Nearly two years in the past, my husband and I purchased our dream residence on the Gold Coast of Queensland, Australia: a Eighties brick home with three bedrooms, two baths, and a pair of,900-square-foot house. It has all of the hallmarks of the period it got here from — single-glazed home windows, gaps that leaked air, fuel home equipment, and no insulation within the ceiling or inside partitions — however we fell in love with it at first viewing.
The home had excessive ceilings, north-facing gentle pouring into the principle dwelling areas, and a sprawling yard with house for all our backyard plans. However dwelling in a sizzling, humid local weather, we knew the home wouldn’t address lengthy summers or rising power calls for with out modifications. Gold Coast summers routinely push into the mid-80s with humidity hovering above 80% for a lot of the yr. Even modest temperature will increase really feel oppressive. This previous spring to summer season was Australia’s second hottest on file, with temperatures properly above common, and extra days over 95°F than the years earlier than.
With that in thoughts, our precedence was to make our residence comfy and power environment friendly, whereas making ready it for a harsher local weather within the years forward. Right here’s how we did it.
We Added Insulation and Airtightness
Typical for older Australian houses, our home had zero insulation and warmth switch was a serious difficulty. Which means within the winter, rooms that had been heat through the day would plummet to single digits in a single day, and in the summertime, the brick partitions soaked up warmth and launched it lengthy after sundown, maintaining us a lot toastier than we’d like.
Total, round 25% to 35% of warmth is misplaced or gained by means of the roof, and one other 15% to 25% by means of the partitions, in accordance with Sustainability Victoria. We knew insulation was probably the most inexpensive and efficient technique to make the home extra comfy and drive down our power payments.
For insulation, we checked out just a few choices — pure wool was too costly. Pure wool with the recycled polyester batts was interesting, however we had been frightened concerning the acoustic efficiency as we each labored from residence, and cellulose fiber was messy to put in, which was not ideally suited in a partial renovation. However finally we selected R3.5 Ecowool, a glass-wool insulation that makes use of a pure binder to maintain risky natural compounds low — which means no off-gassing over time.
The primary winter after set up, we observed an instantaneous distinction in our residence. Queensland winters are gentle — usually 50°F to 68°F night time and day — however in a poorly designed home, the chilly is trapped, and it feels freezing inside. The home now holds at 64°F to 68°F in a single day with out working warmth, and within the mornings it takes minutes, not hours, to convey the home as much as a cushty 75°F.
Sealing gaps round doorways and home windows helped, slicing the draughts and leaks. Our earlier rental — a similar-size Eighties brick residence with no insulation — price us round $400 to $500 AUD 1 / 4 in energy payments. In our new residence, our payments have dropped to about $150 1 / 4, even with each of us working from residence. And we anticipate that to cut back to virtually nothing within the coming months.
We Changed Single-Pane Home windows and Invested in Easy Shading
The house got here with the unique single-pane glass on all of the home windows and doorways, one other weak level for warmth acquire and loss. Changing each window with double glazing wasn’t real looking for our funds, or appropriate for our local weather. Double glazing is great for trapping warmth in colder areas, nevertheless it affords much less profit in a subtropical setting the place air flow and shading are sometimes simply as efficient.
As a substitute, we upgraded the north-facing home windows and doorways — the kitchen, front room, and my residence workplace, all of that are belted by morning and noon solar. We selected low-emissivity glass that displays radiant warmth in summer season and helps retain heat in winter. Within the hottest months, it’s already 86°F exterior by 8 a.m., so these areas wanted probably the most safety. The bifold and sliding doorways got here in at round $4,000 every, and the home windows ranged between $1,500 and $2,500 AUD.
We prioritized spending the cash we had in these high-use dwelling areas and turned to extra inexpensive fixes elsewhere. On the south facet of our residence, the place direct solar is much less intense, we went for honeycomb blinds within the bedrooms and secondary areas. These create an insulating air pocket in opposition to the glass, slicing warmth acquire in summer season and retaining heat in winter. Along with the draught sealing and new door seals, these modifications stopped the worst of the leaks.
Credit score: Kseniya Ovchinnikova / Getty Pictures
We Invested in Electrification and Vitality Independence
From the outset, Dave and I knew we needed to shift the home off fuel and go all electrical. Gasoline heating and cooking remains to be utilized in tens of millions of Australian houses, nevertheless it’s more and more costly and a serious supply of family emissions. However that doesn’t imply electrical energy is affordable. The typical household in Australia spends no less than $500 (33 cents per kWh). Vitality costs hold rising (family electrical energy prices have risen by about 20% up to now yr), so actually the long-term objective is to convey our payments as near zero as attainable.
