Lyonville Hemp House 2025

Lyonville Hemp House

Lyonville Hemp House demonstrates the strengths of natural building materials, thermal performance, passive solar design, small homes, and owner building on a constrained budget. We set out to build a small house that we could build ourselves and pay off quickly. The house and gardens are designed on Permaculture principles which save our labour and make for an efficient and functional farm layout, highly productive gardens and ample kitchen capacity for processing and preparing food. As a Hempcrete house, it sequesters more carbon than it creates. The house stays in a comfortable temperature range no matter what extreme weather is happening outside. Hempcrete walls with clay and lime render are breathable, passively maintaining balance in internal humidity and prevent internal condensation and mould. We have built for bushfire resilience BAL29+ and designed the garden for moisture retention, shade and baffling winds . Solar panels and water collection provide the resources we need to thrive here. We are now producing our own fruit and vegetables, berries, eggs, goat’s milk and honey. The new greenhouse is made from largely salvaged materials and is extending our growing season in Lyonville’s cold climate.

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2025
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Draught proofing
      Efficient lighting
      Efficient appliances
      Energy monitoring
      Smart home features
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Cross ventilation
      Deciduous planting around house
      Passive solar designed home
      Shading
      Thermal mass
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
    • Water heating:
    • Hot water heat pump
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Rainwater storage - Above ground
      Compost toilet
      Worm farm septic tank system
      Stormwater management
    • Average water consumption per day:
    • Low
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Tanks
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 135000L
    • Energy Efficient Lighting
    • LED lights throughout
      Natural daylight
      Skylight
    • Window Protection:
    • Adjustable Shading
      Blinds
      Deciduous tree/vegetation
      Eaves
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Insulated slab Direct Air to Wood heater Furnished and oiled concrete floors No paint used inside the house Intumescent paint on pergola and external timber to resist fire attack Cross ventilation to rapidly cool inside Solar passive design Rainwater collection Use of free materials in House and garden, such as horse manure, mushroom compost, Sawdust, spent peat, Pine needles, local wood chip, Timber pallets, Salvage concrete pavers, bricks, and French doors, bush poles, galvanised iron sheets, bamboo poles, stone, coffee grounds.
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Appliances
      Bricks
      Doors
      Floorboards
      Metal sheeting
      Pallets
      Paving
      Railway sleepers
      Rocks/stone
      Timber
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Under-roof
      Ceiling
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Bulk – glass wool
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R7
    • Under Roof Insulation Type:
    • Insulated panels
    • Under Roof Insulation Rating:
    • R7
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • All-Electric Home?
    • Yes
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect
    • Size of PV system:
    • 5.2
    • Average Daily Energy Consumption:
    • 2kw
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Total cost of home when constructed:
    • 315000
    • Estimate of annual savings:
    • $5000+
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 77m2
    • BAL Rating
    • BAL – 29: Increasing levels of ember attack and ignition of debris with a heat flux of up to 29kW/m2
    • Roof
    • Metal (Colorbond)
    • Wall Materials
    • Hempcrete
    • Window and Door Types
    • Casement
      Double glazing
      Low-e, films
      Skylights
      Sliding windows/doors
    • Universal Design Features
    • Hobless showers
      Lever handles for doors (no knobs)
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 1
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
    • Healthy Home Materials
    • Airtight house design
      Carpet free - tiles/concrete/timber flooring throughout
      Chemical free cleaning products used
      Cross flow ventilation
      Formaldehyde free cabinets
      Indoor plants for air filtration
      Lime render/wash
      Natural light and ventilation
      VOC free paints/sealer/varnish
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Aquaponics
      Bee keeping
      Bee hotels/friendly
      Bird-nesting boxes
      Chickens
      Composting
      Edible garden
      Greenhouse
      Local indigenous plants
      Orchard
      Organic
      Permaculture
      Native plants
      Natural swimming pool
      Water wise plants
    • Waste Reduction Practices:
    • Compost all food scraps
      Make jams/conserves
      Pickle and preserve food
      Recycle
      Repair
      Recycle coffee grounds from nearby cafe's
      Tool exchange/library
      Swap with friends and neighbours
      Waste free/reduced construction site
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Airtight house design
      Carpet free - tiles/concrete/timber flooring throughout
      Chemical free cleaning products used
      Cross flow ventilation
      Formaldehyde free cabinets
      Indoor plants for air filtration
      Lime render/wash
      Natural light and ventilation
      VOC free paints/sealer/varnish
Location
Lyonville VIC 3461
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Disaster Resilient Design
    • Bushfire Resilience
    • Builder
    • Owner builder
    • Designer
    • James Goodlet, Altereco

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