Description
The NOW Home in New Lynn, Waitakere City, is proof that an affordable modern home that looks like any other in the street can also be warm & healthy, enjoyable to live in, and kind to the environment.
Built in 2005 by Beacon Pathway Ltd, a research consortium committed to improving the sustainability of New Zealand homes, the three-bedroom home was designed to:
suit an average family
use commonly available building materials and methods
be affordable - it cost just over $210,000 (excluding GST) to construct
use energy, water and other resources efficiently
be free of dampness and the asthma-causing airborne pollutants that are found in some homes
be weathertight and meet or exceed all Building Code requirements
be easy to heat and cool
be quiet
be flexible, so it can adapt to occupants’ changing needs
be comfortable, attractive and appealing to live in.
Since September 2005, the NOW Home has been tenanted by a young family who describe it as the best home they’ve ever had.
Early monitoring (during the six months to April 2006) suggests that it’s likely to use about 30% less energy and 25% less water per year than similar-sized homes in the area.
The NOW Home is designed to make the most of the sun’s energy for heating, and to use shading and natural ventilation for cooling. Its designers aim to achieve indoor temperatures of 18°C to 25°C for all but 10 days of every year. Key design features include:
The home’s two living areas, dining area and one of the bedrooms all face north, and the northern wall has large windows and two bi-fold doors to admit the maximum amount of sunlight during winter. Eaves provide shade during summer.
The home is insulated far above the levels required in the Building Code (R3.0 to walls and R 5.0 to ceilings, compared with the required levels of R1.5 and R1.9 respectively). This helps to prevent heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer.
The home’s floor is a 100mm-thick insulated concrete slab. This collects and absorbs the sun’s heat. In living areas, the floor has been left uncovered to maximise heat gain. The concrete is coloured to fit in with the home’s decor.
A lobby between the front door and the main living space prevents heat loss.
Double glazing is fitted to all windows and glazed doors to minimise heat loss.
Window frames have vents to provide ventilation, keeping the home drier and the air fresher and healthier.
The home is designed to allow for air circulation, with no hallway and few internal doors. Warm air can circulate during winter and cool air can circulate during summer. The tenants say that opening the living room double doors is enough to keep the house cool on hot days.
As well as using the sun for heating, the NOW Home has several other energy-saving features.
Solar panels met all of the home’s water heating needs during spring and summer of 2005/06. Some electric water heating was needed to top up the solar-heated water during winter. Heat loss is minimised by locating the hot water cylinder in the middle of the house and designing the home’s plumbing to ensure hot water has only a short distance to travel from the cylinder to the most commonly used taps. Provisional results from monitoring found that, in the 11 months to September 2006, solar energy provided approximately 55% of the tenants’ water heating needs - equivalent to a saving of 2500kWh or about $425 on water heating.
Other energy efficiency features include:
design that makes the most of natural light
use of energy efficient light bulbs - these last much longer than standard incandescent light bulbs and use 80% less energy
use of energy efficient appliances.
BRANZ Ltd, which has independently monitored the home’s energy use, predicted that in the course of one year the NOW Home will use about 6000kWh of energy, about half the average Auckland figure of 11800 kWh (this figure includes all purchased sources of energy, including solid fuel, gas, etc).
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