Its
remarkable how many people admire my twenty five year old mud brick
house and say how cool it remains over the summer months. In fact it
also stays warm during the winter months and I use no heating and
cooling despite having a solid fuel heater and overhead fans which I
dont use. The house is very quiet, sound absorbing and great for
listening to music. I use low energy appliances and solar water
heating. On extra cold days I usually wear more clothes and as I now
have solar panels are happy to use a small double bar heater
However it's not rocket science and I designed
and built the house on low energy passive principles with only two
years full time work and it cost me half the price of the conventional house which meant I needed
a small mortgage only. Five more years I will own the house
which is worth $430,000 now. Furthermore I'm not an architect or builder and had
never built anything before this. I am a qualified engineering
tradesman which I guess helped. I went to a weekly conventional owner
builder course at TAFE and a couple of mud brick workshops
with John Archer. I built the house mostly on my own and Im sure
anyone who wishes to, could do the same
What is my secret ? Well there is none as the
information on low
energy designenergy efficiency principles and
alternative building techniques are freely available and easy to
obtain, understand and incorporate. Minimised your net emmisions and
so your carbon footprint I had worked in a
drawing office (plastics) so I drew up our plans
I certainly made some mistakes which I
regret, and would do some things a little differently if I did it again.
But overall I'm happy with what we achieved
My son complains that he doesn't own his house
and cannot get a loan despite that he and his wife both have worked
full time for many years. He could have built a house also with just
a couple of years of work as he owns a plot of land. On the other
hand I have made only part time wages working for myself only. Both
my mortgage and power
bills were low and I reduced our family costs and impact by
growing our own healthy organic food and kept chickens
I chose to build my house using mud
bricks as it was the cheapest due to being highly labour
intensive, saved on costs. You could consider the rammed earth method
which is quicker, or straw
bales which are popular at the moment too. There are
several building methods to achieve similar ends, you can even use
the standard conventional ways like timber or fired brick. But each
method provides varying degrees of satisfaction and energy use, and
requires various amounts of your own labour which effects the total
cost. It is also worth looking at some of the Permaculture principles of living and
design. My floors are all mud brick too, apart from the wet areas of
bathroom and kitchen which are concrete. I made all bricks from one
simple wooden mould which I made. There are metal moulds available
to buy like the Cinva
Ram and you can even buy ready made mud bricks
Low energy design in essence is easy as all you
need to do is orient your house to the north (in the southern
hemisphere) with good wall and roof insulation, suitable
overhanging eaves and deciduousvines along the northern
veranda to keep the summer sun out and allow the winter sun in to
penetrate your windows. We established energy
efficiency principles, including a solar water
heater, and so minimised our daily energy use
It is a matter of personal choice whether you
live onsite or not, but it is undoubtedly cheaper and more
convenient to do so. But if you have a partner, it has been
reported that many relationships have been strained and even ended
due to the demands of small temporary living conditions. We chose to
rent an inexpensive farm house while we built and think it was the
best decision for us
Its best before you apply for a loan to develop
a detailed and accurate budget plan including all day to day
expenses and contingencies. A plan is useful to anticipate what you
are liable to encounter whilst building. I was pleased that our
budget and plan was almost perfect except for unforseen car engine
replacements, which meant ultimately we couldn't afford the ceiling
linings which wasn't too bad as we could still live in the house
comfortably. Our house had a very low carbon footprint from
the energy used in construction and the life
around the home from day one, and continues today 25 years
later. I live alone now and the average quarterly power bill was
only $155 . Recently
added eight solar panels and now get refunds over $100 per
quarter
You are welcome to contact me with
comments or questions and see Earth
Homes our
video of photos
Green Home Building Information on
sustainable architecture and natural
building
Sustainable Building
NetworkAdelaide
Australian based not-for profit organization, which advocates
the uptake of sustainable and ecologically beneficial practices
within all industries linked to the built environment. See Sustainable
Living
Straw Bale Construction Straw bale
walls, thermal mass walls, earth plaster techniques, and passive
solar design are all explained building with natural
materials
Owner Builder Book Gives you an understanding of the
roles and responsibilities. Assists in the construction of your home
so that the process runs smoothly, on schedule, within budget and
complies with relevant building regulations
Experts give red mark to green
ratingsFederal
Government wants all homes for sale or rent to have an energy
efficient rating. The rating system is supposed to reveal the energy
performance of a building to inform people whether they could face
big power bills to heat or cool a home. New homes in Australia already have to meet a
minimum energy efficiency rating
Partnership to Certify Zero Energy
Homes US Energy Dept. has announced a new partnership
between its ‘Challenge Home’ program and the ‘Passive House
Institute US’ for a voluntary certification process for
energy-efficient homes. The partnership will streamline
certifications for homes that can offset
most or all of their utility bills with a small renewable energy
system
Homes of 2015
One familiar room will be left out of many new houses, according to
builders. Many
of these changes reflect a desire for builders and consumers to go
green. Smaller space means more efficient heating and cooling and
ceiling fans distribute heat
evenly
I chose to build my house using 
