Kupe Street, Orakei, Auckland

Building on a restricted site was no obstacle to creating a high-quality, three-bedroom home –the architect and owners used Homestar to guide the construction, selection of materials and fit-out.

Stu Selby and Erika Whittome worked with architect Frans Kamermans to design their high quality three bedroom, two-story home using Homestar to guide the construction, selection of materials and fit out. Built to snuggly fit within a restricted 350m/sq site, passive solar design, high levels of insulation and $14,000 of photocoltaic solar roof panels, ensure that energy bills will remain as low as $60 per month.

Stu and Erika’s home is the result of two years investigation into international best practise in environmental performance and has achieved a Homestar 7 out of 10 rating.

“ We wanted to be as sustainable as we could, and build a smarter, more energy efficient home that you can heat more effectively”, says Stu.

Summary of the key features:

• North facing aspect of original home was a major attraction
• R5 level ceiling insulation and R2.6 in walls and mid floor
• Edge insulation on concrete floor slab, including innovative deck piling allowing full insulation of ground floor slab (whilst maintaining level access).
• Low energy LED lighting
• 2.3kWp photovoltaic solar panels and smart metering, expected to generate 3100 kWh/yr
• Tank storing and rainwater collection • Pure wool carpets
• Wood sourced from certified sustainable sources (including low VOC plywood in kitchen joinery)
• Low flow taps to reduce water use
• Extrenal covered washing line