GOOD LIFE: The concept drawing of Zero Energy House being built by Shay Brazier and Jo Woods. Photo supplied by solarcentury.com

INNOVATIVE: Jo Woods and Shay Brazier.

BUILDING a home is an exciting and challenging process that can bring dreams to fruition or turn into a stressful nightmare. Choosing to tackle a project that’s extraordinary and share the progress on the net is a brave and innovative move a young couple has made as they build their first home.

Former Howick lad Shay Brazier met his partner Jo Woods when they worked together in the solar energy industry in London. In 2007 they moved to New Zealand and within a year they decided to put down roots and build their own home.

The project wasn’t about to be a run-of-the-mill, low-cost home for the couple, with both of them engaged in environmentally conscious careers. Shay still works with solar technology and Jo is employed in sustainable design.

They both feel strongly about sustainability and have made lifestyle choices to personally walk the talk. The couple are committed to having a home that’s healthy for the occupants and the planet, which suits their needs and rather than focussing solely on the financial return on their investment.

Don’t be fooled into thinking Jo and Shay are new-age, hemp suit wearers building a tree house in the bush. The project involves a collaborative approach between themselves and their architects Jennifer Hanson and Kendon McGrail from A Design Studio, as well as numerous hours researching the performance rating of materials and design details. Jo thinks sustainable building practices in New Zealand are probably about 10 to 15 years behind the UK and the couple knew what could be achieved by building their own home rather than buying an existing property.

They have launched a website www.zeroenergyhouse.co.nz to share their experience with other likeminded house builders. The philosophy is to provide information for people to pick up ideas from their project and to demonstrate building to best practice rather than meeting minimum standards of regulatory building codes.

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FLOOR PLAN: The layout is designed to capture passive solar energy and meet the occupant's needs.

Jo was surprised at how little information was required by the building code in comparison to the British requirements, but says this has improved in New Zealand in the past two years — perhaps a result of the costly leaky homes problem.

“The cost of building here is a lot cheaper than the UK. Timber frames are very common and it’s easy to source timber here, but in the UK double brick walls are used a lot. They use more materials and do a more detailed build than we do here,” says Jo.

Shay adds that building houses to minimum standards sets a benchmark for construction projects that ultimately drives down the total market because people demand competitive prices.

As an architect, Jennifer was attracted to Shay and Jo’s project because it is a low-cost, first home with clients who wanted a healthy house with low running expenses. The zero energy house balances initial capital expenditure with ongoing operational expenses such as heating, power consumption, waste disposal and transportation.

FIRST FLOOR: Compact and sunny at the right time of the day.

It took Shay and Jo more than two years to find an appropriate site, which needed to be north-facing for maximum sunlight exposure, reasonably flat to reduce construction costs and handy to public transport. They settled on a subdivided 800 square metre section in Point Chevalier.

Dealing with the council is an ongoing concern for the couple and they are trying to get them onboard early in the process. Jo and Shay don’t want to bear the high cost of the council’s initial approval process of sustainable technology that is new to New Zealand but has been successfully used overseas.

Innovative systems to manage grey water on the property and to integrate a photovoltaic (PV) system into the roof are stretching the resource consent boundaries. Shay’s expertise lies in PV systems, which convert light into electricity but the technology is uncommon in New Zealand.

“On a bright sunny day you get 1000 watts of free energy from the sun at any one point in time,” says Shay. “Internationally there are many PV products that double as the roofing material, but in New Zealand there is only one that I know of.”

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AT WORK: Shay Brazier installing photovoltaic panels on a roof in London. Image supplied – solarcentury.com.

Selecting building materials is a balancing act between embodied energy (the energy used to produce the material), durability, performance rating and potential toxicity. New Zealand doesn’t currently have an independent environmental rating system, which means Jo and Shay must research everything to assess its integrity and performance.

There is also the challenge of using locally sourced materials that are familiar to builders and have reduced transportation cost as opposed to unfamiliar products that need to be imported.

Jo is qualified and experienced in materials engineering and advanced computational methods and has completed extensive thermo-modelling of the house to ensure it works efficiently. With the website they are hoping for a feedback loop and the theory will be compared to the reality.

“It’s important for everyone to see what happens onsite and whether it’s actually working. There will be a stage after [the build] when we hope to monitor the house to make sure it’s working energy efficiently and it’s warm enough.”

The couple intends to live in the house for a number of years and the floor plan is designed to meet their needs as well as sustainable principles. The ground floor has 1.2 metre overhangs that provide cooling shade in summer but let in winter sunshine to use passive solar energy to heat the polished concrete floor.

“We thought about having a double garage because it’s better for resale and people expect that, but we decided, no – that’s not exactly what we want to achieve and it’s not right for us,” says Shay.

BUZY: There are plans to include a suburban micro beehive.

The house is positioned to provide adequate outdoor living space and room to grow vegetables. Jo and Shay will move their worm farm to the site and plan to incorporate a micro-beehive.

Good planning and patience will minimise building waste, which impacts on the budget and the environment. Making late changes is always costly.Building is expected to commence by the end of 2010.

“I think sometimes people see these type of houses as hippy houses that you’d find in Titirangi rather than Howick. But we see it as something that everyone could benefit from. It’s warm, comfortable, cheap to run and if you build it well, it will last a long time,” says Shay.

Common sense, new technology and commitment to long-term goals make sense, but it still proves challenging when quick capital gain is a higher priority than the function and health of a home.

To watch the progress of Shay and Jo’s first home, log onto www.zeroenergyhouse.co.nz.