Tag: housing

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Tim Forcey Author Talk

Author, researcher and energy adviser Tim Forcey shares insights from this essential first-of-its-kind handbook for homeowners and renters. Electrify2800 are hosting a free author talk with Tim on November 21st in the West Room at Orange Regional Gallery.

Join Tim Forcey, author of My Efficient Electric Home Handbook and the original founder of the Facebook phenomenon My Efficient Electric Home, for an evening exploring how you can transition your home to become electric!

Electrify2800 is hosting a talk with Tim for the public. Come along to hear from Tim, and ask a few questions. Please RSVP by clicking the image above. This takes you to the Eventbrite event.

My Efficient Electric Home Handbook is an essential first-of-its kind resource for homeowners and renters. It provides tips and strategies on how to convert your home into an efficient, healthy and comfortable space suitable for our all-electric future.

Sharing insights from working with thousands of Australians in their homes, as well as from hands-on experience modifying his own home, Tim Forcey explains best-practice heating and cooling, hot water heat pumps, induction cooktops, draught-proofing, insulation, solar energy and much more.

Haven’t got a copy of Tim’s book yet? Collins Booksellers Orange will be there on the night with copies available for your purchase!

This is an event brought to you by Electrify 2800 and proudly supported by ECCO Orange and Orange City Council.

Light refreshments will be available on the night.

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Passive design: living with nature, not against it

Passive house with people standing near it
Passive house with people standing near it

Whether renovating or building a new house, sustainability should be paramount. Designing a home that stays warm in winter and cool in summer without putting additional stress on traditional heating or cooling systems is becoming more important than ever.

This is where the common-sense Passive House theory comes into its own. ‘Passivhaus’ originated in Germany in the 1980s, as an approach to building more efficient, healthier and sustainable housing. It works with the natural environment, rather than relying on external systems.

In August, the Electrify2800 group headed to Shiralee to check out Kiri and Mark’s fantastic project of transforming a 1940s home on their property into a certified Passivhaus. All windows and doors are triple glazed, appropriate insulation is being installed, and the building is thermosealed to boost thermal efficiency. Plus the house is oriented so that the busiest parts benefit most from the northern sun.

An essential consideration for certification is that the house must be airtight. That’s 100% airtight with an energy recovery ventilator to move the air around. The average Australian home typically exchanges air 12-15 times every hour (unintentionally) between the inside and the outside. A Passivhaus minimises these exchanges and the temperature changes they bring.

This is all made possible thanks to local builder Steve from Paradigm Passive Haus. He has a few renovation builds about Orange, with a few new builds planned too.

According to Steve, his five key elements are:

  1. Quality glazing, triple glazed windows and doors
  2. Thermal efficiency, being up to 90% more efficient than a typical Australian home (cooling and heating)
  3. Air tightness – an airtight building is one that has been designed and constructed to minimise the uncontrolled movement of air through the walls, roof, floor and joinery; airtightness can be measured and this provides an indication of the quality and likely future performance of the building
  4. Continuous insulation to keep the house warm during winter and heat out during summer
  5. Ventilation, using a mechanical ventilation system to exchange indoor and outdoor air while minimising the energy required to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures.

It’s exciting to see all the innovative ways locals are taking action to live more sustainably and play their part in addressing climate change, while reducing their energy demand and costs, and making their homes more liveable and comfortable.

There are many ways to take practical climate action in your home. like switching from fossil gas to the brilliant, efficient experience of induction cooking, making plans to replace legacy technology like gas hot water or petrol vehicles with efficient, clean electric alternatives, or looking at ways to retrofit and renovate for sustainability and energy efficiency.