Eco Design

Huff, puff... You'll be blown away by these straw houses
The advantages of building in straw are the insulation (between R7 & R10) Wall batts being R 2.2. Straw works on the principal of thermals retention and offers a great number of design options including curved or square wall into the window, niches that c

PowerSmart - Solar Electricity
Powersmart is a renewable energy company focused on designing and installing affordable grid-tie solar power systems.

Energy Efficient Homes - It's time to change our approach
Energy efficiency means more than just cheaper fuel bills, firstly and most importantly our homes need to be a healthy place to live.

Design your home for the Sun
We have heard lately that future power crises are likely on the basis of an assumed doubling in electricity demand over the next 20 years. Given the environmental costs of damming rivers, the difficulty in finding new gas fields, and the fact that oil pri

Collecting rainwater for your house supply
Drinking rainwater is generally perceived as being a healthier alternative to drinking town supply water, but often it isn’t, so if you are thinking about collecting rainwater for your house supply it pays to know a little bit about the nature of rainwa

Eco Timber Buildings - by Customkit Buildings
Building not only to the view but more importantly to the sun will allow natural passive heating saving on ongoing energy costs and creating an energy efficient and healthy home environment.

Natural or Treated Timber - What choices do we have?
We recently received a call on the BBE helpline from a family in the process of designing a healthy house. They were concerned about the information they had received from their local Council stating that, with the latest changes to the Building Code, unt

Solid Wood - Sustainable, Stylish and Strong!
Building with solid timber - it's the responsible choice.

Hideaway Bins by Kitchen King - Recycling
Clean simple and versatile – Hideaway Bins from Kitchen King are the ideal solution to keep your bin out of sight in any area of your home – kitchen, laundry, bathroom…..anywhere. Ideal recycling solution

ebode HERS ratings 'off the radar'
"Achieving high thermal performance without compromising any of the other equally important features of a design is not as easy as it sounds. An architect has to weigh up many competing ideas when designing an energy efficient house."