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Sustainable House Day, Thornbury, Victoria |
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Category: Sustainable House Day 2009 |
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by thornbury  (August 2009) (rank 157th) |
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Thornbury
The brief for this inner suburban house was to convert the dark and cold Californian Bungalow into a contemporary family home that is environmentally sustainable, adaptable to the changing weather conditions and can be enjoyed with low operational energy use during its lifetime.
Renovation and Extension: Renovation of a Californian Bungalow and contemporary addition at the rear
Architect: Steffen Welsch Architects, www.steffenwelsch.com.au
For further Information see: http://www.sanctuarymagazine.org.au/find-articles/house-profiles http://steffenwelsch.com.au/downloads/Renovator's%20delight%20-%20Sanctuary.pdf
Unique Sustainable Elements featured in this home Passive Solar Design The house was designed to maximize solar access by creating a north facing courtyard that is enclosed by the kitchen and living room. Large north facing double glazed windows allow sunlight to penetrate and warm up the air. The heat is stored in Rammed Earth walls which create more stable internal temperatures. Openings are strategically placed to optimize cross ventilation to draw hot air out. External fixed and operable sunshading can control the sunlight access in summer.
External Walls The external walls work like a reverse brick veneer construction with thermal mass inside and insulation outside. Instead of brick we used Rammed Earth, sourced locally and with a very high thermal mass. The insulation is R 2.5 Bulk insulation. Some walls are ventilated through a timber screen that sits proud of the actual façade. It is designed to allow winter sun to warm up the building and protects the façade from the summer sun to reduce overheating.
Roof The roof is metal with a reflective Zincalume finish. The new roof has R4 Reflecta Guard and foil-backed bulk insulation; the ceilings in the original roof are insulated with recycled Styrofoam from industrial fridges; the roof space is made air tight and insulated with foam that can be spayed on.
Floor The floors are insulated timber floors with Sugar Gum which is sourced from sustainably managed plantations.
Window Treatments All windows are timber framed and double glazed. We used silver screen internal blinds and external retractable sunshading to control heat transfer and the sun access.
Solar or Wind Power Generation 1 kW solar grid-connected Origin Energy PV power system
Heating & Cooling Heating and cooling are seen as backup rather than main source for thermal comfort. The heating is hydronic and combined with the hot water service to reduce water use.
Water Heating The water heater is a 340l Quantum heat pump with a Rinnai gas booster.
