SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY 2009

We had a fantastic day last Sunday! Sarah and Haruko came and helped us out... and we were VERY glad that they could come because we had about 100 people come!!! This was my official tour guide... I think I pretty much covered every point on the tour. Very exhausting but also very rewarding!

Warnervale – SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY 2009
Sunday 13th September 10am~4pm MASTER COPY
Welcome to our sustainable home! This leaflet is provided to help you as we take you on a tour and guide you through the various features of our house and our lifestyle.

FRONTYARD
1) SOLAR POWER SYSTEM - 3kW (50 panels) Kaneko solar panels with 24x 48V battery bank controlled by Sunny Boy Inverter. Backed up by a generator. Generator usage (as a percentage of power production) for the whole time that we have been set up is less than 1%. Wind turbine is quite complimentary - often more wind when there is less sun. Also, a wind turbine can work 24 hours a day if conditions suit and will hopefully further reduce the use of the generator. I wanted a diesel generator but ended up with a petrol one due to a mistake by the suppliers – I didn't get it changed because I thought it was very wasteful... I may live to regret it.
2) Stables/Machinery shed - Used old shed panels and tin for partitions and rooms. The old shed was here in stacks when we came and it was going to be put up by the previous owners but due to the duration of exposure to the elements, much of the shed was rotted. The hardwood and tin was salvaged for building chook/goose house and lab/tack rooms and other garden projects and for firewood. Used old laundry cupboards for laboratory. Aircell insulation for the whole roof and Pink Batt 2.5R insulation in the lab walls. Built stables, yards, crush and mare phantom. Used some new steel but also some scrap metal and recycled (old) conveyor belt rubber. Attached to a 55000L water tank which makes this property just about drought proof.
3) Carport - The land contour and the prior council approval dictated the position of the shed and carport. Therefore, in order to be able to hold up the 50 solar panels, we made the carport strong and high enough not to get shade form the shed. The pitch of the roof is at 30 degrees. Summer sun is at 0 degrees and the lowest winter sun is 60degrees so this 30 degrees is a compromise. Mezzanine floor for the batteries and inverters (out of flood level). Closed off below the mezzanine with sections and roller doors from an old shed. In the 'garage' I keep the left over building material and the firewood.
4) Toyota Prius – we bought ours second hand almost 3 years ago and love it to bits.
5) Growing Your Own - Winter Veggie patch – north side (looking to source an old water tank to make round raised beds in the future). Strawberry wheel barrow; blue berries; lilly pillies (edible berries).
6) Sprinkler system – monsoon sprinklers surround the buildings and is connected to a 22000L tank which collects from the carport. A petrol water pump is used for the sprinklers but we mainly use this irrigation system for the gravity fed taps in the garden.
7) Queenslander style verandah - Wrap around verandah great for keeping hot summer sun out of the house. Open plan design of house also good for ventilation and keeping the house cool in summer. Quite comfortable all summer without ever needing an air conditioner. Large area for water collection into 2 x 22ooo L capacity tanks. All the gutters (even the chook house!) has steel mesh gutter guards. Exterior Hardiplank cladding and aluminium windows was already on the house when we purchased.
8) Catmax enclosure - Cats stay inside 100% of the time to protect wildlife (and themselves!).
9) Clothes line on verandah. Great ventilation and fast drying... all undercover. Dryer never used. In winter, when the dryer may have been required, we often had the wood heater on and we dried clothes around it.

