Architecture

Illawarra Flame: The net-zero fibro house for the future

Illawarra Flame: The net-zero fibro house for the future
The Illawarra Flame house was created by students from the University of Wollongong
The Illawarra Flame house was created by students from the University of Wollongong
View 17 Images
The Illawarra Flame house was created by students from the University of Wollongong
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The Illawarra Flame house was created by students from the University of Wollongong
Each of the property's windows were replaced new, more efficient windows
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Each of the property's windows were replaced new, more efficient windows
Electricity needs are handled by a roof-based 9.4 KW solar panel array
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Electricity needs are handled by a roof-based 9.4 KW solar panel array
During construction, recycled local hardwoods were re-used from demolished houses
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During construction, recycled local hardwoods were re-used from demolished houses
A Building Management System affords fine control over the assorted energy-saving systems
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A Building Management System affords fine control over the assorted energy-saving systems
The house received an upgraded insulation
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The house received an upgraded insulation
The third bedroom of the house was removed, and converted into an open-plan living and dining area
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The third bedroom of the house was removed, and converted into an open-plan living and dining area
Recycled local hardwoods were re-used from demolished houses
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Recycled local hardwoods were re-used from demolished houses
The Illawara Flame house
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The Illawara Flame house
The renovation involved more than simply bolting on some solar panels and calling it a day
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The renovation involved more than simply bolting on some solar panels and calling it a day
The design and construction of the house took over a year
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The design and construction of the house took over a year
The house will be permanently installed at UOW's Sustainable Buildings Research Center
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The house will be permanently installed at UOW's Sustainable Buildings Research Center
The roof features a solar array
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The roof features a solar array
The house received an upgraded insulation
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The house received an upgraded insulation
The house was built by UOW students
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The house was built by UOW students
The house won first place in China's Solar Decathlon competition
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The house won first place in China's Solar Decathlon competition
The house features rainwater collection and a grey water recycling system
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The house features rainwater collection and a grey water recycling system
View gallery - 17 images

A group of students from the University of Wollongong took a typical Australian "fibro house," and retrofitted it with technology which includes solar panels, climate control, and an energy monitoring system. The end result, dubbed Illawarra Flame, is a net-zero home which offers a potential starting point for transforming many similar properties into low-energy dwellings.

For the uninitiated, the term fibro house refers colloquially both to homes built using asbestos-based construction boards, which are now banned for safety reasons, and the cellulose-based boards which succeeded them.

A fibro house is usually thought to be very energy-inefficient, and so its transformation into a modern net-zero house – that is, a home with no energy consumption nor carbon emissions annually – required more than simply bolting on some solar panels and calling it a day.

The roof features a solar array
The roof features a solar array

The third bedroom of the house was converted into an open-plan living and dining space, while existing bathroom and laundry rooms were supplanted by prefabricated pods which functioned similarly, but more efficiently. An additional pod was added to the exterior wall of both bedrooms to increase usable space, and the roof was fitted with above eye-level windows to increase natural lighting and ventilation.

Indeed, all the property's windows were replaced with newer, more energy-efficient windows, and modern insulation was added too. Recycled local hardwood from demolished houses was also used in the build.

Illawarra Flame's electricity is produced by a roof-based 9.4-KW solar panel system, which actually comprises two different panel types: a thin-film CIGS array is located on the north and south-facing sides of the roof to capture weaker sunlight, and a poly-crystalline PV array sits directly on top, for maximum efficiency in optimal sunlight.

The house features rainwater collection and a grey water recycling system
The house features rainwater collection and a grey water recycling system

The home's air-conditioning combines a Photovoltaic Thermal (PVT) air system, and a Phase Change Material (PCM) thermal store, in order to provide both cooling and heating, as required.

The PVT works by simply converting solar heat into thermal heat for warming the house. The PCM unit is a little more complex, as it captures the relative coolness from the outside air at night, to store it (typically in a material such as paraffin or salt hydrates), until daytime. This cold material is then released throughout the day to cool the incoming warm air.

