06 February 2010

Building the eco friendly way - On the way to completion


Above is a near complete progress shot of the front of the house. Painting is complete and the external paving and retaining works are underway. Note the photovoltaic panels just poking above the higher roof.


The house has many sustainable features and the rear wall of the house is the 'engine room' for most of them. In the image above from left to right:
  • To the very left is the 23,000 litre rainwater storage tank. This tank provides all of the potable water needs for the house, ie; drinking, cooking and showering water.
  • The vertical white rectangular box is the gas heating unit for the underfloor hydronic heating system
  • Next is the white vertical 'tube' which is the first flush system for the rainwater tank. A first flush system diverts the first flush of each rainfall away from the rainwater storage tank preventing any dust, silt or contaminants from making it into the houses water supply
  • The next three matching 'boxes' are the greywater recycling system. This system takes greywater from showers, basins and the washing machine and cleans and recycles it for re-use within the house for flushing toilets and back to the washing machine. It is also used for watering gardens and lawns
  • The next two items are part of the solar hot water system. On the ground is the hot water storage tank and on the wall is the gas heating booster which is used when there is insufficient sun to provide the solar heating for the hot water.
  • And finally on the ground is the start of the installation of the pumping system for sending the rainwater through out the house.

The front entry of the house has been designed to act as a two storey breezeway, circulating air throughout the house. At the top of the image you can see the louvre windows that form the main functional component of the breezeway, providing very fine control over airflow and direction. By selecting the right louvres to open it is possible to facilitate direct cross ventilation, diverted cross ventilation to another part of the house, and on still draw by opening all of the louvres, stack effect can be utilised by allowing hot air to rise and draw through cooler air from below.



Carpets can be a significant issue when it comes to green building. Many carpets and underlays have high VOC emissions, are made from non-renewables and are non-renewable at the end of their life, so it is important to select with care. The carpet we will be using is a low VOC 100% wool carpet which is laid on a underlay that is made from recycled clothing, shredded to from a soft underlay.
Towards the back of the image, the recycled timber architraves and skirting boards can be seen.

12 comments:

Jane said...

The house is looking great! Can you tell me which grey water recycling system you are using as well as the carpet (as I'd like to use low VOC wool too) and the cladding material - is it timber?
Many thanks, Jane.

sewa mobil said...

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God Bless you.

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阿彌陀佛 無相佈施


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近代則訛稱含有動物性成分的餐飲食物為「葷菜」,事實上這在古代是稱
之為腥。所謂「葷腥」即這兩類的合稱。 葷菜
維基百科,自由的百科全書
(重定向自五辛) 佛家五葷

在佛家另稱為五辛,五種辛味之菜。根據《楞嚴經》記載,佛家五葷為大
蒜、小蒜、興渠、慈蔥、茖蔥;五葷生啖增恚,使人易怒;熟食發淫,令
人多慾。[1]

《本草備要》註解云:「慈蔥,冬蔥也;茖蔥,山蔥也;興渠,西域菜,云
即中國之荽。」

興渠另說為洋蔥。) 肉 蛋 奶?!











念楞嚴經 *∞窮盡相關 消去無關 證據 時效 念阿彌陀佛往生西方極樂世界











我想製造自己的行為反作用力
不婚 不生子女 生生世世不當老師








log 二0.3010 三0.47710.48 五0.6990 七0.8451 .85
root 二1.414 1.41 三1.732 1.73五 2.236 2.24七 2.646
=>十3.16 π∈Q' 一點八1.34

Unknown said...

I love to own a house like this.
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Richard Boles said...

I'm trying to make my home greener. Maybe next year, we'll renovate my house's roofs. Honestly, I'm so undecided which type of roofs will fit to my house. Eco-friendly roofs can be a good choice, but since it has many varieties, I'll ask the opinion of my contractor in choosing the right roofing. In Miami FL, you can find a lot of roofing materials and if you're confused in choosing roofing materials, it is better to ask the guide of your trusted contractor.

Unknown said...

Thanks to author for this post it’s very easy to understand about the storage tank (pressure). Storage tanks are used to store hot and cold water, fuel and oil storage etc. Storage Tank- Manufacturer, Supplier and Exporter of Storage tanks in Delhi, Provides various types of storage tanks like pressure vessel, hot water storage tanks, propane storage tanks, plastic water storage tanks, fuel storage tanks and cold water storage tanks.

Katie said...

Looks like a lot more people are jumping into the eco way of living. What a better way to start than your own house.

The house looks great by the way!

You can add extra eco factor by opting for replacement windows. Lately, people are becoming more into these because they've noticed how energy efficient they are.

Well, anyway, that's just my 10 cents.

More power to you!

Katie Nicoll
Replacement Windows Los Angeles

Tankstar Rainwater Storage Solutions said...

One of the thing that we must consider in building eco-house is the installation of rainwater tank system.

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