About the house

Our key goals were to have a house that was extremely energy efficient and would result in very low energy costs, was built sustainably, would suit us in our old age, where we could walk to the beach and shops, with room for a garden and where we could maximise the north facing aspect of the land.

What we did

We decided to build a new home in a new housing estate, using an architect/designer.  We undertook a lot of research, subscribed to Sanctuary and Renew magazines, used government resources such as ‘YourHome’ books and website, used the internet, talked to lots of people, visited the eco housing development at Cape Paterson several times, visited houses on Sustainable House Day over several years so we could discover what we liked and what was possible within our budget, visited sustainable expo type events.  

What’s really important

1. Finding a flat, east west facing block to give you the best possible passive solar outcomes for your home, there-by avoiding less efficient house design, and ultimately higher energy costs.
2. Find an architect/designer who is passionate about sustainable energy efficient design and who understands what it is you want to achieve.  Make appointments with a shortlist of designers to help you make that decision.  Importantly design the house around the attributes and deficiencies of your land size/solar access.  
3. Engage a reputable builder who is also passionate about sustainability, quality and who walks the talk. Your architect/designer will probably have a couple of builders they regularly work with who can help you to achieve your goals.
4. Plan your garden around the design of your home.  We had a landscape design done, which includes the plants you will need and where they should go, very early on, well before the building of the house was even started, we sent the house plans to the landscape designer.  We have found this resulted in a greater cohesiveness and integration of house and garden. 

How’s it worked out?

Whilst the house is not yet finished the passive solar qualities are already performing well and it is warm and toasty inside even on a cold wintery day.   We’ve started on the garden so parts of it will be established by the time we move in.

Lessons learned

1. We wouldn’t build on a new housing estate again, it’s too depressing seeing all the non-sustainable houses going up and the enormous waste generated by volume builders going to landfill.
2. The design and build will take longer than you think it will from conception to completion. 
3. Spend your money on getting the sustainable/passive solar/energy efficiency attributes of the house right, its expensive to retrofit afterwards.  Think about what you really need, not necessarily want, as the ‘nice’ things can be added later.

What’s next?

We continue to work on the garden, which is a mixture of native, native eatable and edible plants and look forward to moving into our low energy bill, clean air home soon. 

Any other insights?

1. It is possible to build an energy efficient home within a moderate budget.  As our designer says, its good design not money that counts.  
2. Consider the thermal properties of your garage, as this may impact the house.  Our garage has double glazed celestial windows, is insulated (ceiling and walls) plus an insulated garage door.
3. Shop around for free or low-cost lighting and electrical plans.

Visit as many homes as possible including high star rating homes for sale in your area for ideas and inspiration.

Notes

Deliberate choice by homeowners and builder to buy from local businesses &/or Australian made eg. Barwon Timber, Breakwater Metal Land, Melbourne made floor tiles, Haymes Paints, Victorian made taps in ensuite, Cutek oil and Lanotec Timber Seal, etc