal Walls   The central internal walls are the only straight walls within the house. They are a timber light weight construction cladded with plywood pine. Outer internal walls are adobe mud.  

Roof Pale eucalypt Colour Bond roof which is light in colour reflects sunlight and  blends in with the environment, R 3.5 insulation. The top roof is a butterfly roof. The lower roof has a butterfly section as well. The whole roof only consists of 2 gutters in the centre of the roof which are very easy to clean.

Floor A single slab polished concert floor with under floor insulation in most areas downstairs and recycled floorboards in the upstairs area.

Window Treatments Double glazing has been fitted throughout the whole house. Most of the double glazings are glass units sitting in home made recycled timber frames. Only one window in each room is a pvc framed double glazed window which open. In the upstairs areas 3 sunshades keep the direct sunlight out in summer.

Solar Power Generation A 2.0 kW solar remote power system with no generator back up is powering the whole house throughout the year.

Heating & Cooling No cooling is required. The highest temperature on consecutive 40°C days was 27°C inside the house in the downstairs areas. Heating throughout the house is by a wood fired heater. The fire wood is colleted form the property. A solar air heater provides additional heating.  

Water Heating Solar hot water system which uses a flue jacket form the wood stove to boost the water in winter time.  No electricity or gas boosting required.