Yr Ogof Ddyn 2017

House Notes – Yr Ogof Ddyn

Yr Ogof Ddyn – Welsh for the Man Cave

This small house has become a local attraction in Wilby, built using clay, straw, sand and water. Keen to reduce any impact on the environment the owners wanted to use locally sourced materials with little impact on their surroundings.

Designed using passive solar orientation to maximise air flow and thermal mass. Double glazed windows with thermal break in frames to reduce temperature loss or gain.

Off-grid solar electricity with the house 12v wired.

Composting toilet and rainwater collection are used to reduce their water waste. No reticulated water supply.

To read more about this home and others in the area that opened for SHD2017

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2017
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Efficient lighting
      Draught proofing
      Energy monitoring
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Shading
      Cross ventilation
      Thermal chimney
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Currently none. Will add solar hydronic to the floor downstairs is experience this winter shows it necessary.
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Above ground storage
      Low flow shower heads
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Plastic tank
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 22,500L
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Kitchen stove
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Walls of site clay / sand / straw / water
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Two layers of 50mm foilboard with air gaps between, above and below. Outer thermal break foil/polystyrene 8mm thick, and inner face to the dome ceiling is lath and plaster using on-site clay mixed with cowmanure, then lime-washed over.
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • It is stated by the foilboard manufacturer that two layers of 50mm board with airgaps and thermal break outside, comfortably exceeds 4.5R. Personal experience shows that the internal environment is certainly comfortable in hot and cold weather.
    • Floor Rating:
    • N/A
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • Energy star rating:
    • N/A
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV off-grid
      Energy storage
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
    • $70,000
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 30m2 over two floors
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double glazing
    • Universal Design Features
    • Designed to be just big enough for requirements and no bigger, to minimise both embodied energy and any on-going running costs. No cooling required in summer, and anticipate no or minimal heating required in winter.
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 1
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Edible garden
      Composting
      Bee keeping
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Lime wash / lime render / earth walls
Location
Wilby VIC 3728
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Builder
    • Owner/Builder

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