Greater awareness of our individual impact on the environment and what we can do about it, has led to an emergence in the adoption of solar passive principles when designing new homes.

By adopting a few key aspects, we can achieve some great results at little or no extra cost. When done correctly not only will you potentially save hundreds of dollars by reducing the energy costs induced by heating and cooling your home, but you will enjoy a more comfortable home to live in and have the satisfaction of knowing that you are taking a step to save the planet.

We have talked to Hills local Shelly Dival – the award-winning designer from Front Door Building Design – to improve our understanding of the solar passive building philosophies and delve further into the making of our recent listing 140 Wildberry Drive, Stoneville. Nestled in the Perth Hills, surrounded by picturesque native timber, this custom-designed eco-friendly solar passive home is a rare opportunity to buy a high-spec semi-rural property and complete your very own grand design!

Important elements of solar passive design –

Solar passive design is founded on the consideration of a sites unique characteristics and the materials and building forms used to create a more intuitive, location-sensitive home. The most important elements of such are a home’s orientation, insulation and the facilitation of ventilation.

1. A north orientation considers the sun angles to help maintain a constant temperature – in summer it prevents the sunshine from heating walls and therefore the house, whilst in winter it takes advantage of the sun (which sits lower) to heat a thermal mass material that will then re-release that heat into the air when the temperature drops.
2. Good insulation and the prevention of air leaks are also critical to then ensure the homes hot/cold air is not uncontrollably lost or altered.
3. Cross Ventilation considers the effects of natural breezes to allow good air flow that will cool/heat the home and enable you to flush out hot air easily.

Benefits of solar passive design –

There are benefits of solar passive design both for the environment and the individual home owner. Obviously so, a solar passive design requires less heating/cooling so uses less resources and has a reduced impact on the planet. More intrinsic is the benefit to the homeowner – whilst your energy bills will be lower the real value of a solar passive design is in its every day comfort and the facilitation of effortless living. No words can explain the comfort of solar passive homes and just how liveable all spaces become. Forget those freezing cold mornings when the temperature in the Hills drops close to 0 or those summer nights when you struggle to sleep because it’s so hot… Living in a solar passive home is an underrated experience. Not only that, but being more attentively designed allows you to enjoy an exceptionally built home – thoughtfully planned for family life, the flow of 140 Wildberry facilitates positive mental health and nurtures relationships by providing quiet spaces, social rooms for the whole family to gather and a connection to the outdoors for entertaining and exploring.

The making of 140 Wildberry Drive, Stoneville –

The vision was to create a home for the couple to escape the hustle and bustle of city living and relax plus have ample space to entertain friends and family. They love the bush so wanted to capture the timber views from each room and create an outdoor area that would change with the seasons. Passive solar design was important, as was building with bush fire protection in mind, so a consultant was engaged throughout the process and non-flammable, bushfire zone friendly materials were used.

The design of the home features two wings that wrap around a central cloister/courtyard, enabling them to both gain north orientation. Finished with polished concrete floors that are the homes main thermal mass material, it is heated by the sun to then slowly re-release that back into the air when the temperature drops. Extending the already large living space to the outdoors is a wall of sliding glass – despite theoretically being a bad amount of glass for a solar passive home, the use of comfort plus glass and double glazing has added insulation to ensure it remains effective.

Innovative building techniques were adopted which saw the home constructed in 10 days. Constructed with a structurally insulated panel system of orientated strand board with a foam core, the home boasts very good insulation. This panel system further compliments the solar passive design by ensuring there is no air leakage for controlled ventilation only. Complete with electric louvres above the doors, this allows you to easily flush out the hot air that rises and enjoy good cross-ventilation and the refreshing airflow from the natural breeze.

After outstandingly attendance at the first home open, it was obvious that the Hills community value unique custom-designed properties that are eco-friendly and solar passive in design. We loved showcasing the stunning property and are proud to say that after one week on the market it is now under offer – a fantastic outcome for all involved!