Architecture and design: Home sweet home

Photo / Ted Baghurst

Hobsonville Point, the new township growing up on the upper Waitemata Harbour north west of Auckland city, is making a statement of intent with an impressive array of energy efficiency and eco features in its six Homestar™ showhome. It's also a message that features such as solar hot water heating and rainwater tanks are going to be par for the course in the area.

It works well with the philosophy of Hobsonville Point, which has planned development around cycle and walkway paths, and already has efficient public transport initiatives such as a new ferry terminal and busways. Leigh Featherstone, Homestar™ director, is pleased that a Homestar 6 rating has been achieved by the builder Universal Homes, which means it will take a minimal amount of energy to run promising reduced power bills and lower water bills.

Homestar 6 also means that the home is dry and well ventilated, making it a healthy place to live. It's worth noting that the average New Zealand household achieves a Homestar™ rating of just two.

"Homestar™ rates a home based on a comprehensive check list of features related to how easy it is to heat a home, how efficiently it uses energy and water, how waste is managed and where a home is located in a community."

Featherstone says for potential home owners, a Homestar™ rating provides clear independent evidence that they are choosing efficient, healthy and comfortable homes. "In the same way that we compare energy ratings on electrical appliances we now have the opportunity to do so on what is likely to be our greatest asset - our home.

"Rodney Chadwick, AVJennings' project director for Hobsonville Point, welcomes the Homestar™ initiative, saying it is a commonsense approach to a complex issue. "Setting new benchmarks for quality sustainable urban development is what underpins our core values for Hobsonville Point. Homestar offers consumers a tool to help make more informed choices when judging developers' commitment to sustainability. This is a great step forward for the New Zealand industry as well as consumers," adds Chadwick.

FEATURES OF THIS FOUR-BEDROOM HOME INCLUDE:
Smart design to optimise heating from the sun
Energy efficient wall and roof insulation
Solar hot water connected to an electric storage cylinder
Double glazed windows
2.2 kiloWatt peak of grid-connected photovoltaic solar panels installed on ?the roof
Highly efficient LED light fittings
Washing line, vegetable garden, rainwater collection and worm farm
Rainwater plumbed into the toilets, laundry and garden
Water efficient shower and toilets
Excellent waste management onsite, achieving 8kg / m2 ?(about half the national average)

See more: hobsonvillepoint.co.nz homestar.org.nz