On the 15th of September, it was Sustainable House Day, at first I was a bit sceptical about what this entitles but after reading into it the whole concept is very interesting! It has been around for 19 years and allows hundreds of thousands of people to visit some of Australia’s leading green homes – ones that are not only environmentally friendly but cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in. There were 252 homes open around Australia and all that was required to attend was a gold coin, even better the profits made was donated to one of 35 various charities chosen by the homeowner. Last year over $13,000 was donated by the homeowners with help from the viewers.
Each home has its own profile at https://sustainablehouseday.com/ which are worth taking a look at! There was not any featured here on the Sunshine Coast however some other in Queensland included in suburbs such as Rathdowney, Yeppoon, Fernvale, Towen Mountain, Herston and many others. Each is unique and included sustainable features which should be utilised in homes being built today.
After reading through numerous home profiles a few takeaways I found were featured such as:
- Well insulated: Comfortable constant temperature all year round
- Recycled Floorboards: Minimising waste and adding character
- Solar-powered homes: Cheaper in the long run and economical
- Gardens: Growing fruit and veggies is affordable and eating to the season
- Cutting down on power usage: only switching appliances in use on at the wall, having monitor sensing outdoor lights, only running lights where needed
- Composting: Putting veggie scraps and offcuts into a compost bin and recycling for plant fertiliser.
These sustainable features can be easily adaptable for some and would be hugely beneficial in the long run. However, for other homes depending on your budget and time, they might be unrealistic. If you want to learn more about these sustainable homes please visit the website www.sustainablehouseday.com.