GreenSmart Homes
Sustainable House Day in Canberra 2008 inspired us to build this home.
For our family of two adults and two children, 2 and 4, we wanted:
- a house of 3 bedrooms, study and an open living area
- solar passive
- active solar elements to make it as sustainable, liveable and allergy free as possible
- light and bright – as many windows facing north as possible
- use of rainwater
- use of grey water
- a sizable rear yard left over from our 750 sq metre block
From the Customer - "The architect we chose, Matt Cooney of MJC Design, provided us with a design which ticked all our boxes without breaking the bank (well not completely anyway). We employed the Smart Building Group to complete our project. It was finished on time and on budget. I appreciated being welcomed on site to watch the progress and to discuss any issues which arose."
The features of our home which satisfied our wish list are:
- hydronic in slab heating
- heat for floor and domestic hot water supplied by 120 evacuated tube solar water heater with natural gas boost
- all rooms bar one with extensive north facing double glazed windows
- floor, ceiling and wall insulation
- effective ventilation for summer cooling
- floor tiled and heated throughout
- 5000 L rainwater tanks supplying toilets and washing machine
- grey water recycling for under ground watering of shrubs and (future) lawn
- enviro water saver device to master ensuite to save the cold water lying in pipes when the hot water is turned on
- 2.75 kW solar array, grid connected
- smart switches to switch off all appliances on standby from one point in the room
- NO down-lights!
- NO air conditioning!
The home is very comfortable to live in, warm in our Canberra winters and cool in summer. Our electricity usage seems to be about 2 400 kWh per year, well below Australian annual average of around 6 470 kWh . Gas usage we have yet to determine as we have not been through a complete winter to give an accurate estimate of annual use.
From Smart Housing - "with the client we were able to share the principles of sustainable building practices and create a building that has less impact on the enviroment . The house is economical to run with the reduction on the use of energy by using the sun to generate their own power and collecting rainwater for use throughout the building. all the rooms are north facing allowing plenty of solar gain in winter reducing the use for heating whilst in summer, rooms are adequately shaded reducing the use for cooling, in all a family home that is comfortable and suits the clients lifestyle."