This is the third house I have designed since 1980 and this time I think I got most of it right. I designed and constructed this home in 1997 to include passive solar features after learning from the first two builds.
Ten years after I moved in, around 2011 I started the journey of taking myself off the grid building 12v and 24v systems. This home finally went completely off grid in 2019 and was featured in an article in issue 119 of Renew Magazine (https://renew.org.au/renew-magazine/off-grid/off-grid-in-the-suburbs/).
The home now contains five different solar systems from low voltage DC systems to the two 240-volt AC systems running the house, including the one described in the above article.
The home contains several passive solar features including north facing glass. Over the years I have experimented with solar powered hydronic heating systems, solar power evaporative air coolers, wind turbines, heat pumps, appliance and air conditioner efficiency, solar powered garage door lifters, solar powered reticulation systems to name a few. Some of these I have written articles you can find in back issues of Renew magazine.
The most recent adventure at my home has been the purchase of a small BYD Dolphin Electric Vehicle and installation of an Evnex smart charger. The Evnex redirects the solar that up to now has been exported to charge the Dolphin EV. I estimate savings of $2,500 per year that I was spending on petrol. That means by the time the 8-year warranty runs on the Dolphin runs out I will be $20K better off on petrol purchases, have saved on servicing, and not have contributed to a substantial amount greenhouse gas emissions.
As a retired engineer I have a wealth of experience and information to share and am happy to be contacted to do that.
