Blue Mountains Cottage
This traditional styled mountain cottage is located in a sensitive bushland setting a short stroll from Blackheath town centre in the Blue Mountains. The kitchen still evokes a feeling of country life with its tiled floors and open beamed ceiling. The house has large rain water tanks 22,000 Litres water tank for normal use plus a separate 10,000 Litre tank for Bush Fire Protection. The high pitched roofs and ceiling fans keep the home naturally cool in summer. Natural timber is used extensively and all the finishes are ecologically safe and nontoxic for a healthy allergy free home. As well as enjoying passive solar design the home has Hydronic under floor heating.
This home won a commendation award from the Building Designers Association of NSW in 2007 for “Environmental and Energy Efficient Buildings”.
Water is pre-heated by the sun using a bank if evacuated tube solar hot water panels and stored in a 3000 Litre insulated water tank in the basement store room. The warm water is then pumped through pipes laid directly into the concrete slab during construction.
At the time it was built in 2007 not many specialist companies were available in the area so the whole system was designed in house although today many companies specialise in the design and installation of modern efficient systems.
Even in the relatively mild climate of the central coast underfloor heating is a sound investment and is a safe and very comfortable way to heat a home.