INSIDE
10) Front door – self raising weather strips on external doors to reduce draft. . Crim-safe security screens on the house for security but also required for fire-rating.
11) Relocated OLD house - Most importantly, the actual house is recycled - a 50+ year old hardwood frame house was relocated onto the site. Any walls and timber removed when the house was redesigned has been reused (lots of nails removed) and whole wall sections were moved using pine logs... rolling them along then using block and tackle to raise them... just like the Egyptians!
12) Solar aspect and house design. House faces north. The main living/open area is on the north side. Originally there was a bedroom on this northern wall which made the whole area very dark and enclosed. Made the location of laundry, kitchen and ensuite to be all in the one section of the house, on the southern side.
13) Compressed Bamboo floor boards - it was a toss up between choosing this very sustainable product which was 'shipped' a long way or a more locally sourced recycled timber floor boards. We went the bamboo because of looks, durability (harder than most hardwoods), ease of installation (the base floor is very 'wonky' so it suited the short bamboo sections) and it came pre-finished so in the end Bamboo worked out cheaper for us. See sample boards.14) Timber posts - from site clearing and finished with plant-based Organoil.
15) Camphor laurel slabs - used for bench tops and bench seat/shoe.
Camphor laurel is an introduced tree species and grows as a weed in many parts of Australia – the slabs were obtained locally. The timber is finished with Organoil, a timber oil made of plant oils and liquid beeswax (no petrochemicals). Organoil is made in Byron Bay and is available at Bunnings. Local wood slabs for bench tops.
16) Second hand Furniture - mostly all second hand or home-made furniture. The Central Coast Tender Centre (Berkeley Vale), Recycling yards, ebay and some antique shops in Newcastle are great sources. 17) HEMP Curtains - full length to floor so that it doesn't set up a convection current. Need to cover the top of the curtain rail in the future. Hemp is very sustainable. In production it has low water requirements and no pesticides (unlike regular cotton). Durable and heavy fabric with good insulating properties. Full floor length curtains are the most insulating window treatment (ideally with pelmets). Hemp was purchased from the Hemp Gallery, Sydney (http://www.hempgallery.com/.au) and the curtains made by a local seamstress. The Hemp Gallery is an excellent on-line source of a large range of hemp products and fabrics, including bedlinen.18) Floor rugs - We have chosen floor coverings (rugs) made of natural, sustainable fibres (seagrass – nursery; jute – living room; sisal – main bedroom and study). N.B. Although wool and cotton are natural fibres they are not sustainable in their regular forms due to farming methods used to produce them; organic cotton and organic wool are sustainable, however, as they are produced using sustainable farming practices and without harsh chemicals.
19) Polished floor boards - old floor sanded and polished in the nursery and guest rooms as these floors were not excessively damaged like the other areas of the house.
20) Bathroom – as it was usable we have not renovated it. As the tapware was destroyed by vandals, I just patched up the walls and installed new water saving tapware and changed the 'accessories' of the bathroom. Take a look at our 'little squirt' a fantastic DIY installed device for washing off the babies poo down the toilet. The cats' poo also goes down the toilet and they access the outside cat enclosure through here. 21) Paint - Dulux Envir02 was used on the walls and ceilings – this is a low volatile organic compound (VOC) paint which is 100% greenhouse gas abated through the AGO Greenhouse Friendly Programme. Dulux Aquanamel was used on the architraves and skirting boards. Aquanamel is a water-based enamel (most enamels are oil-based). Biopaint, a plant-based paint, was used in the main bathroom. This is a lovely paint to use and is very environmentally-friendly.22) Wall and Roof insulation - 'eco' pink batts 2.5R. 'Draft-stoppa' vent covers on bathroom and ensuite fans. As this was an old relocated house, there were lots of cracks and gaps filled up with No More Gaps and expanding foam to minimise draft.
23) Powerscape wall boards - 95% recycled gypsum. It is a US-made product but I decided to buy these as they were the end of line stock and the distributors were not replacing this particular model (Ultramesh) by shipping in more. Ultramesh is the commercial grade product so is far more durable than normal gyprock and is more sound proof than actual 'sound-proof' gyprock, is fire-retardant because there is no paper covering, has much greater thermal mass and you can hang objects up to 40kg per hook screwed directly into the wall! Great product!
24) LIGHTS - The downlights are a combination of CFLs and LEDs. GU10 downlights run on 240V, so they don’t need a transformer, unlike normal downlight systems which run on 12V and need a transformer (which usually adds about 10-15W to the power usage). The CFLs use more power (9 – 11W each) than the LEDs (3W each) but they produce a brighter, more dispersed light. They also take a few minutes to ‘warm up’ (achieve maximum brightness), whereas the LEDs are immediately bright once switched on. We have used the CFLs in most areas; the LEDs have been used where a more focal light is desirable and where we want the light quickly. Regular (not a down light) CFLs have been used in the bathrooms, laundry and bedrooms – these are the most energy-efficient, using between 8 – 11 W per room (depending on brightness).
25) Kitchen - revamped but kept all the old cupboards and just fixed up new doors and installed a caesar stone bench top - obviously ceasar stone is not renewable like wood, but it will last just about forever and won't require any treatments (sanding, oils, varnishes etc). 26) Kitchen Appliances - Gas stove top all year round. The 'Early Kooka' 1930s (from Springwood but originally Balmain) Gas oven and stove top for winter-time oven and grill cooking inside if the batteries are low. In summer we will use the electric oven but if it's too hot we will the have Early Kooka outside on the veranda so that it doesn't heat up the house... or we could use the wood fire oven.27) Fridge - Most energy saving model we could find but added a vent (with insect mesh) going through to the sub-floor at the back. Could have used a closeable vent (for winter) but I did not want to be moving the fridge in and out and scratching up the floor. Ask me about a Deep-freezer option. 28) Solatube Skylight - Highly effective (kitchen was very dark before) and uses a reflective tube to maximise light. It is well insulated –and there is no transfer of heat, unlike many conventional skylights.
29) Enjo Microfibre Cloths - We use Enjo microfibre cloths for all our cleaning. These eliminate the need for cleaning products (only water is needed), which is great news for our Biolytix waste water treatment system and also reduces the impact from chemical cleaners, manufacture and transport of cleaning products and packaging. The Enjo microfibre cloths are high quality, durable (they last several years) and work amazingly well. At the end of their life, they can be returned to Enjo for recycling. Although there are many natural cleaners available (home-made or commercially prepared), I have found Enjo cloths to perform much better than these and cleaning is much easier. Since cloths of some description are required regardless of the cleaning method used, I would much prefer to use Enjo cloths, than have to regularly purchase some form of cleaning product (even if just good old fashioned bicarb and vinegar) which comes in packaging and must be manufactured and transported. The only downside with Enjo is that the products are currently manufactured in Austria, however the company plans to start manufacturing in Australia soon.
30) Hemp Roman Blind – back window and also in the nursery.31) Laundry - Slab and recycled wood bench made of local silky oak timber slab (finished with plant-based Organoil).Bench top supported by an old fence post from the property. Miele front loading washing machine - is very water-wise. There is no need to set load size - the washing machine determines how much water to use for each load. The hot water tank was put in here even though there is limited space as this would add to the tank's longevity (and proximity to areas of use – see below).
32) Apricus Solar hot water system with Rheem Instant Gas as Booster– we can't use electric backup... a mistake by our original plumbers, we have instant gas as backup which we can turn on if the winter sun doesn't heat up the water enough. An evacuated tube solar hot water system – this type of system is much more efficient (around 40% more heat output) than the traditional flat plate system. The gas booster can be switched on or off when needed. We only require the booster in the winter months. The solar collector is on the northern side of the house roof; the tank is located indoors in close proximity to its main areas of use (ensuite, kitchen and laundry) to reduce heat loss during transit. The laundry has been getting quite a work out with the baby.
33) Reusable Nappies - We use only cloth nappies (and wipes) for our baby, and have used a range of fitted cloth nappies since she was born. These include organic cotton fitted nappies (Nature’s Child), Bamboo/Organic cotton nappies (Baby Beehinds fitted nappy; Itti Bitti D’Lish) and the Eenee Designs Pouch Pants nappy. We also have some traditional organic cotton terry cloth squares (Nature’s Child) as a back-up.
Little Squirt – a high pressure hose fitted to the toilet cistern (located in main bathroom) for hosing soiled nappies directly into toilet; a cloth-nappy user’s best friend!
See our article on the Shmeco webpage for more cloth nappy information.
34) Slow Combustion Wood fired heater. We obtain all our timber from our property, thereby maximising the energy-efficiency. Local (on-site) wood from deadwood and bush fire hazard reduction is a very renewable and sustainable product. It is important to use a good quality heater with low emissions! Slow combustion heaters are a very efficient means of heating. Ours is a radiant type of slow-combustion heater with a large cook top. When the fire is going, we use the stove top to boil water and also for some cooking. Ceiling fans are used to circulate the warm air, much like a convection type of slow-combustion heater with an electric fan. Convection heaters, however, do not have a cooking surface.
35) TV and TV Accessories recess - a design feature but also done to avoid having to purchase TV furniture.
36) Avoid 'standby mode' power usage by careful power point placements and numbers. You can buy power boards with similar features... they have a 'mother' appliance plug and some 'slave' appliance plugs. When the 'mother' appliance is turned off, all the power to the other appliances are turned off as well.
37) Ensuite - Water saving tapware. Homemade vanity and shelf. The basin stand is made out of an old blackwood table; the rectangular piece of timber which was removed to fit the basin was used to make the bathroom shelf. Caroma Profile Toilet Suite - toilet incorporating a basin on top of the cistern. When the toilet is flushed, water comes out of the tap into the basin for washing hands, then this water fills the cistern to later flush the toilet.

