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Written by Alan Kerlin Wednesday, 30 September 2009 00:00

Sustainable House Day was another very successful day, with Solar Flair's Alan Kerlin and wife Gaylene Bell again opening their 6+ star home in Harrison for viewing. This year 219 people visited their house.

They saw and heard about their passive solar design, and water and energy efficiency measures. Alan showed how they designed the house themselves using a simple off-the-shelf software package to produce 3D renderings remarkably like the finished product.

"The strong turnout shows that Canberra residents are starved of good information about sustainable home design, and that Canberra builders are not meeting their needs," said Alan. "The building trade needs to lift their game, and start helping their clients build better homes, rather than just the easy route of bigger homes.

"Many of these features do not cost more than traditional building methods. And those that do are quickly paid back in improved comfort and reduced running costs."

Alan also explained how they incorporated in numerous safety, security and accessibility features into the design to make a home that is safe for little children, but also suitable for those in a wheelchair or with restricted mobility if required.

"A few years ago, I was run down by a car when on my motorbike," says Alan. "The bag rack on the bike hit me in the back and I was only a whisker from being in a wheelchair myself. That sort of thing makes you realise how shattering it would be on top of everything else to find yourself also having to sell your house because of lost mobility. It's far easier to just design accessibility into the home in the first place."