After moving from Sydney to a rural acreage, the owners set out to build a home based on the solar passive principles in The Wise House. With no internet at the time, the design was shaped through careful research, expert advice, and detailed planning to make the most of winter sun while excluding summer heat.
Built as an owner-builder project, the home was carefully oriented north, with wide eaves calculated to admit the lower winter sun and block the higher summer sun. Large north-facing windows and doors bring winter sunlight onto the black slate floors, which act as thermal mass, storing warmth in the concrete slab and releasing it slowly overnight. This simple design creates a home that is bright, comfortable and efficient, with no need for conventional heating on most winter days.
The house is highly insulated, with moisture barriers and 100mm insulation in the walls and roof, plus timber-framed doors and windows to reduce heat transfer. Reflective insulating curtains with boxed pelmets help retain warmth in winter and keep heat out in summer. Even when outdoor temperatures fall as low as minus five degrees, the indoor temperature has remained above fifteen degrees without added heating.
In summer, the home stays naturally cool through thoughtful design. There are no west-facing windows, minimal glazing to the east, and high hallway windows that release rising hot air, drawing in cooler air from the shaded southern side. A pergola covered in deciduous wisteria shades the north side in summer and allows winter sun through after the leaves fall. Over time, the property has evolved further with a 10kW solar system, EV charging, water harvesting, and an induction cooktop supporting fully electric living. The home also achieved a 10/10 Outstanding Residential Efficiency Scorecard rating. Surrounded by thousands of planted trees and shrubs, the property is now known as Casuarina Corner. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ed2MxjLDb4fw1UTeljeRMpdKEHs5YakJ/edit?usp
