» Arthur and Tina’s Strawbale House

House Notes – Arthur and Tina’s Strawbale House

Arthur and Tina’s lifelong dream has been fulfilled. This strawbale home is a long labour of love. Five years in the making. We began in 2010 to face the challenges of building this sustainable home near the sea

The 240 sq metres house sits on a slab with infloor solar hydronic heating. Over 700 strawbales and tons of sand, lime and clay render keeps us cool in summer and warm in winter.

The house is true North facing with celestory windows to work with cross ventilation. fifty-two solar panels (12Kw), and 48 volt storage batteries powers our home. We have a Holden Volt electric car which charges off the solar panels and gives a range of 70Km which covers shopping in Warrnambool & Port Fairy.

A&A worm farm toilet and a greywater system irrigates the fruit trees in the orchard. All windows are double-glazed and all paints and finishes are from Livos natural plant based products.

We also installed a cool cupboard in our pantry to keep fruit and veggies fresh. We live a sustainable lifestyle.

Sustainability Features

ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES

- Energy efficiency:
- Efficient lighting
  Draught proofing
  Efficient appliances
  Energy monitoring
  Smart home features
- Passive heating cooling:
- Shading
  Cross ventilation
- Active heating cooling:
- Solar hydronic
  Heat pump
  Ceiling fans
- Water heating:
- Solar hot water (evacuated tube)
- Water harvesting and saving features:
- Above ground storage
  Greywater system
  Blackwater
  Low flow shower heads
- Above ground rainwater storage Type:
- Tanks
- Above ground rainwater storage Size
- 45000 litres

SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS

- Sustainable materials:
- Rice straw and Merch grade pine and Earth render
- Recycled and reused materials:
- Doors
  Paving
  Kitchen/bath cabinets

INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS

- Insulation Type:
- Ceiling
  Internal and external walls
- Ceiling Type:
- Timber
- Ceiling Rating:
- R10
- Internal / External Walls Type:
- Straw and Render
- Internal / External Walls Rating:
- R18

RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS

- Energy star rating:
- No accurate estimate
- Renewable energy used:
- Solar PV off-grid
  Energy storage

COSTS AND COST SAVINGS

- Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
- $300k
- Estimate of annual savings:
- $200per month

HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

- House Size
- 240sq. Metres
- Window and Door Types
- Double glazing
  Louvre windows
  Clerestory windows
- Number of bedrooms
- 3
- Number of bathrooms
- 2

GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION

- Garden / Outdoors
- Water wise plants
  Edible garden
  Organic
  Composting
  Native plants
  Bee keeping

HEALTHY HOME FEATURES

- Healthy home features
- Livos plant based paints. Earth and Lime Render , Formaldehyde free melamine. Stone kitchen bench tops

Arthur and Tina’s Strawbale House 2016

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House Notes – Arthur and Tina’s Strawbale House

Sustainability Features

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