Sustainable House Day 2017 at The Cape

Sustainable House Day is an event organized by the Alternative Technology Association (ATA), a not-for-profit organisation that exists to enable, represent and inspire people to live sustainably in their homes and communities. SHD has provided a great opportunity and has been a platform for hundreds of thousands of people to visit some of Australia’s leading  and highly acclaimed green homes – homes that are not only environmentally friendly, but cheaper to run and more comfortable to live in.

Sustainable House Day gives visitors a chance to inspect firsthand houses that have been designed, built or renovated with sustainability in mind as well as the opportunity to talk to owners and receive unbiased advice.

We at NewGen Solar and Heat Pump are passionate about sustainability, renewable energy uptake, and friendly environmental practices. When Brendan Condon of The Cape Eco Village dropped us an email to ask our support for The Cape’s Sustainable House Day Street Party, it was a no brainer for us - we jumped at the chance. We had our Marketing Manager, Tess (a.k.a. Tesla Model S) groomed and shiny ready to take visitors for a ride and revel in the experience of riding the cars of the future.

The five houses on display at The Cape are not only aesthetically pleasing but they all embody the sound principles of passive energy house design. The houses have minimum 8.2 star rating, an impressive achievement in Melbourne’s climate. One thing we’ve gleaned during the SHD in The Cape is the construction cost of these energy efficient homes are not as astronomically high as what is normally perceived. All houses are double glazed, all electric, has solar pv, thermal mass, well insulated, some has phase change materials insulation in the walls, clever solar orientation (all houses properly oriented to make efficient use of the sun's heat), shared community garden and of course the Sanden Hot Water Heat Pump by NewGen contributed to making these homes highly efficient and sustainable.

Here are some photos from the day's event.