Further energy-saving features include LED lighting, and a handy cutoff switch that allows power to essential appliances only. A Building Management System affords fine control over the assorted energy-saving systems, and enables residents to monitor energy usage.

Rainwater is harvested from the roof and stored in a 2.4 cubic-meter (85 cubic-foot) rainwater tank, to be later used for irrigation and clothes washing use. A grey-water system, which filters used water through a reed bed and slow sand filter, complements this.

A Building Management System affords fine control over the assorted energy-saving systems
A Building Management System affords fine control over the assorted energy-saving systems

Finally, Illawarra Flame includes an interesting aquaponics system that grows both vegetables and edible fish species.

"The fish in the tank produce nitrogenous waste, which is periodically pumped into the crushed terracotta garden bed," explains the team. "The plants in the bed remove the nutrients, leaving high quality water which returns to the fish tank. This produces a large quantity of food relative to the system footprint, while using far less water than traditional garden beds."

Illawarra Flame took over a year to design and construct, and was entered into China's Solar Decathlon, which took place earlier this month. The house duly won first place, receiving 957.6 out of a maximum 1000 points and gaining the additional distinction of receiving the highest score awarded in any Solar Decathlon competition, ever.

Once it has been painstakingly disassembled and shipped back from China, the house will be permanently installed at UOW's Sustainable Buildings Research Center.

Source: Illawarra Flame

View gallery - 17 images
6 comments
6 comments
greytoma
Having owned two of these "housing commission fibro houses" one of them in the Wollongong (Illawarra) area. I fail to see the benefit of making these asbestos ridden places energy efficient. Progressive governments have dodged taking the hard and expensive decision to demolish these dangerous homes and try to pass on the expense to the owner. Many of these houses have asbestos cladding not only on the outside but all inside walls are also asbestos. Authorities persist with the stupid idea that it's ok to live with as long as you don't touch it.... but some one has to touch it sometime. James Hardy who made most of this material knowing how dangerous it was has been allowed to leave Australia and set up in the Netherlands thereby avoiding ongoing legal damages for the disastrous levels of mesothelioma and related asbestos diseases so prevalent in Australia caused primarily by the building and subsequent alterations of these "fibro houses"
Wombat56
The use of off-peak cooling at the coolest part of the day is a strategy that should be more commonly utilized, in my opinion.
For example, that 2.4 cubic meter water tank holds 2.4 tonnes or 2400 liters of water. If you were to bury it under the garage, run some pipes through it for heat exchange and then put some insulation around it, it would act as a significant thermal mass for heat (cool) storage.
Actually I think a single car space could hold 6 to 8 tonnes of water with no great effort.
Bryan Paschke
So...let's see if I've got this straight. We're talking about starting with low cost (indigent?) housing and giving it high tech upgrades to the point where only the very wealthy would be able to afford it? What's the advantage of starting with cheap materials and then surrounding them with expensive high tech materials? Just use high tech materials throughout to maximize the benefit.
On the other hand, the garden/fish pond is REALLY cool.
Kevin Crowley
The zero sum they arrive at does not include the extra energy needed to implement the changes. Then there is the extra treasure involved. When does all that balance out as opposed to just leaving the structure alone?
As an example. My landlord did a windows upgrades on the duplex I live in. he amortized his costs of doing that over a ten year period and raised my rent $30 dollars a month to cover the expense. I save $10 a month in energy costs. I lose $20 dollars a month to this upgrade I never asked for.
Don Duncan
A well designed passive solar house needs no heating or cooling. At least one was built by RMI in Davis, CA. which has freezing winters and triple digit summers.
Don Duncan
I noticed a lot of glazing, some floor to ceiling. Why? What is the purpose? If it is natural lighting that can be achieved by skylights, without losing R value.
Can this renovation be done cost effectively? What is the payback period?