Earth House
Residential: Single Dwelling
Certification: Passivhaus Classic
Donvale, VIC, 2019
This sustainable green roof home design is located in the pioneering eco residential community of Mullum Creek in Melbourne’s leafy Donvale. Homes designed for Mullum Creek are required to adhere to Ecologically Sustainable Development (ESD) principles including home energy efficiency and solar power, water conservation, sustainable building materials, and best-practice construction techniques.
The design features an earth covered roof, also known as a green roof, to navigate and integrate with the sloping site. This green roof will not only provide the home with outstanding insulation to reduce heat loss and energy consumption; the living roof by landscape architect Jo Henry will also provide privacy from the adjoining property and blend the home in beautifully with its surroundings.
This Certified Passivhaus was opened for Sustainable House Day 2019 prior to completion, where visitors viewed the standout features such as the thermally broken rammed earth wall for thermal performance and aesthetic appeal, triple glazed Passivhaus certified windows, solar power, solar hot water system, and a fully prefabricated wall and roof framing systems by Panel-lite Pty Ltd.
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AIRTIGHTNESS n50 ACH@50pascals: 0.51
HEATING DEMAND (kWh/m².yr): 9
COOLING DEMAND (kWh/m².yr): 4
HEATING LOAD (W/m²): 13
COOLING LOAD (W/m²): 15
PRIMARY ENERGY DEMAND (PE) (kWh/m².yr): 77
PRIMARY ENERGY RENEWABLE DEMAND (PER): 35
PRIMARY ENERGY RENEWABLE GENERATION (PER): 37 -
LOCATION: Donvale, VIC
NCC CLIMATE ZONE: 6 - mild temperate
NATHERS CLIMATE ZONE: 62
YEAR OF COMPLETION: 2019
TREATED FLOOR AREA (PHPP sqm): 169 m2
PROJECT TYPE: New Build
SECTOR: Residential: Single Dwelling
CONSTRUCTION TYPE: Prefab
CERTIFICATION LEVEL/ ENERGY STANDARD: Passivhaus Classic
THIRD PARTY CERTIFICATIONS: Nathers -
PREFAB ELEMENTS: SIPS for walls and roof structure
MHRV SYSTEM: Zehnder, Comfo Q 350
DOMESTIC HOT WATER SYSTEM: Sanden heat pump
EXTERIOR WALL TYPE, U-VALUE: Panel Lite certified PH component & Insulated Rammed Earth, 0.29
FLOOR SLAB TYPE, U-VALUE: insulated concrete slab, 0.352
ROOF INSULATION TYPE, MANUFACTURER: Bradford Gold
ROOF CONSTRUCTION: Panel lite certified PH component
ROOF ENVELOPE U-VALUE: 0.201
WALL FRAME TYPE, U-VALUE: Panel Lite certified PH component & Insulated Rammed Earth, 0.29
GLAZING TYPE, MANUFACTURER, G-VALUE, U G-VALUE: Triple, Neuffer, 0.54, 0.65 -
NUMBER OF MODULES: 32
HEIGHT AND WIDTH OF ONE PV MODULE (m, m): 1690mm x 1046mm x 40mm
HEIGHT OF ARRAY (m): 0
EFFICIENCY (%): 22.6%
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Earth / Green roof
Thermally broken rammed earth wall
Triple glazed Passivhaus certified windows
Achieved the sustainability credentials of the Mullum Creek estate
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Working with Rammed Earth in a Passivhaus and addressing the thermal bridges.
Project Members
PASSIVHAUS CERTIFIER: Detail Green
PASSIVHAUS CONSULTANT/ DESIGNER: Williams Energy Design
ARCHITECT: Maxa Design
BUILDER: Carbonlite
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: R. Bliem & Associates
WINDOW SUPPLIER: Neuffer
HRV SUPPLIER: Fantech
AIRTIGHTNESS MEMBRANE SUPPLIER: Proclima
INSULATION SUPPLIER: Bradford
BLOWER DOOR TESTER: Detail Green
PHOTOGRAPHER: Chris Neylon
Awards and Shortlists
2020 Design Matters - Building Design of the Year 2020
2020 Design Matters - Best Environmentally Sustainable Design
Design Matters - Best Residential New Home Design $1M-$3M Construction