Our design objective was to build a comfortable warm energy efficient home.
Some of the design initiatives include
- Insulated concrete floor slab
- Hydronic heating pipes in the floor
- No down light penetrations through ceilings
- Low energy lights, compact fluro, fluro, or leds
- Solar water heating panels
- Passive ventilation: high level roof window
- Reflection sewerage treatment
- Double glazing
- Honeycomb blinds or heavy thermal drapes
- Short hot water pipe runs
- Log fire with wet back
- Tiled floor by northerly facing windows
- House orientation due east - west
- Large north facing windows
- Wall and roof insulation higher than code.
- Low VOC paints
- Isolator switches to reduce standby power consumption.
- Passive shading: window orientation, eaves and pergola structures