SUSTAINABLE living doesn’t have to be a scary concept.
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This is the message Bundanoon Net Zero Cottage owner Glen Robinson has for Highlanders.
With Sustainable House Day on September 11, the Bundanoon house will be one of three Highlands homes open to the public.
The house is run entirely on solar energy, and all appliances are electric.
Mr Robinson and his wife Lee were part of Sustainable House Day two years ago.
“We’re doing it again this year because it seemed to be a very worthwhile thing to do,” he said.
“We noticed there was a lot of misconception about sustainable homes. People thought they were complicated and expensive, so we wanted to have a go at dispelling those myths.”
Mr Robinson said the house was not expensive to build, with the construction cost just under $1500 per square metre.
For those who visit his house, he said there were three main things he hoped they learn.
“It’s quite easy to build a house that’s more comfortable than your average house. Also to make it a house that is cheaper to live in and the bonus is that it doesn’t damage the environment as much as your normal house.”
Mr Robinson said for anyone looking at building a sustainable home should start by talking to a building designer.
He said there were also three main targets when designing a sustainable home:
- Net zero energy: a home should ideally be capable of making more energy than it uses and not require the burning of coal, gas or wood.
- Thermal stability: a home’s interior temperature should aim to be able to stay between 15 degrees and 25 degrees celcius 90 per cent of the time without heating or air conditioning.
- Economy: a home with a above mentioned performance can be built for under $2000 per square metre.
Visit http://sustainablehouseday.com/about-shd/ for more information.
To learn more about the Bundanoon Net Zero Cottage, visit bundanoonnetzerocottage.com
