Eco-Friendly Home
An example of a sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly home.
Revolutionary Hot Water System
Now for the really big savings! Water heating alone accounts for 43 per cent or
more of a home's energy bill, depending on the age and condition of the water heater.
 In the eco-friendly home, Quantum
has applied the heat pump principle to water heating to increase efficiency by a staggering 300 per cent.
Panels have been set on the roof but unlike solar systems, they also work day and night. Regardless of the weather, a
Quantum system will more than match the hot water supply of any conventional system.
The rooftop panels are similar to the panels in a fridge. The panels draw heat
from the atmosphere which is then pumped around the hot water cylinder. The only electricity required is enough
to run the pump which again is similar to the one in a fridge. The Quantum system will maintain
a hot water supply even if the outdoor panels are covered with snow and ice.
This is because the system acts as an 'energy amplifier' concentrating heat from the natural elements of sunshine,
rain, wind, ice and snow. The system heats water around the clock and will reduce water heating costs
-the biggest item on the average family's energy bill -by up to 75 per cent.
Conserving Water
 In some countries where water is
scarce, people would be horrified to learn that New Zealanders use drinking water
for cleaning their cars or driveways. Waitakere City Council is committed to raising awareness about water-related
issues and reducing overall consumption of this precious resource. Accordingly, the eco-friendly home incorporates
features designed to ensure water is conserved and used wisely. A rainwater tank has been installed
at the rear of the property to collect roof water for use throughout the garden and
for outdoor tasks such as washing cars, driveways, decks etc.
Tapping into the kitchen
 Water efficient taps, mixers and
showers supplied by Greens Industries Limited of Hamilton have been fitted throughout the home. All taps and showers
have an anti-scald feature which means the home's occupants can set the temperature they want on each individual tap.
Brent Cederman from Greens Industries Ltd says this means if you want hotter water to wash dishes, you
can set the tap to a higher temperature than say in the bathroom. "The anti-scald feature not only
makes the taps safer to use, it also saves power because you're not heating water
and then blowing it all."
Single-lever mixer taps and showers used in the house also have a 'water flow
limiter' which allows the volumes of water used to be managed. Brent says in the shower, the water
flow can be adjusted from 17 litres per minute to three-and-a-half litres per minute.
"A shower with a flow of 17 litres a minute is like standing under a bucket with a series of nail holes in it. Most
showers have a 12 litre a minute flow but you can get a good shower with a flow of
seven-and-a-half litres a minute. With the limiter, you can set the flow to what you
want. This can be useful with teenagers who can stay in a shower wound-up to the top temperature for ages."
 The taps are also fitted with 'non-return valves'. This ensures an even mix
between hot and cold water and stops any backflow of cold water which can flow back into a hot water cylinder and
chill it. It also means if a hand-held showerhead or pull-out spray tap is left in a sink or shower floor, dirty water isn't
sucked back into the system.
Greens Industries' taps are made from brass which has been treated to ensure minerals don't leach out. This prevents
water becoming contaminated with zinc, lead or other trace elements ensuring drinking water is clean and that metals
don't work their way into the wastewater system and our streams and harbours. Brent says as well as the benefits
to the householder, his company's taps reduce impacts on the wider environment by conserving water and energy.
The pioneers of dual-flush toilets, Caroma Industries Limited, supplied the toilets and hand-basins fitted in the eco-friendly home. The dual-flush system
reduces water volumes in the toilets and greatly adds to the overall water savings
of the household.
Have you ever noticed the words 'vitreous china' stamped on your hand basin or toilet and not known what it
meant? Well, 'vitreous' means the china has been fired to a temperature of 1200 degrees Celsius which makes it totally
impervious and therefore completely sanitary. The basins and toilet pans in the eco-friendly home are all made from vitreous
china.
Other components for the cisterns and pipes were made from polypropylene, ensuring no PVC was used.
To facilitate environmentally-sound waste management practices, a discrete Blanco multi-box sink unit was inserted
into the eco-friendly home's kitchen which incorporates a waste disposal system. The system uses a waste chute
fitted into the sink top. When the lid is lifted waste food scraps etc, are swept
directly into the waste bin below for composting. The system design avoids waste spillage and odours from the
bin and work areas. By not fitting a traditional waste master type disposal system, the problems of
waste enrichment and associated waste i! processing treatment costs are avoided.
A Robinhood Supertub from Robinson Industries was fitted in the laundry and a Robinhood Electric Ironing
" Centre was also included in the eco-friendly home. A solatube ventilation system was
incorporated into the laundry.
Waste not want not
A Polyethylene Drainage System (widely used throughout the UK and Europe) was installed to drain the
wastewater from the eco-friendly home.
