The Secret Garden Bushmead 2019

The Secret Garden Bushmead

Our clients bought there north facing plot of land intended to build their home with the main living area as northern as possible. This was achieved by angling the living area to the north with their passive home designer and to achieve beneficial cross ventilation through the house, a central hallway with openable windows on both ends was created. As windows play a crucial role in passive design, the choice was made to use thermally broken aluminium windows with double glazing. The north facing windows were chosen with a high solar gain to bring in the winter sun, while the east and west facing windows have a lower solar heat gain to minimize summer morning and afternoon heating. All the glazing is double glazed, with a low-e coating and argon gas inside. Beneficial shading was achieved by planting a deciduous plum tree on the west elevation which is the natural way to stop afternoon sun when you don’t want it in the summer. As well, they have incorporated a Wisteria growing on trellis located at the eastern elevation of the home. For the north a 1.8m roof overhang was built to keep the summer sun away from the windows. A removable shade sail has been placed over the “secret garden” which gives the master bedroom winter morning sun, while giving summer mornings shade. The secret garden has tropical plants which also benefit from the summer shading. Large ceiling fans were placed throughout to circulate air around as much as possible.

This home sits comfortably at 8.8* following the Nathers Accreditation. The intent was to not use non-renewable energy sources, as such there is no gas connection and all cooking and water heating is electrical. All lights are energy efficient LED lights. Efficient ceiling fans are used throughout eliminating the need for Air-conditioning. For water heating, a heat pump inverter hot water system is used, which is the most efficient way of heating water. There is a dedicated area on the roof which is reserved for solar panels and will be installed imminently. There is a store room next to the carport where the conduits terminate and where the inverter is to be installed, as well as a location for future battery back-up. The location for this room was chosen next to the carport for ease of installing any charging equipment for future electric cars.
Light colouring has been used throughout to minimize heat gain in the summer and the roof sheets are “surfmist” (white) for the same reasons.

The home is ‘extremely comfortable to live in’, is stated by the new owners. There is little to no need for thick jumpers and slippers in the early hours of the morning or into the evening. The large ceiling to floor windows make for feeling open, airy and full of light even on a dark day. The added secret garden in the master ensuite is a unique and welcoming addition to wake up to for the clients. The other bedrooms in the home have been designed away from the sun so the occupants can stay comfortable well into the late morning if desired. The central kitchen, dining and living area sits next to the large stacker doors and decked patio, making for ease to entertain and transition from one space to the other or keep an eye on little ones playing in the garden. Every element and aspect of the home has been carefully considered to enhance the home owners experience and guarantee they will enjoy their home for many years to come.

As part of the cross ventilation and the Perth “desert like” climate an automated window system was designed. There are 5 temperature sensors and 1 anemometer (wind speed sensor) installed in the house to keep track of the environmental factors which would influence the ventilation.

The automation system is unique to any home in Perth. This system allows the windows on the east and west side of the home to open up automatically based on the setting and temperature. On the “summer” setting the windows will open when the average temperature internally is higher than the average temperature externally. In the Perth summer, this usually happens in the early hours of the morning when the occupier is sleeping. On the “winter” setting, the windows will operate the opposite way, ie opening when the temperature inside is lower than the temperature outside. In the Perth winter, this would happen in the early afternoon. The anemometer is used to override the system should it be too windy. This system needed to be designed into the layout of the house, as the windows need to be under cover to ensure during wetter weather, the home does not flood as well as security.

Designed by ec2 designs and built by MK Building Solutions.

All donations on the day will support Renew

This house achieved a NatHERS rating of 8.8 stars using NatHERS accredited software (FirstRate5). Find out how the star ratings work on the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) website.