The homes featured on TVNZ’s Grand Designs NZ are usually just that – grand. Also, often very fancy and way out of the budget of many viewers.
But things look a bit different when it comes to Elizabeth and Everett Norris’ new Christchurch home – a modest yet beautiful home made with natural materials that has just earned a 10 Homestar rating.
To get any Homestar rating, a home must meet additional performance and sustainability requirements well above and beyond the New Zealand Building Code.
But for the Norris’ to strive for – and then achieve – a top10 Homestar rating means it must be something pretty special. Their strawbale plastered Huntsbury home is exactly that.
More about Homestar here: https://nzgbc.org.nz/introduction-to-homestar
See more of Aotearoa’s 10- Homestar rated homes here: https://nzgbc.org.nz/case-studies/tag/10-homestar
More about ECCHO here https://nzgbc.org.nz/energy-and-carbon-calculator-for-homes
Everett, a builder who did much of the work on the strawbale-plastered and certified Passive House, said using Homestar was the perfect way to validate what he and Elizabeth already wanted from their first home.
“I would have done it the same, this ticked the Homestar boxed by default – it was a way of proving what we were doing.”
Elizabeth and Everett Norris enjoying their new home
But there were challenges along the way in achieving the 10 Homestar rating, says Elizabeth.
She used ECCHO energy modelling tool to get it right, which meant moving away from a floor plan with more angles and protrusions to a simpler shape with less external surface area to floor area – and so allowing it to reach the passive house energy use criteria more easily.
“Even if it is a simpler shape, I think the design is still beautiful,” she says.
After calculating the amount of embodied carbon in the build, Elizabeth realised they were on track to attain at least a 9 Homestar rating.
This prompted her and Everett to put extra effort into reducing waste on the building site –pushing them over into the 10 Homestar status.
Other factors elevating them to 10 Homestar included a strong focus on local procurement for materials and services and information sharing, presenting at two workshops and allowing local design students to come through on tours.
Some features originally scheduled to be done later, such as the solar panels and battery storage, were also brought forward to reach 10 Homestar status.
There was also some extra work monitoring, recording and photographing steps along the way to show the assessor, says Elizabeth – “I am always getting a photo of that before it goes the bin, constantly taking pictures!”
For those aiming for the warmth and energy saving benefits of a Homestar home without going the whole way to 10 Homestar, Everett says there are easy ways to start down the better design path.
“They should be energy modelling to make sure it doesn’t overheat at the very least - that’s non-negotiable, the EECHO tool is one of the easier ways , so when you do that you’re moving toward the Homestar definitely.”
And after now having spent some time living in the house, Elizabeth reports that it’s living up to the promise of a cosy and friendly home, with still no need for heating even now, deep into the Canterbury autumn.
The finished build is “so much better” than they imagined. “It’s my favourite house of any,” Everett told The Press.
See the full story of Elizabth and Everett’s home here on Season 10 – Episode 3 of Grand Designs NZ on TVNZ+ https://www.tvnz.co.nz/tvseries/grand-designs-new-zealand
More (including deeper technical detail) here: Norris Strawbale Passive House Christchurch - Design & Make