Basic Requirements#

(in no particular order)

• Appropriate numbers of bedrooms, living areas, bathroom, etc.
• Passive solar design to minimise Winter heating and Summer cooling -- cooling being the more important factor in our climate
• Easy access to installed infrastructure -- plumbing, electrics -- to enable us to add and modify as needed
• Capable of supporting alternative energy systems -- solar panels, wood stove
• Affordable within our very limited budget

The ability to change the electrics and plumbing was driven by our not being able to afford to do everything we wanted in the initial construction. We would still love to replace the grid-supplied electricity with a combination of solar panels and alternative energy sources, but its damn expensive! We certainly could not afford to incorporate solar on our construction budget, and had no idea what the future would bring. Would we be able to afford a solar array one day? Would we want to incorporate a wood stove/oven/space-and-water-heater?

Cost and time available for DIY building were primary constraints.

Slightly Unusual Requirements#

• Must be easy to retro-fit energy components. Since we could not afford to install any solar-electricity components, we knew we would initially be tied into the grid, and likely remain so for a good long time. We're still on the grid, and still can't afford photovoltaics, but if and when we can, the house can easily and cheaply accommodate the rewiring and additional wiring the will be needed.
• Must be able to harvest all of our household water from the roof. Non-negotiable. There is simply no other feasible source of fresh water here. Good borehole water is about 100m down, and that means very expensive pumps, three-phase power, and would cost (at the time we built) more than the house itself.