Visit sustainable homes in Merri-bek and surrounding areas as part of Sustainable House Day on Sunday 21 April.
Explore inspiring homes, and learn from the people who designed them, built them, and live in them.
Get in quick to book a tour of the homes. Spots limited.
Merri-bek City Council is a Council partner of Sustainable House Day.
There are two homes opening in Merri-bek.
Peter and Penny’s House – Brunswick
Click here for more info and to book a tour.
Peter and Penny’s house is a single fronted Victorian terrace house extended at the rear with a two storey addition.
They were attracted to the house by its long north facing garden, and a floor plan where most of the original house could be incorporated in the new design.
Sustainable features include: Northern orientation, summer shading, Insulated concrete slab, roof and wall insulation, Double glazing, PV panels and battery, Heat pump hot water, Ducted and split system heating and cooling, Rain water tank, Productive garden, Provision for electric car and LED lighting.
Coburg Comfort Upgrade House
Click here for more info and to book a tour
Our home is a typical suburban house built in 1930 and renovated in 2010.
Since purchasing in February 2021 we have improved the thermal performance of the house by draughtproofing, replacing all the downlights to IC-4 rated lights, insulating the ceiling and retrofitting double glazing in all windows and doors.
In 2021 we converted the house to fully electric by adding solar, converting the instant gas to a heat pump hot water service, retrofitted the existing gas stove/electric oven with an induction stovetop, and augmented the ducted RCAC with a split system for the back half of the house. Since going off gas we have net $0 in energy bills.
Our house shows that it is possible to continually improve older houses to be comfortable with low running costs.
Hütt 01 PassivHaus – Coburg
This house is not opening in person, but you can explore the house profile and ask the homeowner questions online.
Architect-Designed by Melbourne Design Studios (MDS), the family home has not only been showcased on Grand Designs Australia, but it is also designed to be a ShowCase home in itself.
They love the idea of net zero energy homes, and we are always trying to convince everyone that that is the way into the future, so this was a great opportunity to show one.
The home is a passive house with lots and lots of experimental and exciting features, from the eco garden aquaponics system via CLT structure and passive house technology to a green roof, green walls, Solar PV and batteries, recycled bricks, triple glazed windows with active shading and much more.
