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| Sustainable House |
| This environmentally friendly house saves the Earth and your hip pocket at the same time! |
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This house, from the outside, looks like an average inner-city terrace, but is actually an eco-friendly house that can create its own energy, manage waste and collect water. Anybody can live there. You don't need particular technical skills, just the basics needed to operate the systems. The house is no different to live in now that it has been transformed but the owners have control over their resources.
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At the back of the house you'll find what looks like your average backyard. Under the verandah however is a rainwater tank that holds 10,000 litres of water.The way it works is simple. Water flows via the downpipe into a sump. At this stage the sediment is broken down so the clean water can flow into the tank.
You normally would not find reeds in your back garden, but here they absorb any water overflow. This system generates more than 100,000 litres of water per year.
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A seven-metre pit looks after the water going out. The first thing you notice is that it doesn't really smell. The pit has various filter beds that help decompose and break down the waste. The water is recycled and sterilised, to be reused for washing, to flush the toilet and to provide plenty of water for hosing the garden.
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As for the energy needs of the house, 18 solar panels positioned on the north-facing roof provide power; another two are dedicated to heating water.
The owners seem to be managing their power generation so well, they're actually selling some back to the electricity grid. The going rate is about 10 cents a kilowatt - about the same as you pay for power at home.
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Cost
If you want to do your bit for the environment, it's is not going to be cheap to convert an existing home, but since the owners of this house made the conversion, they have reduced their running costs from $1400 a year to just over $100. That kind of saving is definitely worth thinking about!
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More Info
Tours of the sustainable house can be organised by calling Michael Mobbs on (02) 9310 2930. An information kit explaining how the project was carried out is available to people who tour the house.
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Disclaimer
All Fact Sheets and other material on the Our House website are provided as a general information service only and should not be relied upon as a substitute for the advice of a properly qualified tradesman. Neither ninemsn nor its licensors (including the Nine Network) assume or accept any responsibility for, and will not be liable for the accuracy or appropriate application of any information whatsoever in any Fact Sheet or other material on the Our House web site. Your use of the Our House web site is governed by this disclaimer and the ninemsn's Terms of Use.
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