Tarlo River Passive House 2023

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House Notes – Tarlo River Passive House

We started exploring sustainable building when we treechanged six years ago, moving to a 100-acre block with a shouse (shed house) two hours from Sydney.

We’d built previously using conventional methods and loved the idea of creating something suiting our needs and priorities. However, we wanted to do something different this time for two important reasons:

1. We want to slow down and work less in the future, so a building system where you spend a little more upfront to save in the long run was appealing.
2. We’re building in a stunning spot and wanted to create something lower impact.

Living here while exploring options, experiencing temperatures ranging from -10°C to 46°C, confirmed our decision to build a Passive House. Our temporary shouse had no insulation and inefficient heating and cooling, leading to massive power bills (particularly in winter), which established the need to get this right.

We feel our design, comprising three connected pavilions, is unique. Our architect, Sue Connor, created a floorplan that maximises the views from every room while ensuring we’ll soon achieve passive house certification.

Our building approach was also a little unconventional. We worked with Eclipse Passive House, which employs a prefabricated system tailored to Australian environments to build high-performance houses efficiently.

The house, which was completed in early 2022, meets and exceeds the BAL29 requirements of our site while delivering a visual style that works well with the landscape.

SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES

Years Open
2021
2023
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
      External planting
      Heat recovery ventilation system
      Passive solar designed home
      Shading
    • Active heating cooling:
    • Ceiling fans
      Heat exchange ventilation system
      Split system airconditioner
    • Water heating:
    • Hot water heat pump
    • Water harvesting and saving features:
    • Rainwater storage - Above ground
      Blackwater system
      Grey water system
      Stormwater management
      Hot water recirculation
      Drip irrigation
    • Average water consumption per day:
    • 150
    • Above ground rainwater storage Type:
    • 25,000 l water tanks (x 4)
    • Above ground rainwater storage Size
    • 100,000 L
    • Energy Efficient Lighting
    • LED lights throughout
      Natural daylight
    • Electric Vehicle Type
    • Nissan Fuga
    • Window Protection:
    • Blinds
      Eaves
      Honeycomb blinds
SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS
    • Sustainable materials:
    • RECYCLED HARDWOOD/ FSC TIMBER (no timber from rainforest or old growth forest), CELLULOSE INSULATION. Knauf plasterboard. LED lighting. Cork flooring, Recycled decking (Modwood).
    • Recycled and reused materials:
    • Aggregate
      Appliances
      Excavated earth
      Rocks/stone
      Timber
INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS
    • Insulation Type:
    • Ceiling
      Internal walls
      External walls
      Floor
    • Ceiling Type:
    • Bulk – cellulose fibre
    • Ceiling Rating:
    • R 7.0
    • Floor Type:
    • Bulk - cellulose fibre
    • Floor Rating:
    • R 7.0
    • Internal Walls Insulation Type:
    • Bulk – cellulose fibre
    • Internal Walls Insulation Rating:
    • R1.7
    • External Walls Rating:
    • R 5.5
    • External Walls Type:
    • Bulk – cellulose fibre
RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS
    • All-Electric Home?
    • Yes
    • Energy star rating:
    • 5.6
    • Renewable energy used:
    • Energy storage/battery
      Solar PV grid connect
    • Size of PV system:
    • 10kwh
    • Average Daily Energy Consumption:
    • 5 kWh
COSTS AND COST SAVINGS
    • Total cost of home when constructed:
    • 1.4 million
    • Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
    • $0
    • Estimate of annual savings:
    • $3000
HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS
    • House Size
    • 180M2
    • BAL Rating
    • BAL – 29: Increasing levels of ember attack and ignition of debris with a heat flux of up to 29kW/m2
    • Roof
    • Insulated panel (sandwich panels)
      Metal (Colorbond)
    • Wall Materials
    • Insulated panels or blocks
      Lightweight construction (timber frame)
      Metal (Colorbond)
      Timber
    • Window and Door Types
    • Pocket doors
      Tilt and turn
      Triple glazing
    • Universal design accessability
    • Multi-generational
    • Universal Design Features
    • 80cm minimum door opening width
      Hobless showers
      Lever handles for doors (no knobs)
      Minimum 110cm wide hallways
      No Corner cupboards
      Pocket doors so that cabinet doors are out of the way
      Slip resistant flooring
      Washing machine/dryer on plynth for easy access

    • Universal Design Features
    • KNX allows control of lights and HVAC systems via phone app in addition to physical switches
    • Number of bedrooms
    • 3
    • Number of bathrooms
    • 2
GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION
    • Garden / Outdoors
    • Bee hotels/friendly
      Bird-nesting boxes
      Drip irrigation
      Edible garden
      Frog friendly
      Local indigenous plants
      Orchard
      Native plants
      Swales
      Water wise plants
    • Waste Reduction Practices:
    • Book exchange/library
      Recycle
      Repair
      Tool exchange/library
      Swap with friends and neighbours
      Waste free/reduced construction site

    • Other Waste Reduction Practices:
    • No waste service; actively choose low waste and recyclable options when shopping
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
      Formaldehyde free cabinets
      Heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
      Indoor plants for air filtration
      Low VOC paints/sealer/varnish
      Natural fibre furnishings
      Natural light and ventilation
      Natural oil sealer/finishes
      VOC free paints/sealer/varnish
      Wax based sealer/finish

    • Healthy Home
    • AWTS treats waste water to irrigation standard.
Location
The Southern Tablelands NSW 2580
    • Housing Type:
    • Standalone House
    • Project Type:
    • New Build
    • Builder
    • ECLIPSE PASSIVE HOUSE - DARRYN PARKINSON
    • Designer
    • GAEA ARCHITECTS

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