DIYer in Australia.

[Aus_Doug]

Hi,

 this is my 5th build: started with a decrepit timber terrace in Sydney pre pre  internet. I was an inexperienced renovator, & needed to ask people how to do jobs.  Bought 1972 for $au12500, sold 1999 for $au340000. The house was double the size, &  quite eclectic. Built a weekender 200Kms out of Sydney, & moved a small prefab building onto the block. That was sold in 1993, when we moved to Northern NSW, & bought our current block.

 Designed our modest abode in the early 2000´s. It is 4 storey, & abt 700 M sq. The 4th floor ois Doug´s folley: a room that looks about 30km to the coast (with a glimpse of Evans Head). This house is built from dry stacked Hebel block (no glue) that is held together by the cyclone rods at abt 900 centres. 

 Huge foundations (600mm wide strip, 900 deep!). Now up for 25 years.

 

 My next build is a Hempcrete house, as a 110 sq M secondary dwelling on this same block. Difference is it is fully accessible (900 wide doors, accessible bathrooms & kitchen, no steps or hobs. Designed as an extremely economical PassivHaus.

 

 Other than that, I am a retired Biomed Techniician (Medical Equipment), retired 10 yrs ago. I was a voluntary Energy Coach for Enova energy (a Community owned energy reseller, until we went broke!) My PV system is 15Kw, with 2x 5kw SolarEdge inverters, & 2 Victron charger inverters for my 12kw of Lithium Titanate batteries. We have 2 EVs: a 2020 Kona EV (130K Kms), & an Imiev that has 130000Kms. These recharge off PV.

 I have a Home Assistant controller looking after all my energy. (Love Home Assistant!)

 

 The new House site has a 7.2Mx7.2M carport with 6Kw of panels. 48v of 1000ah L/A batteries, (abt 50Kw of storage), controlled by a Selectronics Inverter. There is a Low current 240v feed to this site for backup. The system was bought s/h for a good price, so is now waiting for the house! 

 

 What else can I say: I was chair of ´Politics in the Pub´ until during covid.. (a non-political talkfest where current topics are given by a guest speaker)

 

 Well, thats it basically.

[MikeSharp01]

Hi and Welcome to THE forum for people like us. Sound like a great project look forward to hearing more.

[SteamyTea]

Welcome.

 

Are upsidedown houses popular in Australia?

 

9 minutes ago, Aus_Doug said:

was a voluntary Energy Coach

Really, what did that involve?

 

[Aus_Doug]

Voluntary Energy Coach: If someone has a query (usually due to abnormal energy consumption), if the Telephone support people of Enova cannot help, they passed the query to one of us. As an example, I visited a client who had really big bills, & worked out that they had a timeswitch on their (resistive 3.6Kw) HWS. Even tho the timeswitch might have 20A contacts, there is enough inductance to flash the contacts welding them shut. If one is switching currents like this, it is important to use a slave Contactor. (This was just from looking at the board from the outside, seeing no contactor & suggesting to the client they engage an electrician to install a new timeswitch + contactor. Happy client!

 

 As an aside, if one is switching an EVSE granny charger (10A plug in portable car charger for the uninitiated) with a controlled switch, use a slave contactor. Most of the Tuya etc switches will not last reliably with 10A constant power drain (again due to slightly inductive load when the load switches).

 

 Enova eventually went into voluntary administration due to the Australian Gentailers (Energy retailers who also own generation capacity) would not give Enova a supply contract where we could remain financially viable. Covid did not help too. 

[Aus_Doug]

I did not mention that I am in Paris on holidays atm. Plenty of time to think about my design...

 

 Going to the Motor Show on Tuesday: Be good to see the new crop of EVs.

[gaz_moose]

China is the land of the EV. shame they have yet to figure out panel gaps. they will all be in the scrap yard in 5 years time though. 

[Aus_Doug]

There are some incredible Chinese cars coming. The Paris Car show was an eye opener! 

 

 Actually, I like the new small Hyundai (or Kia) SUV. One thing I like is having no console between the front seats (except for a pull-down one).

