Solace
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Solace
This is a low-cost, fully sustainable home built in 2002. It has a small footprint on a 930m2 sloping block that posed considerable challenges for the architect. It now produces significantly more energy than it uses, has composting toilets and automatically distributes its greywater daily to a fully native garden.
It has fulfilled its intention to be a good family home that was sustainably up-to-date in 2002, and since then has been opened numerous times to the public because it displays many features that are economically affordable for people to consider retrofitting to their own homes. It has been retrofitted with some double glazing, solar panels (five upgrades over a 15-year period), solar evacuated tubes for hot water, and energy-monitoring equipment.
With the addition (August 2017–18) of an Australian 10kWh storage battery (Redflow) for our 7kW PV, combined with a Selectronic battery inverter – and also coupled with other Australian-designed devices such as CatchPower and a SwitchDin droplet for system control, this home potentially still models a vision for the future.
It incorporates a good number of fruit trees in one section of the block, which includes a chook shed and vegetable garden.
Designed by Ric Butt and built by Strine Design.
Sustainability Features
- Energy efficiency:
- Draught proofing
Efficient lighting
Efficient appliances
Energy monitoring
Smart home features
- Passive heating cooling:
- Cross-ventilation
Shading
- Active heating cooling:
- Heat pump
- Water heating:
- Solar hot water (evacuated tube)
- Water heating:
- CatchPower for boosting drawn from excess PV production
- Water harvesting and saving features:
- Above-ground rainwater storage
Greywater system
Low-flow shower heads
Drip irrigation
- Above ground rainwater storage Size
- 13,000L + 2000L for water feature
- Water harvesting and saving
- Clivus Multrum toilets (CM 10)
- Energy Efficient Lighting
- LED lights throughout
- Window Protection:
- Adjustable shading
Blinds
Honeycomb blinds
- Recycled and reused materials:
- Aggregate
Basins/sinks
Concrete
Paving
Rocks/stone
- Insulation Type:
- Ceiling
External walls
Floor
- Ceiling Type:
- Bulk – polyester
- Ceiling Rating:
- R5.0
- Floor Type:
- R4.0
- Floor Rating:
- R4.0
- Internal / External Walls Type:
- Tilt concrete sandwich – 100 inside/50mm foam/200 outside
- Internal / External Walls Rating:
- R5.0
- External Walls Rating:
- R5.0
- External Walls Type:
- Bulk – polystyrene board
- All-Electric Home?
- Yes
- Renewable energy used:
- Energy storage/battery
Solar PV off-grid
- Size of PV system:
- 7kW
- Total cost of home when constructed:
- $300,000
- Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
- $30,000 for battery setup
- Estimate of annual savings:
- $4000
- House Size
- 150m2
- BAL Rating
- BAL – Low: There is insufficient risk to warrant specific construction requirements
- Roof
- Metal (colorbond)
- Wall Materials
- Insulated panels or blocks
- Window and Door Types
- Clerestory windows
Double glazing
Sliding windows/doors
- Universal design accessability
- Adaptive design
- Number of bedrooms
- 3
- Number of bathrooms
- 2
- Garden / Outdoors
- Chickens
Composting
Drip irrigation
Edible garden
Organic
Native plants
Water-wise plants
- Healthy home features
- Cross-flow ventilation
Indoor plants for air filtration
- Healthy Home
- Low VOC paint on kitchen cupboards
- Housing Type:
- Standalone House
- Project Type:
- Continual Improvement
- Open with support of
- ATA Canberra Branch
- Builder
- Strine Design
- Designer
- Ric Butt
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