Ausgrid today announced that the search is on for one lucky family to live rent-free in a swanky energy-efficient smart home in Newington, Sydney, for 12 months.
Ausgrid today announced that the search is on for one lucky family to live rent-free in a swanky experimental energy-efficient smart home in Newington, Sydney, for 12 months. The search follows the conclusion of an 18 month trial of the home this week by the first family to live there – Clare Joyce, Michael Adams and their daughter Ava.
The Smart Home
The house, appropriately dubbed the ‘Smart Home’, features a gas fuel cell, a solar pergola and a rooftop solar system that together produce an average of 32 kilowatt hours per day. This is estimated to be enough electricity to provide power to two average households (which, presumably, means you won’t need to sell your heirlooms if you leave the air conditioner on overnight either). The home also features a battery storage system for self-sufficiency.
“The Smart Home in essence has become a fully functioning power station,” says Paul Myors, an energy efficiency expert at Ausgrid. “The fuel cell used gas and waste heat to produce most of the on-site power, but with 65 per cent less greenhouse gas impact than power sourced from the grid. Combined with the solar pergola and rooftop solar system they produced an average 32 kilowatt hours per day – much more than the family was typically consuming inside the home.”
The home also features water efficient appliances and fixtures, including taps, shower heads toilets dishwasher and washing machine to help conserve water, and an electric car.
How and when to apply
The search for the lucky new occupants for the Smart Home begins on the 31st January, and applications will be open until 29th February 2012.
To read about the experiences of the people who’ve been living there for the past 12 months, visit www.smarthomefamily.com.au.
Details of how to apply are available on the Ausgrid site.
