Megs Passive House 2023

Megs Passive House

When we started thinking about building, we knew it would be a custom design tailored to our needs. The block we chose is 380m2 and although it is not ideally positioned for solar passive design, it is close to town, near parks, in our budget and big enough for our needs. It will allow us to live sustainably, replacing grass with gardens with enough room for a vegetable patch, compost, worm farm, rainwater tank and shed.

After an analysis of what we actually needed, we realised that our house design should be a single storey home, no step entry, two bedrooms, (one master and a one multipurpose room), main bathroom and powder room. The vast majority of our time is spent in the kitchen, living rooms and outdoors so we invested most of our floor space to those areas.

We have always been interested in Passive House design although we did not think it was within our budget. After talking to a local Passive House builder we realised that it would be possible and committed ourselves to the build as it met our requirements for efficiency, comfort and a healthy indoor environment. The house can be opened up to take advantage of mild pleasant days, or can be closed up and provide relief from unfavourable conditions such as temperature, air quality or noise.

Our brief included:
All electric home with low energy consumption – good for us and the environment,
Comfortable living conditions – constant temperature, spacious light filled living areas, filtered air
Renewable energy generation – 13 Kw Solar system, pre-wired for battery storage and electric car charger
Designed with ageing in place in mind, to adapt to our future needs
Several courtyards to allow us to enjoy the outdoors at all times of the day/year

To tour this property please click on the link to Humanitix Booking Site for Tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/shd-house-tour-megs-passive-house

Sustainability Features

Years Open
2023
ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES
    • Energy efficiency:
    • Draught proofing
      Efficient lighting
      Efficient appliances
      Energy monitoring
      Smart home features
    • Passive heating cooling:
    • Cross ventilation
      Heat recovery ventilation system
      Passive solar designed home
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
      Heat exchange ventilation system
      Heat pump
    • Water heating:
    • Hot water heat pump
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Rainwater storage - Above ground
      Low flow shower heads
      Low flow taps
    • Average water consumption per day:
    • 0.16 kL
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • Colorbond tank
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 5000L
    • Energy Efficient Lighting
    • LED lights throughout
      Natural daylight
    • Window Protection:
    • Adjustable Shading
      Automation/controls
      Blinds
      Eaves
      Honeycomb blinds
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • Pro Clima permeable membrane - Solitex Extasana (walls) and Solitex Mento Plus (roof).
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Under-roof
      Internal walls
      External walls
      Floor
    • Floor Type:
    • Bulk - polystyrene board
    • Floor Rating:
    • R1 - Insulation board
    • Under Roof Insulation Rating:
    • Bulk - Glass Wool Bat R4
    • Internal Walls Insulation Type:
    • Bulk – glass wool
    • Internal Walls Insulation Rating:
    • R2.5
    • External Walls Rating:
    • R4
    • External Walls Type:
    • Bulk – glass wool
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • All-Electric Home?
    • Yes
    • Energy star rating:
    • 8.1
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Solar PV grid connect

    • Size of PV system:
    • 13.3 kW
    • Renewable energy
    • BYD Modular 8.3 kw/h battery storage
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Total cost of home when constructed:
    • $510000 in 2023
    • Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
    • $60000
    • Estimate of annual savings:
    • $2500
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 171 m2
    • BAL Rating
    • BAL – Low: There is insufficient risk to warrant specific construction requirements
    • Roof
    • Metal (Colorbond)
    • Wall Materials
    • Lightweight construction (timber frame)
      Metal (Colorbond)
    • Window and Door Types
    • Clerestory windows
      Double glazing
      Tilt and turn

    • Window and Door Types
    • Lift and slide sliding doors, Passive house certified windows & doors
    • Universal design accessability
    • Adaptive design
      Wheelchair accessible
    • Universal Design Features
    • 80cm minimum door opening width
      Hobless showers
      Lever handles for doors (no knobs)
      Minimum 110cm wide hallways
      No stairs/steps
      No Corner cupboards
      Shower head on rail for various heights
      Slip resistant flooring
      Space around toilets for ease of access in wheelchairs
      Strong fittings like towel rails that can be used as hand rails
      Tapware to be easily accessed from outside the shower
      Washing machine/dryer on plynth for easy access

    • Universal Design Features
    • Lighting - LED orientation lighting in kitchen and laundry, sensor lighting in bathroom and laundry Rounded corners on walls Extra height toilets, provision for bidet seat Low impact floor in case of falls
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 2
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 1
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Bee hotels/friendly
      Composting
      Edible garden
      Local indigenous plants
      Native plants
      Water wise plants
      Worm farm
    • Waste Reduction Practices:
    • Compost all food scraps
      Make jams/conserves
      Pickle and preserve food
      Recycle
HEALTHY HOME FEATURES
    • Healthy home features
    • Airtight house design
      Automated ventilation system
      Cabinet design to minimise dust collection
      Carpet free - tiles/concrete/timber flooring throughout
      Chemical free cleaning products used
      Cross flow ventilation
      Heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
      Indoor plants for air filtration
      Low VOC paints/sealer/varnish
      Natural light and ventilation
Location
Harlaxton QLD 4350
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Builder
    • Titanium Homes - Nathan Peters
    • Designer
    • VHD Studio

View the house tour

Ask questions about this house

Load More Comments
Name
Email
Comment
Leave Comment