Sustainable house design
for carbon neutral kit homes

Building a kit home using sustainable house design systems is achievable with a well thought out plan and some good research. Kit homes aren't necessarily the most carbon neutral structures as manufacturers are working to a budget that is set by the market rather than aiming for a zero net energy home. Sustainable urban living is attainable with a coordinated approach using simple green home designs, including products and home features that reduce the carbon footprint to a 'zero energy house'.

Green home designs

Roofing
Ideal roofing design can have:

• Green roofing or 'living roofs' such as 'sod' over waterproof membranes which insulates the house
• Reflective roofing has high solar reflectance such as zinc galvanized sheeting or 'cool roofs' which are painted white

Insulation
The best home insulation system utilises:

• High insulation r values
• Attic insulation products
• Under roof insulation such as batts
• Cathedral ceiling insulation
• Crawl space insulation

Cladding
Timber frame or steel frame cladding materials such as:

• High density, rigid polystyrene providing continuous thermal insulation
• Composite cladding such as biowood
• Living walls: uses permaculture solutions to create a green insulating walls
• Straw bale houses use bales of straw, wheat, rice or oats as wall cladding
• Rammed earth homes use raw materials such as earth, clay, lime and gravel creating high thermal mass walls.
• Building stone houses or using stone cladding for houses significantly increases thermal mass

Passive solar house designs

Strategies

• The 'equator' facing eave and window setup to receive warmth in the winter when the sun is low and shade when the sun is high in summer.
• Orientating the house to face the equator.
• Utilising the best home insulation products in strategic areas.
• Using thermal mass to store excess solar energy.
• Designing breezeways to dissipate heat
• Strategic windows for cross ventilation and clerestory windows to vent heated air

Solar power generation and solar power storage

• Utilising the sun to create and store grid connected electricity

Wind power generators

• Utilising the prevailing wind to generate residential wind power

Ways to save energy

• Energy star refrigerators and washing machines
• Energy star water heaters and air conditioners
• Energy star light bulbs
• Master switch to turn off appliances on standby

• Water tanks
• Permaculture gardens
• Composting toilets
• Waterwise/waterless toilets

Recycling

• Recycled homes: renovating, converting barns etc.
• Recycled wood flooring
• Recycled roofing

Sustainable house design is a choice the kit builder should make at the very beginning of the project. Adding green home designs later cannot substitute for structural and positional set-outs.

There's more Sustainable pages here...

Passive Solar Plans
Residential Solar Panels
Wind Power Design
Wind power for homes
Wind turbines for homes
Disadvantages of wind power
or Return from Sustainable House Design to Kit home basics home page