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Newcastle Uni http://www.newcastle.edu.au/achievers/our-staff/something-new-under-the-sun.html

At this moment (of packing) the most exciting part will be unpacking all those boxes in 12 months time! The rental is about 1/3rd the size of current house, so a lot of really good "stuff" isn't going to see daylight for a while. I agree that the majority will be orientation and insulation...

Thanks :o Yep - have decided to go timber - possibly bamboo - over slab (carpet in the bedrooms) for warmth and softness underfoot. Agree that having the house well insulated and draft free is the first key ... should I insulate internal walls as well? Does that make a difference? We...

Yep - being developed at Newcastle University ... so us local's are rather proud. Still a few years off and can be added to existing systems. Looking forward to them coming online.

Yep - as much as we looked into building a straw house, and liked what we saw, we just don't have the time to do so ... so ... it's a case of therefore living as sustainable as possible and ensuring that the property doesn't incur any further damage to the environment in it's lifetime. And...

haha - touche ... however ... will be on biodynamic septic so my worms will be happy. :D The poop I'll be putting on the compost, and garden, will be chook, horse, sheep and cow ... the ducks will scatter their own as they will be encouraged in the vege patch to eat the snails and slugs...

Included everything heating, cooling and hot water, as it's all inter-connected anyhow ... including trenching and pipe laying, running ducted outlets, condensors, pump etc (trenching is cheaper than drilling if you have the space). But - as I said - at $1600/yr electricity bill currently, it...

$35,000 for a 200m2 home. We don't use much electricity anyhow - our bills are usually only around high $400's, and that includes a pool and electric hot water, whereas many friends are up near $1,000. I don't know how they get their bills so high - so perhaps solar hot water and solar...

Well - that put paid to the geothermal aircon cooling idea! The cost is so expensive, I could install 20 solar panels and solar hot water for the same price - with government rebates - so better off installing the panels and producing electricity 365 days a year, and producing my own hot...

exactly what I was looking at for the cooling ... not really enough for heating at 15c so that's where the solar thermal heating would come in. Same process but pipes run up to the roof for heating the water. Both systems need no water top up. Solar heating requires no pump - although...

Other obvious things ... -Hot water service inside, so not subject to winter outdoors -Energy efficient lighting -Energy efficient showers/taps etc -White roof -Water effcient garden (except for the veges, herbs and orchard!) ... hmm ... grey water ... of course. Liking this site...

Wow Looks like it might really possibly happen this year. After years and years and years dreaming of building my own home (instead of renovating other's muck-ups) if things go well this week, there is a real possibility we will be building (if I can convience hubby). I am wanting to...