Armed with that thought in mind, and shocked at how much it would cost to connect to the main grid line (which was about one and half kilometres away) as well as frustrated at the ever rising costs of electricity, we decided that when we built our house just outside of Goondiwindi, we would make it as energy efficient as possible.

We had an “almost” perfect block of land.

It was ideally located, a good size for what we wanted, but no grid power and no town water.

But the fact that these resources were not “readily available’ was not going to stop us from doing what we had set out to do.

As the famous children’s author, Dr Seuss, once wrote, “Think left, think right, think low, think high. Oh, the thinks you can think if only you try” - we had to think differently, do our research, and be creative!

I spent months researching passive design and building orientation, suitable building materials, energy efficient colours, renewable energy, water efficiency and of course, energy efficiency, all the time going back to our very tight budget.

I read everything I could lay my hands on, spent countless hours on the internet, asked endless questions and visited the Sustainable House in Toowoomba.

Eventually, and long after the building plans had been drawn up, we decided to “slay the sacred cow”. We would go solar! Off grid solar to be exact!

This meant that we would not be connected to the main electricity grid at all. Sure, we both had some reservations.

At times, I felt a little like a prairie dog. I had poked my head out of the hole, and thrown my “radical” idea out there, but during moments of self doubt I wanted to retreat back to the safety of my tunnel (my comfort zone) and the comfort of grid connect power.

When I purchased the book, “The Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for Your Home”, my son asked “why?”.

Biting my lip, I explained that it might help me make some important decisions about solar power, or maybe, (‘just maybe’ I reminded him) I was an idiot!

Discussions commenced with the SolarCentre (www.solarcentre.com.au) in Toowoomba. Again, I asked questions. Lots! “Could I run an evaporative airconditioner?” YES! “Could I run a dishwasher?” YES, as long as it was connected to the solar hot water system.

“What about an oven?” Must be gas – oven and cooktop (and I love it!) and use the gas to boil the kettle!

Electric kettles (and frypans) use way too much power.

“What about a microwave?” YES, as long as it had an inverter. Sometimes I questioned my sanity, or maybe I was prairie doggin’ again.

For a fleeting moment I imagined myself not being able to iron!

But that feeling of despair didn’t last for long.

I hate ironing – maybe I could get an ironing lady?

I almost put the brakes on when I was told the recommended wastewater system, because of its energy efficiency and therefore ideal for solar power, was filled with worms and beetles.

“Worms?? EWWW!” But I researched it further, and guess what? We have a fabulous Biolytix Wastewater system (www.biolytix.com.au) that treats all of our household water so it can be used for subsurface irrigation.

Of course, we need to be careful about what we goes down the sink, but environmentally friendly household cleaners and detergents are so readily available now that that change has been an easy one.

Although we have not yet commenced our garden, it is comforting to know that eventually every drop of water we use in the house will end up in our garden.

And I haven’t had to look at the worms!

So after deciding to “go for it, full steam ahead” and completing a very detailed load assessment, a 3.85kW system with 16 back up batteries was agreed on.

The 22 PVA panels have been installed on the shed roof, facing north for maximum solar gain.

To Page 13

At the time, we were eligible for the Australian Governments ‘Renewable Remote Power Generation Program’ as we were over one kilometre from the main grid line and connection to the main grid line was in excess of $30 000. Under this program the Australian Government paid 50% of the installation costs. Unfortunately for others, this program has now been cancelled, but luck was on our side at the time.

Fortunately, our builders, Cam Makim and Tony Carter, along with their contractors, were also prepared to think differently and always kept it in their minds that they were building a ‘solar house’. Sometimes I did wonder if they thought I was ‘smoking something’ as some of my ideas were a bit unusual!

Peter Cook put energy efficient lighting throughout the house, researched smoke alarms that were compatible with solar power and installed ‘an essential power’ switch that we turn off when we leave the house. This turns everything off except the fridges – the essentials! Luke Fritz installed the Biolytix, two 40 000 litre rainwater tanks, the gas oven and the gas boosted solar hot water system. He connected the dishwasher to hot water instead of cold, and of course made sure all taps and toilets were water efficient. We are also discussing the idea of installing a water recirculator that will recirculate water until the hot water comes through.

So what else? Passive design elements, such as orientating the house with its longer side, larger windows and living areas to the north, bedrooms and utility areas to the south, and no windows at all on the western wall, provide a simple and cost effective solution to making our house comfortable. The row of inbuilt cupboards running the entire length of the western wall provides a buffer from the western sun. Kitchen, laundry and bathrooms have been placed close together, reducing the distance hot water has to travel. A zincalume roof deflects the sun’s heat, rather than absorbing it, as well as providing a great water catchment area. To conserve water we installed ceiling fans as well as the evaporative airconditioner. The cement slab and dark ceramic floor tiles provide a thermal mass, keeping us cool in summer and warm in winter. In summer, eaves prevent the high summer sun from entering the house, and the concrete slab acts as a heat sink absorbing heat from its surroundings. At night, we keep most windows open to draw cool air through the house. Although we have not had a winter in the house yet, the theory is that low winter sun will enter the house through the large northern windows during the day. The dark tiles will absorb the sunlight and store the solar heat. At night, as the room cools, the heat stored in the thermal mass will radiate into the room. Our appliances are all energy star and/or water efficiency rated. The refrigerator has been installed away from the oven. A vent above the fridge allows air circulation and keeps it cool thus allowing more energy efficient operation. We use ‘energy star’ laptops instead of a desktop computer and we have installed ‘future switches’ (www.futurerange.com.au) in the home entertainment and computer areas, so that everything (TV, DVD player, games console, OR laptop, printer, speakers etc) is turned off with one easy to reach switch. No standby power! We considered installing a sky light, but decided to live in the house first to see if we needed one. At this stage we don’t think we will.

Our next project (before winter) will be to install a wood heater and pelmet curtains (to keep the heat in). We still need to landscape for both energy and water efficiency. Things like deciduous vines on the western wall, providing cooling through transpiration in summer, but not blocking out the sun’s heat in winter; placing a solar pergola over some of the northern windows will allow sunlight to enter the building in winter, but not in summer; planting trees for both shade and wind breaks. We haven’t rushed into the garden design and landscaping! We are engaged in ‘the lawn or no lawn’ debate, battling over the pros and cons. One thing we know for sure is we won’t necessarily be doing ‘what has always been done!’

So, whether you believe in global warming and preserving the environment or not, being energy and water efficient has become a part of our every day life. Not just because of government campaigns and advertising, but because we are all trying to cut back on spending. We’re all fed up with the rising costs attached to electricity, water and now even shopping bags! We are all genuinely seeking ways to ‘make our dollar go further’ and for some of us, it is about seeking to limit the use of precious resources.

We’ve been living in our house for just on five months. We’ve been through some of the worst weather we have experienced since being in the Goondiwindi area - dust storms, those disgusting heat waves, and only a bit of rain. But, life is good. We’re comfortable. We have all of life’s mod cons. We’ve had no problems with power, but we’re still careful. Even after four days of overcast weather we still had an ample supply of power stored in our batteries and did not need to use a generator to recharge. Our tanks are almost full, but we’re still careful. We haven’t had to suffer a cold shower, or a blackout and contrary to what many (including me) believed and joked about, we haven’t discovered huge worms writhing around in the toilet bowl!

Oh, and by the way, I’m still able to iron, however the ‘load’ on the meter goes from 3.4 amps with just the fridge on, to 9.6 amps with the fridge, a couple of fans and the flat screen LCD television on, to a whopping 38 amps when the iron is on. A very good excuse for an ironing lady! Or a whole new wardrobe!