Lathlain Sustainable Home 2021

Lathlain Sustainable Home

Our design brief for this home was:
-a home where the outside could be brought in.
-the garage should not be seen from the front street.
-the staircase should not be seen from the front entrance or the main living area.

Our home has excellent natural ambient light and natural cross ventilation in any season. Good temperature control throughout summer and winter. Ceiling fans are the only mechanical cooling devices we have.

Our favourite space is our large living area facing due north which is light, bright and nature is at our finger tips.

Outside in the front set-back, is an open-fenced garden with deciduous trees and green dichondra ground cover right up to the large glazed sliding doors. (No paving, no mowing.) In effect we have added another living area to our home that is entirely floored, decorated and ‘roofed’ by nature. It is always visited by busy birds. Summer evenings often bring the call of frogs from our small pond

In summer the trees and the ground cover protect us from direct heat and from radiant heat on the large windows. The trees also provide shaded outside sitting areas in Summer. In winter their bare branches allow the sun to penetrate inside for up to four metres warming the tiled floor, which releases the heat in the evenings.

Every area works as it should, and we have no wasted spaces such as corridors.

Our kitchen is open to our living area and we love cooking and entertaining there. When we cook we look out to nature as we’ve described. The storage, food preparation, cooking and cleaning functions are laid out perfectly. We often cook with guests chatting over a glass or two of wine.

When we are not cooking, all the paraphernalia (toasters, kettles etc) are tucked away out of sight in a cupboard at bench height, recessed into a space under the stairs behind the wall. All the other stuff hides away in under bench drawers in what would have been a dead corner containing the main plumbing duct, space was found for a terrific enclosed scullery with open pantry shelves, a large work bench for mixers etc and our coffee machine cabinet.

Our stairs are tucked out of sight from the living area between two blank walls in one straight run. The stairs are 1,300mm wide. One wall has the hand rail and will also take a stair-lift if we need one in the future. The other wall is entirely covered by book shelves for our large collection. The space under the stairs is additional open storage in the garage for equipment, and for the electrical switch panel and the invertors for the solar system.

Meet Solar Dwellings Home owners on Sunday 17th October for our special SHD event at Home Base. Find out more here

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2021
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Draught proofing
      Efficient lighting
      Efficient appliances
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Cross ventilation
      Passive solar designed home
      Shading
      Thermal mass
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
    • Water heating:
    • Solar hot water (flat panel)
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Rainwater storage - Above ground
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Poly Tank
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 2000L
    • Energy Efficient Lighting
    • Natural daylight
    • Window Protection:
    • Deciduous tree/vegetation
      Drapes/curtains
      Eaves
      Pelmets
      Shade Sails
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Insulated sectional garage door
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Under-roof
      Ceiling
      External walls
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Bulk – polyester
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R4.0
    • Under Roof Insulation Type:
    • Reflective foil
    • Under Roof Insulation Rating:
    • R1.5
    • External Walls Type:
    • Reflective insulation
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • All-Electric Home?
    • No
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
    • Size of PV system:
    • 2kW
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • BAL Rating
    • No BAL rating requirements at time of construction
    • Roof
    • Metal (Colorbond)
    • Wall Materials
    • Double brick
    • Window and Door Types
    • Double hung
      Sliding windows/doors
    • Universal Design Features
    • 80cm minimum door opening width
      Flush thresholds (no lip) to all external doors
      Hobless showers
      Minimum 110cm wide hallways
      Slip resistant flooring
      Tapware to be easily accessed from outside the shower
      Window openings easily accessible
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 1
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Bee hotels/friendly
      Composting
      Frog friendly
      Native plants
      Water wise plants
    • Waste Reduction Practices:
    • Compost all food scraps
      Recycle
      Repair
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Cabinet design to minimise dust collection
      Carpet free - tiles/concrete/timber flooring throughout
      Cross flow ventilation
Location
Lathlain WA 6100
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Open with support of
    • Solar Dwellings
    • Designer
    • Solar Dwellings

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