 

Longevity? Who knows. Most cars are made in China anyway. All built by robot. The Chinese car manufacture is wolds apart from some of the ones from a few years ago.

[jack]

1 hour ago, Aus_Doug said:

The Chinese car manufacture is wolds apart from some of the ones from a few years ago.

 

That Top Gear episode where they took the piss out of the Chinese motor industry was only about 12 years ago. Utterly stunning how far they've come in that time.

[Iceverge]

Got a ride in a Polestar recently. The finish was on par with anything made in Germany. 

 

I wish some manufacturer would make something light <1300kg <4.2m long and <1.8m wide that could fit a whole family in , with good visibility for kids and driver comfy tyres sizes and didn't constantly distract me with Vista levels of nannying. 

 

I guess I'll stick with my 2002 Berlingo for now. 

[Gus Potter]

On 10/10/2024 at 17:03, Aus_Doug said:

Well, thats it basically.

Good to hear from folk outside the UK. I spent some of my SE training with a cold formed steel outfit that were big in AU. We did cold formed steel sheds, some of these were for the big mining companies with huge floor loadings and height requirements. I loved designing some of the stuff and the R & D. Australia has such a varied climate. There is a big band in the North that is in the cyclonic region... very windy. Then they have the bit on the east.. high altitude and snow.. then all types of soil and termites! Then there are the hot bits that we in the UK normally associate AU with.

 

@Aus_Doug where are you going to be building location wise?

 

 

[Aus_Doug]

Building in sub tropics, abt 200Kms S of Brisbane (abt 40Kms from Byron Bay, but dont hold that against me!).

 We get occasional High winds from the West, & heavy rainfall with Climate change (2022: Floods in Lismore, & we received 1M of rain in 24H: 

my rental property in Lismore flooded to the fans, 2.4M higher than white man had ever seen: I had designed the floors 900mm above previous max flood height.)

 Humidity is a definite problem, causing Mould. My design will use a Lossnay MVHR, & I will have a separate small A/c to control Humidity mainly. (The Building volume is abt 250 cu M.)

 

[Aus_Doug]

Regarding China, I visited China in 1978 (Before the gang of 4 second revolution). We saw the article about the 10000 pottery figures in Xian in the National Geographic. We chose a tour that went through Xian. When we got there the 2 local guides said the diggings were not open, but the 2 national guides pulled some strings & we got to see the diggings. The Building was just completed, (a huge building like an aircraft hanger).

 The diggings were fantastic. Anyway, the car park was not sealed, & the bus bogged! We had to wait for a replacement bus, & we were waiting in the curation room: a once in a lifetime experience. All in all a fantastic trip.

 I have a lot of respect for the Chinese: in 1948 they were basically starving. by 1978, they were fed & housed, but it was still very agricultural. 

Since then, the developments have been unbelievable. (probably based much on greedy US Industrialists who moved manufacturing plants to China). 

Now, it seems the boot is on the other foot, with the West trying to catch China. The latest EVs are just one facet. Chinese manufacturing is basically robot driven: There is a car factory that builds Volvos etc, that has 200 production employees on the assembly line. Having worked in Manufacturing (STC Telecom. in the 1980s: there were 2000 employees in Sydney), That is not many employees on the line.

[SteamyTea]

17 minutes ago, Aus_Doug said:

Humidity is a definite problem

Over here, in cold, wet England, we have to put the vapour control layer on the warm, moist, inside. I suspect, like the Southern USA, you put yours on the hot, wet, outside.

 

To keep imported energy usage down and limit internal temperature rise, are you going to cover the roof totally in PV?

 

I am not sure how well MVHR will help with temperature control, unless you duct in A/C as well.

 

How viable is rain water harvesting in Australia? Our mains supplied water is so cheap that nothing really comes close to it financially.

[saveasteading]

8 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

mains supplied water is so cheap that nothing really comes close to it financially.

But if on mains drainage, the sewage charge can be based on the water bought....and worth more than the water.

[SteamyTea]

22 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

But if on mains drainage, the sewage charge can be based on the water bought....and worth more than the water.