BACKYARD
38) Pond, garden bathtub - many edible plants here as well. Yam, Taro, Ginger, Yacon, Water chestnut, Arrowroot
39) Goats – future dairy products, weeding, manure, 'whipper snipper' replacement, companion (pets)
40) Water tanks - We are not connected to town water and have a total water tank capacity of approximately 120 000L. There are two 22 000L tanks collecting water from the house roof, one 22 000L tank collecting from the carport roof and one 55 000L tank collecting from the shed roof. The chook house also has its own water tank (an old, second-hand one) – this supplies water for the chooks and geese and is a very convenient set-up.
41) Gardens, Veggie beds, Herb garden, Compost bays, Espaliered stone fruits, Green manure crops and Orchard using Permaculture Principles. 41) Chooks – eggs; orchard fertilising; veggie bed maintenance in 'chook tractor'. And alarm clock! 42) Geese - eggs, meat, orchard fertilising and lawn mowing. 43) Bird nesting boxes. 44) Outdoor kitchen - wood fire oven under construction.45) Plumbing - Grey water and Black water all separated during construction. Have a simple home-made system to use to irrigate garden beds around the verandah, but ideally saving up to install a commercial 'approved' grey water system such as Nubian or Perpetual Water. $$$. This is at the moment not priority as ALL our waste water is reused already anyway (see below).46) Biolytix Septic system. Last but most certainly not least: An award winning system, this waste water treatment system is excellent. Will not 'overload' like other septic systems. Does not smell!!! Even with the lid off for servicing, you can stick your head in and its not bad! It incorporates a WORM farm. The worms love small scraps from the kitchen sink and of course the number two's. The cats' faeces go down the toilet too because you can, but shouldn't put dog/cat manure in the compost. The reclaimed water is pumped periodically via the underground irrigation lines all throughout the orchard (700 square metre area). The fruit trees love it and it is completely safe for us. The energy usage for this system is also very low compared to Envirocycle and other aeration type septic systems.

