Oak Tree House 2018

Oak Tree House

We have lived in our home for almost 30 years, and in that time have renovated with a focus on sustainability and a healthy indoor living environment. In 1997, the house, built in 1964, was extended with a passive solar open-plan living/dining room, angled on the original house to face due north. The extension also included a new kitchen (still going strong) with plantation hoop pine plywood and solid hoop pine cabinetry, and a recycled timber benchtop, all finished at the time with natural Bio finishes. A year later, a Forbo Marmoleum floor (biodegradable linoleum made from natural ingredients) was laid in the children’s bedrooms, hallway and entry; 20 years later, it’s showing no signs of wear and tear. A 9000L rainwater tank was added to the garden and is used for irrigation.

In 2014, we had our back garden landscaped, which included the removal of all lawn, a Modwood deck, a mix of native and exotic plantings, a herb garden, some fruit trees and other permanent edible plantings, a swale directing water into the garden from a disconnected downpipe with rain chain, and drip irrigation. The garden also has a small vegetable patch, which is productive throughout the year.

In 2016, by which time we were (just about) empty-nesters, we decided to go all-electric for environmental and financial reasons, and had the gas to the house disconnected. The gas ducted heating, instantaneous gas hot water and gas cooktop were replaced with far-infrared (FIR) ceiling-mounted heating panels in the living areas, a Sanden ECO heat pump and an induction cooktop. Magnetite retrofit double glazing was installed on all windows. A 5.04kW solar PV system was installed and, a year later, in 2017, we added a 10kWh battery, with Reposit Box. Energy use is closely monitored.

We had negative electricity bills for the period October-March. The credit we received in that period for exporting excess energy to the grid more than halved our April-June bill. Adding the Reposit battery and changing to a Time-of-Use electricity plan has halved our energy consumption for the April-June quarter compared to the same period last year before the battery was installed.

Read more about sustainable building in Canberra in this article written by Lucy Bladen for All Homes here