Polyethylene's 'eco-friendly' properties arise from during its production. It is a
waste bi-product from the oil industry and no toxins are emitted during this
production process. It is also fully recyclable.
Polyethylene drains have no glued joints. Instead they are fused together by an electrofusion machine. An electric
current passes through the pipe and fittings which creates heat and literally welds two joints together forming a
homogenous system. All fittings and pipes comply with Australian and New Zealand standards.
Will Young of Plastic Systems Limited in Auckland says the advantages of polyethylene include the fact it's flexible
and virtually unbreakable. "The fact that it's a soft material means noise conduction is limited. And
because of its toughness, it has a high impact resistance, even in freezing temperatures. But more to the
consumers point, polyethylene's water repelling properties encourage the rapid flow of
water and prevent blockages."
Polyethylene is also used for applications such as watermains and stormwater, sewer and gas pipes. It's
also widely used in the chemical and mining industries.
The drainage pipes taking wastewater and sewerage from the home are made from vitreous clay, rather
than PVC. The SuperSleve clay pipes are a natural product and basically the same
as clay drainage pipes used in Roman times 2000 years ago.
However, Jack McMinn from clay products producers Hepworth Building Products International near
Dargaville, says SuperSleve Clay pipes are manufactured using the very latest energy
saving technology. "They are lighter, thinner, longer and smoother than the old style pipes," he adds.
Jack says SuperSleve pipes can also be cost effective compared with their PVC counterparts as less imported
backfill is required to keep them in place.
Flooring & Walls
To ensure dust was kept to a minimum, fitted carpets were not included in the eco-friendly home. Instead, floor tiles, wood
flooring from naturally hardened plantation pine and natural cork linoleum were used.
 Linoleum flooring called
'Marmorette' was fitted which is produced by a German firm, DLW. Linoleum covers the floors in the
foyer and three bedrooms. It's made from 100 per cent natural products; linseed oil,
jute, resin, cork, limestone and wood flour (sawdust). Marmorette Linoleum is also
considered extremely durable.
Local suppliers Robert Malcolm Limited say during the restoration of parliament buildings in Wellington, similar
linoleum was taken up which was 94 years old and still going. AIT and the Skytower
have recently had Marmorette installed and no doubt it will also stand the test of time.
The wooden floors in the eco-friendly home's entrance hall, lounge and dining
room/study have been finished in tongue and groove pine supplied by Pacific HardWood Industries of Auckland. The
floors were laid by Floorco in Westgate.
The lounge has a border of ancient swamp kauri and is completed with tongue and groove hardened New
Zealand pine. The borders in all three bedrooms have also been completed with ancient swamp kauri. The kauri was
extracted from Northland swamps and carbon dated by Waikato University at over 46,000 years old.
The pine used in the home was especially hardened by the 'Indurite' process which uses a formulation made
from a plant-based starch. It increases the density, hardness, strength, stability,
coating, gluing and machining properties of the timber while improving durability
and fire-resistance. The Indurite hardened pine becomes harder than untreated pine,
teak and mahogany.
A water-based polyurethane specially designed by Handley Industries Limited of Glenfield, was used to coat the home's
wooden floors. Aquapol is non-toxic, one pot water-based 100 per cent poly-urethane which has the added benefits
of low odour and faster drying time than conventional polyurethanes. The floors are laid using water-based Handley
Parquetry Adhesive. This non-toxic adhesive retains flexibility to accommodate the natural movement in the timber
between summer and winter.
One of the final touches to the eco-friendly home was the paintwork. Those
involved in the project opted for Resene's range of Environmental Choice Paints with low volatile organic compounds.
Resene was one of the first companies in New Zealand to introduce a range of paints which meet strict standards for
heavy metal and solvent content set out in the Environmental Choice Programme. The paints are also manufactured under a
quality system certified by the accredited certification body, Telarc and meet ISO
9002 specifications.
Resene first introduced water-based paints to New Zealand 45 years ago and it
was these paints that were chosen for the eco-friendly home. Resene Zylone Sheen
was used on the gibed interior walls and ceiling and all natural wood interior fittings, such as the kitchen and bathroom
cabinets and skirting, were finished in Aquaclear, a non-toxic one pot water- based polyurethane.
Ceramic tiles were chosen for the bathroom and kitchen floors. Tiles are a natural product which 'breathe', store
and release heat.
Feature tiles made by renowned pottery and tileworks firm, Morris and James of Matakana, add a bright and
colourful finish to the home's bathrooms and kitchen. Morris and James use clay dug from a pit at its site at
Matakana. The claypit is screened visually by trees. All the washdown water used in the factory
is recycled and excess glaze is collected and re-used.
|
