Team Waikato

Vision for More Sustainable Housing

Very few people understand what eco is.
Many people asked where:
are the photo voltaic cells
where is the solar power ,
the solar water heating,
the Composting toilet,
the small wind turbine on the roof,
Pellet fireplace.

When it was explained to them that to build sustainably is not about the fancy bits it is about how you build, the materials used cutting back on waste and using the material efficiently. It’s about using renewable, sustainable and recyclable Materials.
Also in day to day living watching what you buy how is it packaged, can the packaging be recycled, is there provision in your town for recycling.

Key SHAC Team Waikato House Features

• The design is very energy efficient. A compact building has less surface area to lose heat through, and uses less materials to make. The panels will be custom-made to suit the design from standard plywood sheets with very little waste.
• The design has a significant amount of Northern glazing with suitable summer shading.
• No East/West glazing. Minimal Southern glazing. All double-glazed with thermally broken joinery.
• Very high levels of insulation in ceiling, wall and floor with very little thermal bridging. Highly airtight construction. No additional heating will be provided as it is not expected to be necessary.
• Embodied energy is lowered by reduced use of steel and imported products.
• The main fabric of the building is NZ harvested pine.
• Because the building is transportable, it can be moved to another location when it no longer suits the purpose.

What Makes it More Sustainable? - The SHAC Criteria

• Number of Bedrooms: 2
• Target Cost:
• Energy: The design is very energy efficient. A compact building has less surface area to lose heat through, and uses less materials to make. Very high levels of insulation in ceiling, wall and floor with very little thermal bridging. Highly airtight construction. The design has a significant amount of Northern glazing with suitable summer shading. Solar heat store in exposed ground dark coloured concrete floor. Additional solar storage in translucent water-filled trombe walls.
• Water:
• Materials: The panels will be custom-made to suit the design from standard plywood sheets with very little waste. Embodied energy is lowered by reduced use of steel and imported products.
• Waste:
• Indoor Environmental Quality: Mechanical ventilation with a heat exchanger to scavenge the exhaust air. The interior surfaces will be exposed premium plywood which will be clear powder-coated.
• Affordable and Suitable for Purpose: Because the building is transportable, it can be moved to another location when it no longer suits the purpose.
• Supporting a Sustainable Community:
• HERS Rating:

Conclusions

As the project progressed we built up the marketing and promoted it extensively in the local press. We were offered a site at the Waikato Home Show which gave more publicity and allowed us to display the dwelling and allow people to see that even a relatively conventional structured house could be sustainable.

To be quite frank in this we believe that the there is more to being Eco than building a house that has a lot of bits and pieces to it that are off the shelf eco friendly items it is about educating the Public on the positives that they can take.
It is watch what your goods are packaged in and that where possible conserve Petrol, Power and Gas.

More Information

* TeamWaikato-FinalReport.pdf (.pdf)

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