Bittern Farm House

Bittern,
VIC
This home will be open for in-person tours on the 17th May 2026

About this home

North-facing brick veneer house with polished concrete floor, large double-glazed windows on the north, 600 mm eaves, patio entertaining area on the east.

Extra insulation in walls and roof to minimise draughts and air leaks. Solar panels on roof with a Solarhart extra boost hot water system, the house has air conditioning and a wood heater. We have a sustainably harvested wood supply.

Minimal openings on the west side assist with keeping the house very temperature stable year-round.

The rainwater from the roof is collected and used in the house, and the extensive garden uses water from dam.

We have a veggie garden, herb garden, an orchard and a native garden around the small dam. The house is sited to maximise the use of the sun for heating during winter, and this helps keep the house fairly cool during summer.

Q & A

What motivated you to build or retrofit sustainably?
We wanted a healthy warm house to live in
Reading the book Warm House Cool House, and then seeing how all the advice given comes together. We had no real experience with north facing energy efficient houses and are very happy to have followed guidelines and installed double glazing and extra insulation. The house is very warm in winter and rarely use heating during the day , in summer the house is much cooler and the temperature can be easily controlled by the airconditioning running on power form the solar collector. The polished concrete floor is wonderful and keeps the temperature stable and warm to walk on.
I would double glaze the whole house , I would not have a sliding door in the middle of the north side of the house as it isnt usable due to too much air flow tthrough the opening
My upgrade would be having an ensuite for each bedroom and an extra bedroom
Back to 2026 Homes
Type: Standalone house/townhouse
Project: New build
Size: 400m²
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2

Sustainability Features

Building Materials & Envelope

Draught-proofing/air sealing
High-performance insulation
Double or triple-glazed windows

Heating, Cooling and Ventilation

Passive heating/cooling (north-facing glazing, cross ventilation, thermal mass, shading, etc.)
Ceiling fans
Heat pump (reverse-cycle) heating/cooling

Energy and Appliances

Rooftop solar PV
Dedicated wall-mounted EV charging
Energy monitoring/smart home systems
Efficient lighting (LED, daylighting, solar skylights)
Solar thermal hot water
Electric cooktop - induction/ceramic

Water & Waste Systems

Rainwater tanks
Other

Landscape & Biodiversity

Native garden
Permaculture garden
Edible garden
Beehives
Wildlife-supporting habitat

Climate Resilience

Bushfire

Accessible & Flexible Design Features

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