Some Sustainable Lifestyle Tips

Reduce, re-use, recycle. See Planet Ark’s website for information about what is recycled in your area (Recycling Near You). Curb-side recycling; corks – Body Shop; old eyeglasses – take to OPSM for distribution to third world countries; used printer cartridges - Planet Ark collection box at Post Office; Mobile Phones and accessories – Telstra shop (Mobile Phone Muster); e-waste – council services (Wyong council had recent drop-off service); e-cycling online.
Grow your own eg, fruit and vegies, eggs, honey, milk, meat and buy local organic produce (check out Food Integrity Group (FIG).
Obtain second-hand items wherever possible (clothing – including baby clothes; furniture; toys; vehicle; books, etc).
If new products purchased, ensure they’re made from sustainable materials where possible (eg, bamboo, hemp, organic cotton/wool, recycled materials).
Minimise car use (walk, bike, public transport); use fuel-efficient vehicle.
Live close to work – if you can!!! We would have loved to go further 'bush' but this area is very close to our work as well as being close to town, thereby limiting fuel usage.
Minimise waste going to landfill – compost; avoid buying items with packaging (and if packaging present ensure it’s recyclable in your area); re-use – many items can be given a new life as something different (eg, used for potting plants, art and craft, etc; fabric from old clothing can be salvaged and made into something new – eg, baby clothes, toys, patchwork, cushion covers); and recycle.
Minimise paper usage – use both sides of paper; keep paper that’s printed on one side only and re-use (eg, in printer, fax machine, for scrap paper); use paperless methods where possible (email, phone, online banking, etc).
Convert to Green Power – you don’t need your own solar panels to still ensure that the portion of energy you’re using is made using sustainable methods by switching to an accredited Green Power.
Harvest rainwater and be water-wise.
Say ‘no’ to plastic bags – use re-usable bags or old cardboard boxes to carry your goods and make sure you take them with you whenever you enter a place of trade! Also, if you happen to be without your reusable carry bag, hands and handbags can be used for carrying things too!
Use environmentally-friendly beauty and body-care products – organic, biodegradable, minimal packaging, home-made, locally-made, etc.
Read – there are currently lots of different 'sustainability-focused' magazines to suite different tastes where you can pick up lots of great tips.