» Zero Carbon House

Zero Carbon House

A South Australian Government initiative, the Zero Carbon House is Australia’s first designed and built Zero Carbon Home by TS4 Living. Construction innovation, reduced wastage, carbon monitoring during construction and during the life of the home (estimated to be in excess of 75 years) were some of the objectives along with affordability and adaptability and of course, a cool home in the summer and warm in the winter without costing the earth to run. The approach of TS4’s design ultimately won both the People’s Award and the overall competition.

Careful choice of materials helped to keep the construction carbon footprint significantly below that of a typical home while improved insulation, careful placement of the double glazed windows and shading combine to create a highly thermally efficient home that benefits from an incredible amount of natural daylight. Green walls to the East and West have been used along with deciduous vines on the northern elevation for shading in the summer and solar access during the colder winter months.

Overall it has been calculated that the home will become carbon neutral by 2045. In other words, all of the carbon generated creating the materials, constructing the home and the transport and shipping during this phase and all of the operational energy required to heat and cool the home will be offset by the energy exported from the solar panel installation.

This house achieved a NatHERS rating of 7.5 stars using NatHERS accredited software (AccuRate). Find out how the star ratings work on the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) website.

Sustainability Features

ENERGY AND WATER EFFICIENT FEATURES

- Energy efficiency:
- Draught proofing
  Efficient lighting
  Efficient appliances
  Energy monitoring
  Smart home features
- Energy efficiency:
- Full home monitoring system. Electrical usage (individual appliances and lighting), power generation and water usage
- Passive heating cooling:
- Cross ventilation
  Passive solar designed home
  Shading
  Thermal mass
- Active heating cooling:
- Ceiling fans
- Active heating cooling:
- Indirect evaporative cooling system (Sealey International) and Ecosmart bioethanol fireplace (3kW output)
- Water heating:
- Hot water heat pump
  Water heated by PV system
- Water harvesting and saving features:
- Above ground rainwater storage
- Above ground rainwater storage Type:
- Poly water tank
- Above ground rainwater storage Size
- 5000L
- Storage connected to
- Garden
  Toilet
  Laundry
- Energy Efficient Lighting
- LED lights throughout
  Natural daylight
- Window Protection:
- Adjustable Shading
  Blinds
  Deciduous tree/vegetation
  Drapes/curtains

SUSTAINABLE & RECYCLED MATERIALS

- Recycled and reused materials:
- Recycled aggregate used for the foundation and the polished concrete floor. Recycled sleeper used for garden furniture and recycled glass used in the wall insulation.
- Sustainable materials:
- Timber framing used throughout the construction.
- Recycled and reused materials:
- Aggregate
  Concrete
  Insulation
  Rocks/stone
  Sleepers

INSULATION SPECIFICATIONS

- Insulation Type:
- Under-roof
  Ceiling
  Internal walls
  External walls
- Ceiling Type:
- Bulk – glass wool
- Ceiling Rating:
- R5.0 (Bulk insulation R5.0 + CSR Anticon under roof blanket R1.3)
- Under Roof Insulation Type:
- CSR Anticon insulation blanket
- Under Roof Insulation Rating:
- R1.3 (CSR Anticon under roof blanket R1.3 + Bulk insulation R5.0)
- Internal Walls Insulation Type:
- Bulk – glass wool
- Internal Walls Insulation Rating:
- R2.0
- External Walls Rating:
- R5.0 (Averaged summer and winter rating of proprietary wall system)
- External Walls Type:
- Proprietary multi layered high performance wall system combining both bulk and rigid insulation

RENEWABLE ENERGY SPECIFICATIONS

- All-Electric Home?
- Yes
- Energy star rating:
- 7.5 Star
- Renewable energy used:
- Solar PV grid connect
- Size of PV system:
- 3.32kW
- Average Daily Energy Consumption:
- 3.8kWhr

COSTS AND COST SAVINGS

- Total cost of home when constructed:
- $350,000
- Cost estimate of sustainable home/features:
- $35,000
- Estimate of annual savings:
- $3,500

HOUSE DESIGN SPECIFICATIONS

- House Size
- 173m2
- BAL Rating
- N/A
- Roof
- Metal (Colorbond)
- Wall Materials
- Lightweight construction (timber frame)
- Wall Materials
- Proprietary multi layered high performance wall system based on traditional timber framing construction
- Window and Door Types
- Awning
  Double glazing
  Low-e, films
  180 degree opening doors
- Window and Door Types
- Timber windows
- Universal design accessability
- Adaptive design
  Disability access
  Wheelchair access
- Universal Design Features
- 80cm minimum door opening width
  Contrasting colours and material for vision impaired
  Flush thresholds (no lip) to all external doors
  Hobless showers
  Lever handles for doors (no knobs)
  Minimum 110cm wide hallways
  No Corner cupboards
  Semi recessed basins
  Slip resistant flooring
- Number of bedrooms
- 3
- Number of bathrooms
- 2

GARDEN AND WASTE REDUCTION

- Garden / Outdoors
- Community vegetable garden
  Drip irrigation
  Green walls
  Native plants
  Water wise plants
- Waste Reduction Practices:
- Compost all food scraps
  Recycle

HEALTHY HOME FEATURES

- Healthy home features
- Airtight house design
  Asthma and allergy free certified carpet
  Cross flow ventilation
  Heat recovery ventilation (HRV)
  Low VOC paints/sealer/varnish
  Natural light and ventilation

Zero Carbon House 2019

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Zero Carbon House

Sustainability Features

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