In 2016 Danny and Sue, the clients of this home in Gundaroo, NSW, had a clear design and construction brief – to design and build a home that is based on passive-solar design, constructed of natural materials where possible, minimise the chemical toxicity of the building materials, and leverage appropriate levels of technology to reduce the ongoing operational costs for heating, cooling, power and water.
Commonsense Sustainability Solutions provided Danny and Sue with design and sustainability advice, which strengthened their ideas and supported them to achieve their dream home.
Danny and Sue had the ideas and knew what they wanted to achieve, Commonsense Sustainability Solutions brought to their project an extra dimension of experience and advice.
The solution to the brief was to build a simple, but elegant, home using:
- German PassivHaus principles, with power supplied from an off-grid 9kW Solar system
- North-facing living areas and thermal mass in the floor to capture the warming winter sun
- Eaves and a pergola to shade the hot summer sun
- Triple-glazed windows and lots of insulation to keep heat in during winter and out during summer
- Natural materials, like timber, with low embodied energy and lovely aesthetics
For more details, read Danny and Sue’s blog.
