Sustainable House Open Day - Product List

Showerheads

Each of the two showers is fitted with a Satinjet Futura showerhead which was the top performer in a Choice test on water efficient showerheads (March 2007).  The showerhead delivers 9 litres per minute [3 star Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) rated] and while not being the most water efficient in the test (the Methven Olympic 3000 Hi Rise 1 function delivers 7.5 litres per minute).  Those who tested the Satinjet said it stood out for its full coverage of spray over the whole body and the ease of changing the spray setting (with a button and not having to twist the showerhead).  It’s available at Tradelink.  For more information on this showerhead visit www.satinjet.com and www.savewater.com.au

The three toilets are all Caroma Smartflush toilets.  These deliver a 4.5/3 litre dual flush.  They have a 4 star WELS rating (6 star is the most water efficient).  At the time of selecting our toilets these were the most water efficient available on the market.  They can save you up to 35,000 litres per year in comparison to an 11 litre single flush toilet.  We’ve had no problems using them.  For more information visit www.caroma.com.au and www.savewater.com.au 

The washing machine is a Whirlpool 6^th sense 7.5kg front loader.  It has a 4 star WELS rating and a 3.5 star energy rating.  It was one of the recommended models in a Choice test.  We find it washes the clothes well.  For more information visit www.whirlpool.com.au   A Waterwise rebate is available from the State Government for washing machines but they must be rated 4.5 star WELS or greater.  For more details on eligible washing machines visit www.water.wa.gov.au

Our garden was professionally designed by Janine Mendel of Cultivart (www.cultivart.com.au) and all the retaining walls and garden bed preparation was done by Think Dingo Landscapes.  The plants were sourced by Addy Arnold at Essentially Green.  We specifically asked for a native garden that, once established, would only require watering once a week over summer.  We also required an area of lawn for our son to play on.  The type of lawn we chose was the Sir Walter soft leafed buffalo (a drought tolerant warm weather grass).  We were not entirely happy with the plant list provided by Janine but found the Waterwise Plants for Perth list on the Water Corporation’s website (www.watercorporation.com.au) very helpful.  We’ve also since sourced some native plants from Zanthorrea nursey which has a very good selection. 

Currently the garden is reticulated off scheme water.  As it will only require watering once a week we’ve discovered it’s not currently cost effective to install a garden bore, rainwater tank or greywater reuse system to water the garden.  With the difficulties we experienced with our builder we decided against plumbing a rainwater tank or greywater reuse system internally. 

The house was designed by an architect specialising in passive solar design.  Please refer to the Solar Dwellings website (www.solardwellings.com.au) for further details on passive solar design.

We used Pilkington ComfortPlus Clear to the north facing windows to maximise winter heat gain.  We used ComfortPlus Green to east, west and south facing windows as it has a 10% tint to reduce direct and reflected heat gain in summer.  Refer to www.pilkington.com.au for further information.  ComfortPlus glazing is a 6.38mm laminated glass with a low ‘e’ coating on the internal surface.  This improves security and the low ‘e’ coating reduces heat loss in winter.  We investigated double glazing but the cost was 3 to 4 times that of laminated glass making it too expensive.

A Colourbond roof was chosen as it has minimal heat retention.  Visit www.bluescopesteel.com.au for more details.  There are two layers of insulation in the roof:

·        R2.5batts on the ceiling to retain winter heat; and

·        a 50mm Anticon reflective foil sheeting (for further details visit www.bradfordinsulation.com.au)

Ceiling exhausts are covered by Draft-Stoppas (www.draftstoppa.com.au) which eliminate air exchange between the roof cavity and areas inside the home.

The east and west facing wall cavities are lined with Air-Cell insulation to reduce summer heat gain.

Shade sails are located on the north side to eliminate direct solar radiation on north facing windows in summer.  These are removed in winter to allow for heat gain.  We chose not to use fixed louvres in these areas as the angle of the sun during March-April would result in unwanted heat gain.  A fixed louvre is located on the north-east side of the house to shade the east facing window of the master suite (www.mbrsheet.com.au).

Almost all lighting both internally and externally is provided by compact fluorescents.  Downlights are compatible with 240V halogen fittings but not low voltage halogen fittings.  For comparison these compact fluorescents are 11W compared to 60W for a low volt halogen.  Understandably they are not as bright and therefore, some task lighting eg kitchen bench and the ensuite vanity is met with 60W halogens.  We have investigated LEDs which have similar power consumption to the compact fluorescents but are significantly more expensive.  Our lighting plan including advice on energy efficiency lighting was done by the Lighting Advisory Service in Osborne Park.

We installed a Sola-Hart 302 KF free heat electric boosted system www.solahart.com.au We chose a roof mounted tank system for the higher energy efficiency compared to a ground mounted tank (split) system.  We chose not to use a gas booster due to the higher cost and we’ve found that we’ve had little need to use the booster.  We only turn the booster on during overcast weather and turn it off at night after showering as we’ve little need for hot water in the mornings.  The State Government currently offers rebates for gas boosted solar hot water systems.  Visit www.sedo.energy.wa.gov.au for further details.

Earlier this year we had a 2kW Grid connected BP Solar Energizer GCKSE2000 system installed by Better Living Energy Solutions  www.bles.com.au

This system is designed to produce 8.7kWhrs/day on average for an entire year which is an equivalent saving of 3.2 tonnes of greenhouse gas/yr.  We chose a 2kW system as we wanted to generate 100% of our energy needs from solar.  We’ve had no problems with the installation or operation of the system.  It operates seamlessly with the grid power.  Rebates are available for grid connected systems.  Visit www.environment.gov.au for further information.

Roof vents are provided by MBR Sheetmetal (eco-ventilation) (www.mbrsheet.com.au).   These vents operate automatically by a thermostatically controlled valve in warmer weather.  The advantage over traditional whirly-birds is that they remain closed in colder weather reducing heat loss through the roof cavity.

Bedrooms have natural sisal carpets chosen for their low allergy properties including low emittance of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).  These were purchased from Floors Natural in Subiaco.  The north facing living area is tiled to absorb winter sun.  The tiles have a matt, rough finish to increase absorption ("Radica Marfil" from Prestige Tile Gallery, Osborne Park).  The entry and study have timber flooring with a water based finish to minimise VOCs.  The rear deck is finished with recycled jarrah floorboards from the previous home on this site.  The boards were removed and dressed by Remill WA www.remill.com.au

All areas (except for wet areas) have been finished with Bauwerk lime-based paints www.bauwerk.com.au  We chose this paint because of the low VOCs.  The paint is not a wash and wear paint so may be unsuitable for some areas.  While the colour range is extensive and includes rich, natural colours we found some colours once applied did not closely replicate the sample.  The application of these paints should be done by a professional experienced in using these paints.  A list is available from Bauwerk.

We chose a non-chemical, barrier form of termite treatment; Termimesh www.termimesh.com.au  If building a new home be aware that the plumber may drill holes through the Termimesh to run pipes inside the home which necessitates Termimesh returning to the site to repair the barrier.

The blinds in the living and kitchen (and upstairs) are environmentally friendly blinds made by Verosol.  For further details visit www.verosol.com.au