That is the case down here.

But it is morally wrong to use the sewage system to discharge your own collected water.

It is a tricky problem, morally.

We have very high water charges in Cornwall, but it is a unique area. We have a low population density for 10 and half months of the year, then it swells by 3 or 4 times. Our towns are generally on the coast, so sewage has to be pumped away, treated, then pumped back for discharge. We have high rainfall, this over powered the systems.

We want clean beaches, rivers and streams.

We have a very restrictive planning system, and lots of farmland. What is not farmland is often old mine workings, which are horribly polluting even 200 years after closure.

 

Just had a quick look at the current water charges, £2/m³ for water, £6.10 to take it away.

Plus the £61/year to be connected.

Edited October 17 by SteamyTea

[Aus_Doug]

Rural block, so Rain water (& occasional spring water, but usually my 100000L of water storage is enough.) The build is Hempcrete, so the Air seal layer is internal , basically the 10mm of lime based render, but the render is both sides of the wall. The ceiling seal layer is OSB, below 300mm of insulation. The OSB is sealed with WaterGlaze to air seal it, & joints taped.

 The MVHR will hopefully keep the internal humidity to a reasonable level. The Lossnay will transfer a little humidity  to the incoming air, but basically remove humidity from the high humidity areas of bathroom & Kitchen. The A/C unit will be separate, with the idea of only lowering the temp a few degrees to de-humidify. I am hoping my Home Assistant system will be able to control the Air system, by measuring Temp & humidity (indoor & outdoor), then managing the air movement, bypass, & A/C.

 There will be a ventilated area under the roofing iron, using Soffit Vents & an Australian product called Vent-a-Ridge, that will cause air flow over the control membrane & under the iron. (Counter Battens, & ventilated Top Hat Steel Battens, that are actually rolled steel tophats used for trusses, but I will have them fully punched, 8mm holes, 2 rows, 25 apart so some air passes through the battens.) The Ceiling space will also be ventilated. 

Solar Panels will cover most of the Northern roof, mounted on S5 (rail-less) mounts . These mounts give more free airflow (& hopefully less to trap leaves!).

[SteamyTea]

6 minutes ago, Aus_Doug said:

Solar Panels will cover most of the Northern roof,

That still seems funny to me, and the moon being upside down.

 

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

morally wrong to use the sewage system to discharge your own collected water.

1. It is the water company's charging policy, not mine.

2. It diverts rainfall from the surface water system or to natural disposal, reducing flood risk. When the tank has capacity,  it holds a lot of rainwater back.

3. Reduces water drawn from scarce resources.

4. There is still the standing charge paid.

 

In summary. It is doing good.  It is expensive to do, with a 10 year payback on just the water, so nobody will do it. 5 year payback including the sewage justifies doing this good thing.

[SteamyTea]

27 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

2 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

morally wrong to use the sewage system to discharge your own collected water.

1. It is the water company's charging policy, not mine.

Yes, and they are not very moral.

27 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

2. It diverts rainfall from the surface water system or to natural disposal, reducing flood risk. When the tank has capacity,  it holds a lot of rainwater back.

I think the problem there is that we are not very good at predicting local rainfall.  If the Redruth Amazon depot cannot store enough water, then it has no choice than to discharge, which will go to the local river.  It is that river that ends up at Portreath.  The sewage works there is not large enough and frequently has to discharge onto the beach 200m away.

31 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

3. Reduces water drawn from scarce resources.

I think that there is one thing that the UK does not suffer from is scarcity of water.  Extremely poor management of the resource yes, but not lack of resource.

32 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

4. There is still the standing charge paid.

Yes, and I think this is where OFWAT/Government can play a part by changing the billing regime.  It seems wrong to me that we get charged, regardless of usage, for a substandard service (I actually get a small annual rebate because the government has recognised the unique problems down here).

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

scarcity of water. 

In the SE every 4 years or so there is a shortage. In extremes there is a hosepipe ban, but the aquifer tends lower all the time.

Of course this is a combination of rainfall and population. In NE Scotland the rainfall is similar but there is enough from the hills.