Falcon’s Rest 2017

House Notes – Falcon’s Rest

This house needed to be many things; a meld of our South African, Dutch and Australian cultures; we are planning to grow old in this house so it had to be suitable for possible wheelchair access and care of the elderly. We were keen to support local industry as much as possible and sourced materials from Tasmania.

The house is a passive solar design, with straw bale walls, slate, cork, rock and lots of timber. Large double glazed windows capture the commanding views and the roof allows harvesting of rain water for all our needs. We have solar hot water and a 6kWh solar array supported by a 10kWh lithium ion battery. Cross ventilation provides cooling plus there is a cooling system in the pantry that uses cool ducted air from a moist fernery outside. The greenhouse, with direct access to the kitchen allows for the freshest herbs and vegetables when cooking.

The garden is designed using Permaculture Principles and we produce most of our own vegetables, meat, eggs and in the near future our own fruit.

It is an absolute pleasure living in this home, it is comfortable, always of pleasant temperature, easy to keep clean and when we open the large north facing bi-fold glass doors it feels as if we are living in the garden.

Designed by Green Design Uta and David Green

Built by Nic Vollmer

 

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2017
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Efficient lighting
      Draught proofing
      Efficient appliances
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Shading
      Cross ventilation

    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Ducted cool air from microclimate around pond is ducted into the pantry.
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans

    • Active heating cooling:
    • Fire place and under floor heating in the bathrooms.
    • Water heating:
    • Solar hot water (evacuated tube)
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Above ground storage
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • 3 water tanks
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 63,00 litres
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Straw bale, timber, cork and slate
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Timber
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
      Internal and external walls
      Floor
    • Ceiling Type:
    • R6 mineral wool batts plus Solomit panels which rate R1
    • Floor Type:
    • Slate and cork floors insulated with polystyrene
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • Energy star rating:
    • 8 star energy rating
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
      Energy storage
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
    • $448,000
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 145 sq m
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double glazing
      Low-e, films
    • Universal Design Features
    • Disability access
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 3
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 2
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Water wise plants
      Edible garden
      Organic
      Permaculture
      Composting
      Native plants
      Chickens
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Non toxic paints
Location
Gardners Bay TAS 7112
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Builder
    • Nic Vollmer '@home in your home'

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