The fuel cooktop, water heater, and getting older dryer had been changed with environment friendly electrical options — an induction cooktop, an electrical sizzling water heater, and a warmth pump dryer. We additionally upgraded the fridge and dishwasher to extra energy-efficient fashions and took benefit of any rebates. Home equipment are one of many largest drivers of family power use — roughly 30% (or extra) of the overall. A warmth pump sizzling water system makes use of 60% to 70% much less power than an ordinary tank, saving $300 to $700 a yr. Warmth pump dryers minimize electrical energy use in half, whereas older fridges can use as much as 3 times extra energy than fashionable models.
With the home absolutely electrified, just a few months after transferring in, we put in a 6.6kW photo voltaic system on the roof. With solely two of us in the home, this measurement system is greater than sufficient to cowl our wants and a house of this measurement. To get probably the most from our system, we shifted routines so the washer and dishwasher run throughout daylight, whereas the photo voltaic panels are producing.
Simply this month, we’ve put in a BYD photo voltaic battery to retailer extra energy and supply backup throughout outages. Storms on the Gold Coast are hitting more durable and extra usually, and widespread blackouts have gotten extra frequent. After a current summer season storm from a close-by cyclone left a lot of the Gold Coast with out energy for days, and a few suburbs for weeks, the battery already looks like cash properly spent for the peace of thoughts of maintaining the lights and fridge working.
We’re not off-grid. Any extra energy is exported again for a small feed-in tariff, which doesn’t make you wealthy however does assist offset payments. It’s nonetheless early days, however finally the mixed photo voltaic and battery system ought to comfortably cowl most of our annual use.
Credit score: Elliott Kaufman/Getty Pictures
We Invested in Passive Design Changes
We additionally checked out methods to benefit from what was already there. We adjusted the ground plan to work with current doorways and home windows to enhance airflow and cross-ventilation. On heat days, we shut off south facet rooms to dam the solar and open home windows on the jap facet to catch breezes. Ceiling followers assist transfer the air, and the air conditioner runs on the most well liked elements of the yr when the humidity turns into an excessive amount of. We additionally shut off one facet of the home, the rooms we don’t use daily, to halve the world we have to cool.
Credit score: Susan Hodgson/Shutterstock
We “Rewilded” the Backyard
After we first purchased the home, the 941 square-meter block was largely garden — stored neat and inexperienced by years of pesticides — fringed with overgrown clumps of over 100 golden cane palms, clusters of agaves, and launched tropical vegetation. The soil was compacted and lifeless, and the backyard virtually devoid of biodiversity.
We spent months eradicating the golden canes in addition to the invasive launched timber — the cocos palms and umbrella timber. We stored a number of the older Bangalow palms and shade timber that assist cool massive areas of the home. Little by little, we’ve been changing the lawns with new gardens crammed with water-wise native vegetation like Westringia, Banksia, Chrysocephalum, and Prostanthera. Over 60 species thus far which are native to South East Queensland, thrive in our local weather and construct construction for a layered habitat.
Because the vegetation mature, they’re serving to cool the block, buffer erosion after heavy rain, and hyperlink right into a wider habitat hall within the neighborhood. To assist us by means of the drought years and hold the gardens alive, we’ve one 5,000-liter rainwater tank, and plan to put in a second water tank additional down the observe.
What I Realized About Making a Home Sustainable
We did loads of analysis earlier than we began, and that helped us give attention to the upgrades that might have probably the most impression. The largest shock was how a lot distinction insulation and sealing draughts made. These easy fixes delivered probably the most consolation and financial savings for the least price and energy. On the similar time, transferring away from fuel has unlocked the advantages of photo voltaic and made it simpler to run the home on clear power and assist us begin saving cash.
I really feel extremely lucky that we’ve been in a position to make these modifications, and reassured figuring out our residence is healthier ready for a altering local weather and no matter comes subsequent. In fact, you possibly can by no means absolutely put together for the unpredictable, however working with nature moderately than in opposition to it looks like a step in the fitting route each for our personal consolation and for the half we play within the greater image.
Additional Studying
Huge Faculty Vitality: 12 Dorm Room Necessities That Do the Most (Associate)
Dorm Objectives: 10 IKEA Finds That Simply Make Sense (Associate)
